Yes, women are called by God to be leaders and warriors. In the Book of Judges, Deborah is the only female Judge helping to govern the Jewish people. She is also a prophet, counselor, wife, and a warrior who leads a successful counter-attack against the Canaanite King.
God offers you a peaceful warrior's heart. Will you accept this heart; will you "put on" the heart of the Peaceful Warrior Christ?
Will you wage today's spiritual battles, be an advocate for others, speak out and stand up for what you believe? Even if your peers don't understand why you care, why you commit to justice?
It hurts to be different, to care when no one else does, to see that something is wrong when everyone else seems blind.
That's why you need to pray. Constantly. To ask God to give you unshakable confidence in your ability to be a warrior - a confidence born of complete reliance on God. Complete trust that it's God Who gives you a unique call, vision, mission, sometimes the gift to unite others and lead. Your own unique spiritual battlefield. And God promises to be your Strength and Shield.
Often, we're not ready for the mission! Often we don't feel we can survive the heavy load that unexpectedly falls to us. We can't - unless we pray.
Many become warriors when...
- they lose a spouse through death or divorce and their young children depend on them.
-they have to work day and night to build up a struggling business for the workers who depend on them. Or they work more than one job to pay the family bills.
-they have to fight "the system" to advocate for their relative with autism, developmental disabilities, mental illness. To advocate for their relative in a hospital, a prison, a nursing home.
-their righteous anger and concern drives them to peacefully organize, resist, write, and speak out for environmental protections, safety issues, political reform, against all forms of prejudice and oppression and dehumanization.
Some spiritual warriors today do indeed shed their blood on their battlefields.
Many others fight quiet, lonely battles against depression, or addiction.
Personal tragedies or sufferings often wake us up to causes we know we have to fight for. It's one way that God brings good out of apparent evil.
God calls you, offers you the heart of a warrior. The real tragedy is if you refuse to listen. No one else will receive your unique call. No one else will stride out onto your personal battlefield. God's Kingdom depends on your courage to say "yes."
"He will deliver my soul in peace in the attack against me; for those who fight me are many, but He hears my voice. ....O Lord, I will trust in You." (Psalm 55)