Deborah is a fascinating woman in the Bible. She is a prophetess, a judge of Israel, and a singer. However, one of the lesser discussed characteristics that Deborah possesses is that she was an encourager. She wasn’t prideful, haughty or conceited; instead, she wanted the people of God to succeed, even if that took away from her glory.

We read about a lot of people, especially in the Old Testament, who did not want to share praise. Think about King Saul (1 Samuel 18). As soon as the song about David slaying tens of thousands versus Saul’s mere thousands starts being sung, Saul gets insanely jealous and starts trying to kill David. He did not want people giving David more credit than he got – even though David was working for Saul. Or think about Haman (Esther 3). He needed so much praise and admiration that he nearly took out an entire race of people because his pride had been injured. Yikes!

But then there’s Deborah.

First, she intends for Barak to accomplish the Lord’s will, but he won’t do it without her (Judges 4:6-8). So she goes, but it is another woman who will receive the glory for the slaying of the enemy (v.21). Still, Deborah is not put out by this. She isn’t upset that God’s plan didn’t include her receiving all of the praise! No, she’s just thankful to be involved in God’s plan, and so she is the one doing the praising.

“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord!
But let those who love Him be like the sun
When it comes out in full strength.”

May we, as God’s people, all be like Deborah. May we pray that our brothers and sisters who are doing good works will be the brightest lights in this dark world that they can be! May we never feel the need to compete, or get upset when our works don’t get quite as much acknowledgment. May we always see the big picture: that God reigns and we are all working together toward the same goal – heaven! And may all of the works done in Jesus’ name be as bright as the sun when it comes out in its full strength.