Seven Days of Being a Woman Up LeaderSample

DAY 7: Inspire Greatness 

I think the greatest part of the story of Deborah isn’t really about Deborah at all. Deborah does everything that God commanded her to do, and she tells Barak that the glory of winning this battle would be given to a woman. That doesn’t matter to Barak, as she obviously made him feel secure and safe in the leader that God had called him to be. However, Deborah would not be the woman who finished off the battle. The death blow would be dealt by a little-known woman named Jael. 

Jael had a gift of setting up tents. It wasn’t necessarily her passion, but it was a job that women had to do in her nomadic culture. I wonder how many times Jael felt unseen by God, stuck in her circumstances and unable to make a difference. 

I imagine Jael doing what she had always done day after day, when she hears that Deborah, a woman judge, had risen up to lead Israel’s army with Barak. Something inside of her comes alive, as she realizes that she too could be a part of God’s plan to see Sisera defeated. 

So, Jael, not one to miss her moment, not one to be empty-handed, took out a tool she had used over and over, and nailed Sisera through the temple to his death. The Canaanites leading warrior who had a wake of destruction behind him, this evil military leader, was taken out by an everyday woman, wielding a tent peg.

Deborah inspired greatness in Jael. Because Deborah said yes, Jael was able to say yes, and the victory came through the hands of a woman. 

Every day that you choose to lead, you inspire greatness. 

Every day that you choose to not live in fear, you inspire greatness. 

Every day that you choose to be obedient to God’s voice, you inspire greatness. 

Don’t underestimate the power of being an anti-gravity leader. You just might inspire greatness in someone else.