The Center of Attention

The Center of Attention

Scripture:
Judges 4:9 — She said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Observation:
Throughout scripture, God continually uses men and women to accomplish great tasks and amazing miracles. But never does he allow anyone other than Himself to be the center of attention. He always accomplishes His will in such a way that we know it was His power. David used a sling shot to kill a giant. Moses used a stick to part the Red Sea and provide water from a rock. Gideon only had 300 men, Joshua used instruments, and Samson used a jawbone. In all these cases it was not the person’s strength, wisdom, or knowledge that allowed he/she to accomplish such great things. The same is taking place here with Barak. Deborah, a well respected and trusted judge tells Barak that he is about to kill Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army. I am sure that Barak began to ask himself- Do I have enough men? Am I prepared for this? How will I do this? His fear lead him to experience a weakness of faith. Deborah assures him he will be okay but then the real twist comes. She tells him a woman will be the one to kill Sisera, not Barak or his men. Barak probably does not seem surprised. He probably assumes that the woman is to be Deborah. Prophets were known for having direct communication from God. Deborah was a prophetess therefore they felt her presence brought divine knowledge and power. But as the story continues, Deborah was not the woman God used to kill Sisera. Instead He uses a woman by the name of Jael who was just hanging out in her tent.  Once again God uses His power through an unexpected person to accomplish His purpose.
 
Application:
I am youngest in my family with a brother who is six years older than me. So you can imagine the attention I received growing up. Still to this day my brother reminds my parents how great life was for him UNTIL I came along. I was very shy and quiet, and unlike some kids, I did not act out or be loud to get attention, it just came naturally. I was the only girl, the baby of the family, and I learned from my brothers mistakes. So all these equaled attention, and I enjoyed it, who wouldn’t? Everyone loves to get attention or recognition. It is a part of our human nature. We all love the feeling of acceptance and approval. It is one of our core needs as a human. But there are times when it is easy to get caught up in being the center of attention and begin to forget that it is God who is allowing us to do great things. Then there are times when God chooses to allow someone else to be the “center of attention.” When this occurs, one may be forced to take the back seat in order to allow God’s will to be accomplished. This is what I thought of when I read Judges 4:9. Barak was told that he was going to be a part of a great victory but was not going to get the credit. But to make it even worse, he was told a woman was going to get the credit. Now I understand how fragile the male ego can be when it comes to competition and recognition. I grew up with a very competitive and athletic brother, and have been married to a husband who in 10 years has never let me win a game of monopoly. I was reminded of such an incident a few weeks ago when we were bowling with our small group. I am not great at bowling, just lucky. I had one of those lucky games and beat my husband (who is a pretty skilled bowler I might add). Not that it was bad enough that I beat him, but I did it in front of our small group. When the game finished, the first words out of his mouth were, “I will never hear the end of this”. So I can only imagine what a warrior like Barak thought when he was told a woman was going to get the credit for killing the captain of the army he was going to war against. But what I admire about Barak is that he does not become envious or jealous, instead he was humble and supportive.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the reminder today of how you can use anyone and anything to accomplish your plan in our lives. Help me to be as humble as Barak and as courageous as Jael. Never let me get so focused on being the center of attention that I take away from you being the center of my life. Continue to teach me your truths as I study your word and the examples you have laid out in scripture.

— Emily Suggs, children’s ministry, Madison/Ridgeland campus