Expect God's Word to Change You
August 8th, 2022 • by Laura Booz
Do you ever wonder if God’s Word is making a difference in you? Maybe you read, memorize, and study it, but you’re not sure it’s doing much good. Take heart! Even when you don’t feel it, God is continually using his Word to transform you from the inside-out.
Consider Deborah, who saved God’s people from oppression in the time of the judges. In an era when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes,” Deborah did what was right in God’s eyes (Judg. 21:25). One thing set Deborah apart from everyone else: she lived according to God’s Word, and it changed everything. God’s Word determined her identity, directed her work, shaped her relationships, and informed her worship. Let’s look closely at Deborah’s story (found in Judges 4-5) and ask God to give us hope that his Word is indeed at work in our lives.
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
Expect God’s Word To Determine Your Identity
Deborah was a wife, prophetess, and judge (Judg. 4:4). As a wife, she was called by God to become one flesh with her husband, and God’s Word must have helped her to honor and love her husband even in difficulty. As a prophetess, Deborah was called by God to speak God’s words. She beckoned God’s people back to obedience and pure worship (Deut. 18:18). As a judge, Deborah was called to oversee the application of God’s law and to save the Israelites from twenty years of cruel oppression (Judg. 2:18).
This woman was full of God’s Word, and it equipped her to fulfill her God-given roles. Deborah wasn’t immersed in culture; she was immersed in the Torah. She wasn’t defined by her nation’s victim status; she was defined by the creation story. She wasn’t swept up in rebellion; she was swept up in God’s promises. She was guided by God’s law, strengthened by his spirit, and steadied by his character.
The Bible defines our identity and roles, too. For example, when we put our faith in Christ, God’s Word says we are, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). Furthermore, God has given us spiritual gifts and good works to build up his Church (Eph. 4:12). Let’s keep studying our Bibles and ask God for the grace to live according to what he has called us to.
“God is continually using his Word to transform you from the inside-out. ”
Expect God’s Word To Determine Your Life’s Work
God’s Word shaped Deborah’s work. She sat under a tree and people came to her for wise judgment about their daily lives, especially pertaining to their worship of God, obedience to Him, and relationships with one another.
What’s more, Deborah showed up regularly enough for the palm tree to be named after her—"the palm of Deborah” (Judg. 4:5). That’s regular. That’s faithful. That’s reliable. It’s easy to get on a ministry kick for a week or two, but it takes true commitment to follow through day after day until people name a tree after you. What kept her coming back to that tree day after day? God’s Word. Deborah was convinced of this: when God speaks, he means it. She knew people needed his Word in every generation, in all circumstances.
Our work is shaped by God’s Word, too. As we read our Bibles and take note of God’s promises and character, we discover reasons to work wholeheartedly. God equips us to show up faithfully no matter what he asks us to do—whether glorious or mundane.
What’s more, God calls us to the tree of Calvary, where Jesus died for our sin. He invites us to delight in his Word there, to do our work there, to care for people there, to fight our battles there, and to rest in his completed work there. May you and I be known as women who are rooted in the tree of Calvary and of God’s Word.
Expect God’s Word To Help You Care About People
God’s people mattered to Deborah. She believed they could—and should—listen to him, obey him, and offer themselves to him willingly. She believed God would save them, just as he had in the past. And she believed in the possibility of repentance and reconciliation, of justice and mercy, of miracles and undeserved rest. That’s why—even after twenty years of cruel oppression and patterns of dispute, disobedience, and idolatry—Deborah still cared about God’s people. She must have longed for God to intercede on their behalf! But she did not take matters into her own hands. Instead, strengthened by stories of God’s faithfulness in the past, Deborah trusted God’s plan for deliverance in the future.
When she summoned Barak, the commander of God’s army, Deborah displayed her conviction that God was at work in other people, too. She expected God to be merciful (he gave Barak another chance at obedience) and just (he did not give Barak the glory for the military victory). She was honest with Barak. And helpful. She arose and went with Barak to the battle. In the darkest hour, when the enemy was strong and numerous, Deborah encouraged Barak to trust and obey the Lord, saying “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand? Does not the Lord go out before you?” (Judg. 4:14).
A hesitant miliary leader did not frustrate Deborah. The enemy’s 900 iron chariots and troops did not intimidate Deborah. Twenty years of cruel oppression did not discourage Deborah. When her entire nation was off the rails, Deborah did not back down (God’s Word made her strong!). Instead of backing off, Deborah engaged in everyday life, served people where they were, and expected the Lord to deliver his people just as he had in the past and just as he promised to do in the future.
“God equips us to show up faithfully no matter what he asks us to do—whether glorious or mundane. ”
Expect God’s Word To Overflow As Worship
Deborah’s commitment to God’s Word led to the nation’s repentance: 10,000 Israelite foot-soldiers turned from years of disobedience and lifted their eyes to the Lord. With all their might, they charged into battle, risking their lives to the death.
Moreover, Deborah made a way for Jael—who was married to an ally of King Jabin—to defeat Sisera and receive the glory for the battle. Deborah wasn’t jealous. She didn’t see herself in competition with Jael. Instead, she praised Jael for her courage, “Most blessed of women be Jael” (Judg. 5:24).
Very likely, Deborah’s love for God’s Word opened her eyes to see him work through human obedience and divine intervention. After the battle, Deborah and Barak recounted the story in a worship song. They praised God for the people who “offered themselves willingly among the people” and they sang, “Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water” (Judg. 5:9, 5:4). Instead of worshiping the military heroes or boasting about her own bravery, Deborah gave glory to God.
Bless The Lord
Deborah’s knowledge of the Holy One of Israel proved true: while he was sweeping over their cruel oppressor with a torrent, he was also sweeping over his own people with revival, resulting in forty years of rest. God’s action led Deborah to sing, “Bless the Lord!” (Judg. 5:2).
Let’s worship Deborah’s God together. Let’s study and cling to his holy Word, knowing it is indeed working in us. Let’s trust God’s Word regarding our identity and expect it to impact our work and relationships. Let’s consider God’s mighty acts and burst into songs of praise. Just think, what might one woman witness as she sits at her tree and believes God’s Word?
Laura Booz is the author of Expect Something Beautiful: Finding God's Good Gifts in Motherhood and the host of the Expect Something Beautiful podcast with Revive Our Hearts. She'll cheer you on, share practical ideas, and point out the beautiful ways God is working in your life. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan, and their six children. Meet her at LauraBooz.com.
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