Pioneer Protector
God goes before you, prepares a way for you, watches over you, provides for you, and will empower you every step of the way to do what He has called you to do.
“Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’ ” Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots"
Judges 4:4-9, 14-15, 23-24
Deborah was the original pioneer woman. Women did not hold positions of judge, military leader, and national leader like she did. It was unheard of at that time, but spoke volumes about her faith in God. What do we know of her? She must have been good at listening to God if she was known as a prophet. She must have sought wisdom if she was a just judge, and she must have had faith to believe that they would win the battle against larger armies.
Deborah was a trailblazer and her courage reflects a heart on fire for the Lord. As a pioneer she went where others had not gone and did what others had not done. As a perfecter, she sought the battle to the finish and spurred on others to expect great things from God. At a time where others were afraid, her courage and commitment stand above the rest. We know nothing of her size or physical traits, but we can learn everything from her devoted heart. What could God do in and through you if you were to live with the boldness and belief of Deborah?
“Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. You who answer prayer, to you all people will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.”
Psalms 65:1-8, 11
What keeps us from being brave and bold in our faith? Is it not the experiences of our lives that teach us to avoid pain, the whispers of the enemy saying we are not enough, and the comfort zones that keep us complacent? There are two mindsets that are revealed when we look closer at people like Deborah and David and the people of the world who never step into their God ordained destiny. One mindset focuses on abundance, power, truth, and presence of God. The other scarcity, inadequacy, comparison, and the false.
Look at the way that David praises in this psalm. He says praise awaits you because he is expectant that God will move. He says God is gracious and wants to be close to you. He says God provides abundantly, is powerful and almighty, and worthy of praise. Do you notice what David do? He doesn't worry about whether his problems will be solved and pick up an anxiety that he previously turned over to God. David was a pioneer of praise and perfecter of pursuing intimacy with God.
What's the flip side of David's approach? Is it not constant worry about how things will work out? Is it not complaining about circumstances and what one does not have? God wants to help us move beyond this way of thinking so that we can see that there will never be a day that He does not care for us. How many of us have chosen to start the faith journey only stop believing boldly when things don't go the way we think they should? God wants to perfect our faith. He wants to keep us going deeper and drawing closer to Him.
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing. For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers. Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death. The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless. Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”
Proverbs 11:2, 4, 7, 14, 19-21, 24-25, 27-28, 30
Wisdom does a strange thing. It completely shifts our focus from ourselves to other people and to God. Isn't our natural instinct to think about what we are doing and whether we like the way things are going? How much time in a day do you spending thinking about what is going on in the lives of other people compared to how much time you spend thinking about what you need to do or what you want?
Solomon has said the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is the place where pioneers get the right perspective on life. What happens when we fear the Lord? We see that we are all part of a bigger picture and greater purposes that God is planning. The question shifts from what is happening to me to how can I participate in serving. Every great pioneer began their journey with a vision of where they wanted to go and what they wanted to accomplish even if that meant going to an uncharted territory.
God wants to take us to a new place and help us discover how we can be pioneers of faith by how we serve and give as only we can. Solomon says those who refresh others will be refreshed. He says the righteous feed others and save lives. He does say that you will be refreshed and blessed on the way, but the way to finding meaning in life comes through how we impact the lives of others. This is how our love is made perfect. How will you impact another life today?
“Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it...Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images. Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.”
Micah 1:2-5, 7-9, 16
Why would God want Micah to proclaim the message that God is coming? What would that be intended to do? God wanted to take back the hearts of those who had turned away. He is the one who is the pioneer of our repentance. For most of us we could pinpoint a time when we turned back to God or gave our lives to God. The truth is long before we ever made that turn, Jesus was pursuing us. He is the pioneer of our personal relationship and has been calling each of us by name.
What was the message God had through Micah? Turn back. Come to me. Stop living like the rest of the world lives. Everyone else can worship idols and pretend that everything is okay, but it is not. God is a jealous God and does not accept other altars in our lives. You may not worship other Gods like Hindus or Buddhists do, but that doesn't mean we do not have idols in our lives. God not only initiates relationship, but He sees it through the times where we go astray. Even when we are not faithful, He is faithful. Is there anything in your life that might not be pleasing to Him? Where is He calling you to perfect your devotion?
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:1-3, 5-7, 10-11, 14-15, 28-29
Imagine how personal Paul's advice must have been when he wrote the letters. He says throw off the sin that easily entangles. Imagine how he must have pictured the times where he was self-righteous, prideful, and persecuted the very people who became his friends. Imagine how he must have gotten tired of the endless harassment, the harsh words and harrowing trials that he endured just to share the good news of the gospel. When he says run with perseverance, he is speaking from personal experience knowing how hard the race to perfecting the call to love others truly is. What advice does he give? What does he say helps more than anything else?
He says fix your eyes on Jesus. Don't look at where others are shining or where they are failing. Don't look at the temptations of the world or let life's tough trials turn your attention from the good works God has planned for you. There are plenty of logical reasons why we turn our attention from Jesus, but none of the reasons help satisfy the longing of our soul to be one with Him.
Have you ever tried to stare at something for a long time? How long can you keep your eyes fixed on something? Try it and see if you can grow in your ability to stay fixed on Jesus. Paul reminds us that there was a time before we knew Jesus. When he says Jesus was the pioneer, that implies that we should remember what life was like before we gave our lives to Him. The gratitude that comes from remembering that Jesus called you by name and chose you before you chose Him helps spur us on. Paul says Jesus is the perfecter. Where would you like Jesus help in perfecting your faith?
Thank God that we are not the perfecters. We don't have to have it all together or have be anything more than God made us to be. When you do not feel strong, you can delight that His power is made perfect in your weakness. Jesus does the heavy lift and implores us to find ways to serve others as He is serving us. Just like Solomon said, our attention is meant to turn from ourselves to making every effort to live at peace with others. When you are unsure of what the next right thing to do is in life, stop thinking of yourself and consider who you could help. Jesus wants to take the pressure of our own mindset of performance so that we learn to walk with Him and help be peace makers in a world desperately in need of peace. Ask Jesus to put someone on your heart who you could help then ask Him for the strength to keep your eyes fixed on Him while you wait.