A Woman’s Liberation

Judges 4:21

While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.

Beware women warriors when they have had enough! Somewhere between “Come in, my lord,” and “While he was sleeping…”  Jael recognized Sisera for who he truly was – her enemy!  Perhaps, it was his bossing her around that did it. Personally, that doesn’t work well with me, either! Maybe it was his ordering her to lie about his existence in her tent. If she were an honest woman, this would have bothered her. Her own allegiance to Israel and seeing Sisera in desperation could have given her hope. Regardless of what it was that finally revealed the truth to her, she took an attitude against the devil and won! We must all come to the point where we hate him enough to be violent with him to destroy his influence in our lives! Compromise is costly!

Don’t minimize the risk that Jael took. As Heber’s wife, her entire existence was dependent upon her husband, who had made an allegiance with the evil ruler. Jael risked everything she knew of security in order to destroy the enemy in her life. Would Heber be angry? What would he do to her? How would her decision affect her marriage and her well-being? Jael hated her enemy more than she valued her own security. When we get to that point, we will no longer be ruled by threats of insecurity and dare to live in freedom. That, dear friend, is true women’s liberation!

This story is about more than just women in leadership. It is about overcoming insecurity in our lives, which is why I believe God used women as the heroes. While everyone deals with some type of insecurity, it seems women are plagued with it more. God, however, does not intend for us to live in insecurity and be dominated by it! His will is for us to live victorious lives in Christ. The key is to recognize our true enemy and to be violent with him. We cannot allow him to manipulate, intimidate, and dominate us. We are to fear God and not the devil.  If God is for us, who can stand against us? Once we get that revelation in our minds and in our hearts, we become forces with which to be reckoned, and the devil knows it. How long will we continue to listen to him and submit to his lies and his demands? When one mere tent-wife dared to face her own insecurity and fight against her real enemy, it freed an entire nation! Just think what could happen in your own life if you stopped listening to the devil and believing his lies and truly believed that God loves you and has good things planned for you! 

If you have invited the devil into your tent and are tired of his lies and his demands, look around your house for some tent pegs. Begin by opening God’s word and read what He has to say about you. Listen to Christian music, and meditate on Scripture throughout the day.  Connect with fellow believers who are strong in God’s word and uplift you. Determine to overcome those insecure thoughts that drain your hope and your dreams. Reject any thought that makes you feel unworthy, undeserving, or less-than in any way. Dare to believe in God’s goodness and refuse to give up until you see it! Your liberation is at hand!

Have a blessed day!