Read

Judges 3:31-6:40

Think

Judges 4:18,20-21, "Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid.' So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. ... He told her. ‘If someone comes by and asks you, "Is anyone in there?" say, "No."' But Jael ... picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died."

The Israelites, God's people, were fighting against their enemies, the Canaanites. Sisera, the Canaanite army commander, was fleeing from the Israelite troops when he came across a woman named Jael. She welcomed him into her tent, but when he fell asleep, she took the only weapon-like instruments she had - a tent stake and a hammer - and killed him. With this one action, she became a military hero - and she carried out God's plan.

Jael deserves an A+ for her expediency to act. When the time came, she didn't worry about not having a sword or other weapon, nor did she give in to fear or get caught up in "what ifs." She obeyed God and brought glory to His name.

Jael's story is a metaphor for how we should fight our spiritual battles. When the Holy Spirit prompts us, we usually don't have much time to think because opportunities to act for God's glory pass quickly. So, in those moments, we must move expediently and trust that God never leaves us unprepared, no matter how ill-equipped we feel!

How different would our world be today if we promptly seized every Spirit-driven opportunity, using the tools at hand? If we fight every battle with faith and action, we can be confident that we will win in the end because ultimate victory is already ours through Christ!

Pray

Dear Lord, Thank You for securing the ultimate victory on the cross for my sins. Help me to respond quickly to Your promptings, that I may bring glory to Your name. Amen.