Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in
Israel. –Judges 5:7
The
summer I turned 40, I once again served as a counselor at a week of Bible
Camp. It was difficult. Experiencing the realities of getting older,
I was having trouble sleeping at night.
I didn’t have the energy that I once had to keep up with the kids. I saw myself as neither fun nor cool. As I lay in my bunk, feeling discouraged, I
asked the Lord, “Why am I here? Do you
have a purpose for me or is it time for me to move on and let a younger person take
over this job?” Later that night there
was a knock on my cabin door. A little
girl in the cabin next to mine was homesick and could not stop crying. The young counselor had run out of ideas and
asked me if I could help. So I sat with
the little girl on a bench outside the cabin.
I talked with her, prayed with her, dried her tears, and tucked her back
in bed. The next day another younger
counselor approached me. “There’s a
situation in my cabin and I just don’t know what to do. I know that I need the Lord’s wisdom and I’ve
prayed with some of the other counselors.
But I’m overwhelmed and I feel so inadequate. I just need a mom to talk to.” I put my arm around her and we talked and
prayed together about the situation. And
it was then that the Lord answered the question that I had put to Him the night
before. “You are here to be a
mother.”
Today’s
culture idolizes youth. It is very
difficult for women in our society to grow older. Deborah gives Christian women the perspective
that the Lord wants us to have as we mature in years. Deborah was not a woman who was pushing her
way up the corporate or political ladder as some have characterized her. Judges 5:7 tells us how she saw herself- as
“a mother in Israel.” The Church needs
older women today who are willing to take on the role of spiritual
mothers.
Deborah’s
story can be found in the book of Judges, chapters 4 and 5. The first thing we learn about Deborah is
that she was a prophetess. She was a
woman who knew God and knew His Word.
The children of Israel came to her for judgment. God could trust her to faithfully share His
words with His people.
Are
you a woman who knows God intimately?
God wants you to know Him, not just know about Him. And so He has given us His Word. Do you know
and love the Word of God? The Bible is
not a book containing lists of “dos” and don’ts”; it reveals to us who God is.
When you enter into this Book, you are entering into the heart of God
Himself. Are you faithful to share God’s
Word with others? People should receive
more than just your opinion when they come to you with a problem. In order to give true spiritual help, you
will need to direct others to the Lord and to His Word.
Deborah was available and
approachable. Ideally, that’s the kind
of relationship we should have with our natural mother. It is also what the Lord wants of us as
spiritual mothers. A mother is someone
who knows you, yet loves you unconditionally.
Someone who wants what is best for you.
Someone who is always there to listen and who can be counted on to give
you wise counsel. This kind of
relationship takes time to build. Are
you investing in the young people around you?
Do you know what’s going on in their lives? Do you pray for them? Encourage them? Love them instead of being critical of
them? The fact that love is the key was
brought home to me one evening at our children’s Bible Club. I overheard one of the “outreach” girls
speaking about the club leaders to a friend that she had invited. “See, I told you that they love you
here.” It wasn’t the fun and games that
had impressed this girl. She kept coming
because she was loved.
As a mother in Israel, Deborah was an
encourager. She understood the plan that
God had for Barak and charged him to follow the Lord God fully in it. She knew what a blessing one man’s obedience
could be to the nation. She understood
his fear, and instead of despising him for it, agreed to go with him into the
battle. And yet she was also faithful to
exhort Barak, telling him what would happen since he had failed to trust God
wholly.
As we work with young people, their
strengths and weaknesses will soon become evident. Though they would like to come across as
having everything together, they tend to be very insecure. They need lots of encouragement. If they know the Lord Jesus as their personal
Saviour, they have received spiritual gifts from Him. These gifts need to be developed. As
spiritual mothers, we can come alongside and point out opportunities for them
to use their gifts in ways that will glorify the Lord and build up His
Body.
One of a mother’s goals is to help her
children move toward independence. As
spiritual mothers, we want the young people we work with to know that we will
always be there for them but that they must learn to rely, not on us, but on
the Lord Himself. Still, wherever they
go, we can assure them that our prayers will go with them.
Just like a natural mother, spiritual
mothers need to be faithful to rebuke and correct when necessary. We need to love our young friends enough to
warn them if we see them starting to wander down the wrong path- a path that if
followed, will lead to great heartache and sorrow. Their spiritual well-being must be more
important to us than maintaining a comfortable, pleasant relationship with
them. For indeed, it may be that the
Lord has given us that relationship “for such a time as this.” I’ve had to come alongside girls who say they
belong to the Saviour, hopefully in a gracious and loving manner, and take them
to the Word of God to show them the consequences of pursuing a relationship
with a young man which would place them in an unequal yoke. It’s not an easy thing to do. But love will do the hard thing if it is the
right thing to do and the best thing for those we love.
When the dust cloud of battle had
settled, the Lord was shown to have given Israel the victory over their
enemies, just as He had promised.
Deborah and Barak together sang a song of praise to their God. When our young people experience a victory in
the spiritual battle, we need to rejoice with them, being careful to direct
their praise to the One who truly deserves the glory.
The world places very little value on
motherhood and often looks down on women who choose to give their lives to that
work. But God regards it as a great and
noble undertaking. A spiritual mother is
not looking for recognition or applause.
She is content to remain in the background, quietly laboring on. Her joy comes from seeing those “children” that
God has given her going on well for Him.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
