Are you ready?  God has unleashed a weapon so powerful that it is causing great trembling in the enemy’s camp.  This weapon is the one he dreads, the weapon he fears, the weapon he tried to cripple over time now has the strength to stand.  What is this weapon?  It is women who understand that their strength is their femininity.

I grew up believing that I was the biggest disappointment in my father’s life because I was a girl.  While awaiting my birth, his father (my grandfather) often said, “If it’s a boy call me.  If it’s a girl send me a letter.”  Then he suffered a fatal heart attack.  His funeral was ten days before I was born.  All the relatives said to my mother, “You have to have a boy for grandpa.”  Well, I was born a girl, and my mom went into hysterics believing that she failed, and my father believed that he failed his father by not having a son.  These were the stories I grew up hearing, and it was never forgotten that I was “supposed” to be a boy.

Most of my early childhood was spent in pursuit of trying to win my father’s heart.  I did everything I could think of to connect with my father.  I longed to be “Daddy’s girl.”  It never happened.  He died of melanoma when I was 12, and I spent the next few decades struggling to find some sort of significance with my life.  I experienced a string of abusive relationships with men, suffered from depression and was near-suicidal.  I didn’t want to kill myself, but the thought of being in an accident that would incapacitate me and put me in a hospital where I could be taken care of sounded really good.  This is what came of believing that I was a disappointment and not what my parents intended.

However, over the years, I have grown to be confident of this fact–God intended that I be a woman, and as a woman I am able to manifest His strength through my seeming weakness.  I am an unexpected threat to the enemy.  As a woman I’m supposed to be an easy target, right?  No way!  There is a strength and a fight in me that God has released.  It has taken a long time to get to this point, it’s been a hard journey, but everything I’ve been through has only made me stronger.

I love the final battle scene in the movie The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King when Eowyn is facing down the Witch King of Angmar.  Because she is clothed in full armor, he doesn’t know who he is really facing.  He taunts her with his evil laugh and says, “No man can kill me.”  She rips off her helmet and with her long golden hair flowing down revealing her femininity, she responds, “I am no man!”  And then she ferociously thrusts her sword into his mouth silencing him forever.  In my spirit I too ferociously thrust my sword into the enemy’s mouth, “I will not listen to lies.  I will not be deceived.  I will not be intimidated any longer.  I am a woman, and my strength is in my femininity!”

I believe that in this time God is breaking the molds and stereotypes that have trapped women and prevented them from fulfilling God’s purposes for their lives.  I also believe that God is encouraging men to not feel threatened by a strong woman, but to accept her as an equal partner, as was God’s original intention.  Indeed, as long as women are silenced it forces men to take on roles they were not meant to fulfill.  God is awakening women with the strength of Deborah and Jael in this day.

The time of the judges of Israel was a dark time, when everyone did what was right in their own sight.  However, there were some bright spots when the Israelites were reminded of Who God is, and there were mighty men and women of valor who took courageous action to preserve the Name of the Lord.  At this time, Deborah was the judge in office.  She was the national leader who was sought after to settle disputes among the people and acted as the rallying point to coordinate resistance against enemy armies.  During Deborah’s time, the enemy army was the Canaanites under the leadership of King Jabin, and his captain Sisera.  The Canaanites oppressed the Israelites for 20 years and THEN they called on the Lord for help.  I can’t help but ask, “How long will you tolerate the enemy before calling on the Lord?”

I want to point out that it is stated that Deborah was the prophet and judge of Israel at that time.  There was no issue with her gender.  Nothing was out of the ordinary with having a woman leading the nation.  There was a particular palm tree where the people knew they could find her.  From that place, she sent for Barak, the captain of Israel’s army to inform him of the Lord’s battle plan.

When Deborah told Barak the battle plan, he responded that he would not go to battle without her.

Many who teach this story paint a picture of Barak as a wimp; however, I beg to differ.  Barak was a man of character and integrity.  He was wise in wanting Deborah on the battlefield.  He knew she was God’s vessel.  She heard from God.  She was his connection with God.  He didn’t care that he would receive no honor; he knew this battle was ultimately the Lord’s.  He was completely secure in his masculinity and was not threatened by having a woman in the lead.

Sisera’s army was a threat.  900 iron chariots was quite intimidating to the Israelites who were not as well trained and armed.  However, as is common through history, against all odds, Israel won!  After the Canaanite army was defeated, Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael.  Jael was simply the wife of a man named Heber, who was most likely in business dealings with both Israel and Canaan.  Sisera knew Jael’s husband was on friendly terms with his king so he believed it was a safe place.  Near East culture dictated that when a guest entered your tent you were obligated to protect and provide for that guest.  Jael was acting on her husband’s behalf by inviting Sisera in, but Jael had no feelings of loyalty to him.  I believe that she too was tired of the oppression.  She acted wisely and courageously by taking the opportunity before her to destroy the enemy of Israel.  She lulled him to sleep and drove a tent peg through his skull killing him instantly.

Not exactly the nice story we like to hear.  We like to hear about beautiful princesses falling in love with handsome princes and living happily ever after.  However, there are times and seasons when women need to be ferocious in their femininity.  There are times when women are required to take up the sword and fight, but the way we fight is different.  Both Deborah and Jael had wisdom and courage to recognize the Lord’s timing and strategy and to act without fear when the opportunity came.  Their wisdom and courage to act was more powerful than brute strength.  Their courage was fueled by the knowledge that God was fighting on Israel’s behalf–much like David when he faced Goliath–and the Lord brought the victory.

These two women were honored and revered for the victory their actions secured.  There was no shame for the men that God used women in this battle.  In fact, Barak joined Deborah in the celebration song of Judges chapter 5.  What would have happened if the main characters in this event acted according to stereotypes?  What if:

• Barak went into battle on his own?
• Deborah stayed under the palm tree praying?
• Jael cowered in fear in the tent when Sisera arrived?

Because all of them followed the Lord’s leading, this was the final outcome:

• Israel became stronger and stronger (Judges 4:24).
• There was peace in the land for 40 years (Judges 5:31).

Women–there are dreams in your heart that have gone dormant.  Other things in life have taken prominence, and for some it should be that way.  There are seasons when you need to put your dreams on a shelf and allow them to go dormant.  It’s okay.  However, dormant doesn’t mean dead.  God hasn’t forgotten the dreams He placed within you, and God is fighting for all of the promises and dreams He planted in your heart to be fulfilled.  Today, He wants to remind you of those dreams, and to let you know that He hasn’t forgotten, so don’t you forget that God intends for you to be extraordinary.