In Honor of International Women’s Day, which is March 8^th, I want to highlight women. I was listening to a message by Lisa Bevere once and she funnily but seriously stated that when she was in her 20s she hated girls- all the jealousy, competitiveness, lack of supporting one another, and gossiping that girls are known for.

I would imagine that if I were in a room full of women and asked every woman to close her eyes, and raise her hand if she disliked girls- that most all the women would raise their hands.

Of course the true meaning behind a woman, in this hypothetical room, raising her hand would mean that she hates the jealousy, competitiveness, lack of supporting one another, and gossiping that women are known for. This negative behavior tends to mature and get better as a girl turns into a woman, but I've seen my fair share of women of all ages gossip and act competitively with other women.

I was once with a group of Christian women and we were discussing the question of why women are so jealous and competitive with each other. One woman gave an interesting answer: She said that men are competitive with things- with jobs, cars, and success. God put in the nature of men to be warriors and providers, so if a man is doing well and other men know about it, those other men will most likely be jealous.

She went on to say about women- if a beautiful woman walks into a room other women in the room will immediately start criticizing her because deep down they are uncomfortable and jealous of her beauty. God put in women to be beauty and the want to be desired. So, when a beautiful woman walks in a room, females- whether young or old- can immediately be jealous without truly knowing her.

As a woman myself, the only way to get over the negative aspects of the female behavior is to make a conscious effort to not fall into it- basically, to die to self and decide to be mature. To ask God to help with any negative aspects of the female behavior, and to give women compliments and mean it.

If one is a REAL Christian, one will be secure in the skills and talents that God has given to each person He has created. And if you believe in the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 then you find rest in the fact that God has individual customized plans for each of His children. There is no need to be jealous or competitive with another person’s success, because what God has for me is different than what He has for you. And, there's no need for women or men to be jealous of another person's looks. We can't do anything about how we look. God didn't give us an option to have any say in the matter, so why stress about it? And if you believe in Psalm 139: 13-18, then you take pride in how you look because God takes pride in how he made you to look.

Once we individually decide to love one another and ourselves then we can start changing the world!

Because March is Women’s History month I will devote the next 3 Fridays to posts about women.

“The Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng.” –Psalm 68:11

As Lisa Bevere likes to say: "Women are not each others problems, but each others solutions!" When we realize we are each other solutions we are capable and able to do all sorts of things for our communities and our world with freedom of mind to not feel competition with our fellow sisters.

The Bible gets a lot of flack for being misogynistic, but oh contraire- God is pro man and pro woman! There are over 300 named women in the Bible, some were good and some bad- some were solutions, and others were dissolutions.

Deborah was a solution- she was a prophetess, a judge, and a military leader in the year 1200 BC, and most likely from the tribe of Ephraim. She judged Israel in a time of turmoil, right after the time of Joshua, when “the Lord rose up judges” to lead His people (Judges 2:16). A commander-in-chief, she led and gave orders.

Why is she a solution? Deborah led a strategic military campaign against the Canaanite’s and their town of Jabin, with her military commander Barak. She instructed Barak to lead 10,000 troops to fight Jabin and to confront their military commander Sisera, who had 900 charioteers.

Many have tried to analyze Barak’s response to Deborah’s order. But he said: "If you will go with me, I will go; if not I will not go" (Judges 4:8). To which Deborah agreed to the former, to go into battle with Barak and the 10,000- but she told him: "However, there will be no glory for you in the course you are taking, for then the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman" (Judges 4:9).

The Israelites won against Sisera and he fled to the tent of Jael, the wife of a Kenite. Because of his running, Sisera was thirsty and asked for water, but Jael gave him milk (most likely with curds which was heavy in its texture) and it caused him to fall asleep. Jael then drove a tent peg through Sisera’s temple. The Lord honored Jael with fame because of her heroic act, just as Deborah predicted.

God used a man, two women, and 10,000 warrior men to bring victory for His people to defeat Jabin. But see, He used two women, one to fight in combat as well as deliver a prophecy that a second woman would actually defeat the enemy military commander, Sisera. Deborah didn’t complain, gossip, or act in a competitive way towards Jael, when she received news that another woman would defeat the enemy commander. She supported God’s plan and was also blessed to lead Israel for 40 years thereafter. It was 40 years of peace with no fighting.

Women don’t always truly support one another and it’s sad. Imagine how much we’d get done if we saw each other as solutions and not problems. As women, let us resolve to put away the childish immature nature of our negative female selves, and truly strive to help one another and be like the “Mother of Israel”- Deborah!