Tagged: loved ones

July 31, 2015

HELLO DEBORAH of Genesis

Last week in Genesis 34 Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, had a traumatic experience that changed the course of her family’s life. This week in Genesis 35 we meet Deborah.

Deborah is mentioned in one verse and then nothing else is said of her. Even though we know very little of Deborah this one verse speaks volumes of her character. First of all it says that she was Rebekah’s nurse. Remember Rebekah? Jacob’s mom. By now in Genesis 35 Rebekah has passed away but her nurse was still alive. From this one verse it is unclear how Deborah came to be with Jacob and his family. All we know is that he was on his way back to his father’s home and on one of the stops, Deborah the nurse passes away. Verse 8 says “Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).” I want to zoom in on what the location of Deborah’s grave is dubbed, Allon-bacuth or Oak of Weeping! Deborah must have been greatly loved by this family to be so remembered. The fact that her grave sight was a place of weeping tells me that she was a woman worth mourning. She must have led a remarkable life. Which draws the question…
Am I leading a remarkable life? To answer that I guess first I would need to define what I believe a remarkable life would look like.

Remarkable Life:
Kind
Caring
Generous
Humble
Grateful
Patient
Honest
Selfless
The list can go own…

If I am completely honest with myself and you, I’d have to say that I have a long way to go. The last couple of weeks I’ve been working on memorizing the book of James for United Camp 2015 (subscribe to the newsletter to get more on camp). I got up to chapter 3 but in chapter 2 I came across a verse that has been pressing on my heart like crazy. Jame 2:13 Kind mercy wins over harsh judgement every time. (MSG) It’s as if God were literally writing this verse on my heart. Revealing to me the immense need for kindness in the world around me. I think maybe this verse has been on repeat because Jesus is doing a work in me. Have you ever noticed how much it hurts when God grabs the hedge cutters and starts pruning you? Well, in order to live a remarkable life, one that is remembered decades and centuries after you are gone, one that leaves a mark and creates a legacy; we must be pruned. Oh my sweet friends, let’s allow God to do a great work in us that like Deborah we made live lives worth mourning.

I’m grateful for verse 8 in which we get to meet Deborah if only for 3 sentences. She reminds me that it’s possible to become the best version of me. She reminds me that I CAN impact the world around me. She reminds me that I can break the generational curses in my family and boldly say, “IT ENDS WITH ME.” Whatever that IT may be. Deborah also reminds me that it’s up to me. How I am remembered and mourned is up to me.

My Prayer For You:
Dear Jesus, I pray for every reader who happened upon this post. I pray for every faithful reader who visits this blog weekly. I ask you to please open their eyes to your work in their lives. I pray that they may pray bold prayers. I ask you to give them courage in their prayers. I pray that you may give them strength and assurance as you move in and through them. Please continue working in them that they may continue to grow and become better versions of themselves. Please give us all spirits of kindness. Help us exercise kindness in our daily lives with loved ones and strangers. I ask you that as we live out your kindness you may reveal yourself to the world around us and increase your kingdom. Thank you for the kindness and mercy that you so graciously bestow upon us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Memory Verse: James 2:12-13 MSG
James 2:12-13 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.

I am sure your definition may be different from mine. I would love to know your characteristics for a remarkable life… please leave them in the comments below. Also remember to subscribe to the newsletter, it’s emailed every 1st and 15th of the month!