Psalm 68:11
The Lord gives the command; the women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host

In this Psalm, David is actually pulling words from Deborah and Barak’s victory over the Canaanite King and his army.




Before looking at the story of Deborah in the book of Judges, I want to look at the Hebrew meanings of a couple of words in this verse. In the verse we see the Lord giving a directive and the women responding to it.

To proclaim the good tidings means to be fresh, full, cheerful and rosy! It is a verb meaning to bring good news.

Wow! I have felt this joy after hearing God’s heart beat for the nations and knowing He wanted me to go. I have been full with the pregnancy of vision for a people group. I believe I have glowed with the Holy Spirit and expectancy of greatness coming forth!

A great host speaks of a mass of persons organized for war. Can we just for a moment think about all the mighty women of God we know standing shoulder to shoulder ready for battle? We have heard our Commander-in-Chief’s directive and we say, YES! Lead us into battle, lead us on to victory! I know through intercession God has re-routed spiritual powers of darkness. I also know through praise and worship God has set ambushes against our enemies. As we raise our cries up to the Most High, He moves on our behalf!

Looking at the story of Deborah in the book of Judges begins with God’s judgment against Israel. Israel had once again done evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan. Sisera was the commander of his army. So, after twenty years of being oppressed severely by the Canaanites, God heard their cry and spoke to Deborah a prophetess who was judging Israel at that time. Deborah sent for Barak and told him God’s plan for delivering Israel from this Canaanite King. She had very clear instructions from the Lord as to how they were to defeat Sisera and the Canaanite army. He clearly told Deborah, “I will give them into your hands.” Barak did not receive this word with great joy or faith. He said, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

When you have been in the presence of the Lord you are filled with faith for the battle. Deborah knew who her Commander-in-Chief was. She knew the Lord would be true to his word to her. She was pregnant with the message, full of faith, and I believe it showed on her face. She was confident in the authority God had given her. Barak on the other hand wasn’t fresh, full, cheerful or rosy!

Deborah answered Barak by saying, I will 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. This is interesting to me, as Barak did trust Deborah and was obedient to the word she received from the Lord, even though he was not brave enough to go on his own.

God led them beautifully and defeated Sisera and the Canaanite army just as He told Deborah He would. It says the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera took off on foot. All the Canaanite army fell by the sword, not one was left! Sisera’s outcome was a little grisly, but is worth mentioning because of who killed him.

Sisera ran to the tent of a friend. The friend’s wife Jael told him to come inside and basically she would hide him from the Israelite army. He was exhausted and asked her for a drink of water. She gave him milk to drink and he lay down to sleep. Jael covered him with a blanket. When Sisera fell asleep, Jael took a tent peg and hammered it into Sisera’s temple. She sent the peg through his temple into the ground and killed him. The Israelites pressed on and destroyed Jabin the King of Canaan. God did what He told Deborah he would do!

God is looking for women and men who will take time to listen to his thoughts; He desires for nations and people to know him intimately. God desires for the oppressed to finally find freedom in Christ. God wants to partner with you in faith and intercession for many things. He will re-route armies because of your prayers.

Most of the Bible is written by men about men who have done crazy exploits for God. Today in my quiet time, He focused on two women Deborah and Jael who did his bidding. In the song of Deborah and Barak in chapter 5 of Judges, they sing, most blessed of women is Jael. King David also speaks of Jael in verse 12 of Psalm 68. Kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home will divide the spoil.

Jael was not just a mere woman. She was obedient to God and helped defeat the Canaanite army. Deborah a judge for the Israelites had wisdom and above all believed what God told her and was obedient!

I want to complete this Cassia offering with a word from the Lord to the mighty women of God.

I have a mighty company of women who want to do my bidding. They are courageous and persistent in their love for me and my Kingdom. They sit at my feet to receive their marching orders to go here and there. They receive grace and strength from me for the task. My heart is full of pride and love for each one of you. You are like Deborah and Jael, strong, full of purpose, knowing your Commander. I am able to accomplish great exploits through each of you!

I am excited to be writing again. It has been a few months since I last posted in Cassia Offerings. I love being transparent in my writings, it is really who I am and it is dealing with everyday struggles trying to follow the Lord in obedience. This road has taken us to The Netherlands and to the industrious Dutch people.

This actually began as an email to a dear friend. I read through it and realized it was my heart being laid bare, but also the Lord laying His cover over it. I believe you may be able to relate to my struggles and garner something from it. My prayer went something like this on that day sitting by the North Sea, looking out at the dark water, the buoys, and the grey skies.

Holy Spirit as I sit here, I pray for a word. What is your word to me? Your word is a lamp to my feet, directing and guiding us as that buoy does for the ships and tug boats. Let your praise be lifted high! I delight to do your will more than I desire the comfort of home. I love you Jesus. Thank you for establishing us, settling us.

Grace my daughter as you enter this stage of your life. More grace to learn new things, as you try to adapt to the Dutch way of living. You delight my heart as you are so far out of your comfort zone. My mercies are new to you everyday. There are boundaries set up for your protection. They keep you from the rocky edges and the shallow water. Go deep Jan, Launch out into the deep of Holland. You will find an amazing catch. You will bear much fruit in this season of your life. Trust Me, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

I delight to do His will more than I desire the comforts of the familiar. Yet, I need Him desperately every day, several times daily. I have been dealing with some negative self talk, or perhaps the enemy talking in my ear. I take these negative statements captive because I know what the truth is, but at times the negative statements make sense to me. It is crazy what Nate and I are thinking of doing here. We are not young, we do not know the language, we fumble in the Dutch culture, are we relevant for this generation?

God affirms daily that we are where He wants us to be. That He will make us relevant to those twenty and thirty years younger than ourselves, and He will give grace to learn the language and the Dutch culture.

So, I continue on, trusting that God himself will do what he is speaking to us. “I will establish you in The Netherlands.”

Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age I shall be the same and even to your graying years I shall bear you. I have done it, and I shall carry you; And I shall bear you, and I shall deliver you.

Isaiah 46:9-11
Remember the former things long past. For I am God, and there is no one like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from the ancient times things which have not been done, Saying my purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure; Calling a bird of prey from the east. The man of my purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.

These are two scriptures that I received in my quiet time today. They are encouraging and applicable. He is faithful to speak and each time He does He covers me.

In the above passage, it says; God has spoken, He will bring what He says to pass, He has planned it, surely He will do it! I would say this takes the pressure off of the one being spoken to. Yes? It is God’s plan from the beginning; I pressed in and overheard His heart. At this point I had a choice to be obedient or to talk my way out of it. I believe that God is so gracious that He could have continued to use us in Albuquerque, or in Tyler, Texas. He asked would we consider serving in The Netherlands. To which we responded, Yes Lord. Just because we responded yes to The Netherlands does not change things. It is still God’s plan and He will establish it!

The first few weeks of being in The Netherlands were ones of striving. I knew to not try and make things happen, but it kept rising up in me. You know that feeling of ….I need to do something; I need to set up appointments to meet people, praying Holy Spirit open the door for ministry, asking close friends to pray for open doors. I felt in my gut the anxiety of it all. It was ridiculous! If you know me, you know I rest in the Lord. I pray and I trust Him to do things. I have taught on resting in the Lord and how we should not strive to make things happen. I was sharing this with Martijn and he told me that this is an issue with the Dutch people. They are constantly striving to make the most of every single minute. They have difficulty resting. We call these folks industrious, hard working. This is good in the work place, but in life, in the kingdom of God we must learn to enter the rest of God. Complete trust that He will bring things in our lives and ministry to fruition. We include Him always in our decisions and He directs our paths. He will do it!

It is always interesting to me how God uses our natural surroundings to teach us more about Himself. So, we are resting in Him, and believe He will continue to illuminate our paths. He has the plan for The Netherlands and He is showing us a little bit more of it. I wish it was a clear outline, but then that would not take faith or dependence on Him daily. So, I fall on Him often. I run into Him and I feel safe. I am vulnerable, clumsy and naked, but He covers me with His robe. Trust Him with your lives and in the process of it becoming clearer to you, He is there to encourage and cover you.

Philippians 2:13
For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.