I was having difficulty with this topic because of recent setbacks in my life. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that setbacks are God’s opportunity for setups! Amen! Circumstances do not stop what God has for His children: that’s you and me.
This morning, I want to speak on the topic “Courageous Women Under Fire.” What do I mean, “Courageous Under Fire”? It’s when you face the unknowns (and sometimes the known) and have no clue as to how the outcome will be. Yet, because of one’s trust and faith in God, the individual steps out in faith and pursue his/her god-given assignment without a defined blueprint in how to carry out the assignment. Let me make it clearer. I believe many sitting under the sound of my voice have faced or are facing obstacles in your life. Obstacles cause stress and discouragement to surface to the point where we find ourselves experiencing stingy thinking by saying “I just can’t keep going on or I just give up.”
But, I got good news for those of you who are facing trials and tribulations. God spoke these words to me, “Courageous Under Fire.” I ponder on that thought, “Courageous Under Fire.” Only to come to the realization that God doesn’t want us to have stingy thinking and quit. Make no mistake about it; this Christian journey is coupled with moments of joy, moments of happiness, challenging moments, and even hard-pressing, neck-turning times. We find periods in our lives where we feel if we have to cross one more hurdle, Lord, I don’t know what I will do. Am I right about it? You don’t have to tell me that I am because I too experience these periods of times. We experience stages in this Christian journey that often presents moments of uneasiness where God’s divine favor is warranted because often it takes the favor of God for us to walk courageously. God wants us to hang in there, don’t quit, trust Him, aim high and shoot our arrows of faith as we pursue our destiny and receive what rightfully belongs to us. I believe that’s what the Daughters of Zelophehad did; they reach for the stars because they believe that God was with them and He would give them what rightfully belongs to them.
Daughters of God, it takes courage to continue on and especially when the pressures of life weigh you down. It takes courage in God to believe that mountains can crumble and nothing can stop you from obtaining what belongs to you. It takes courage to say, “Yes, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
When I think of the word “courage” the cartoon character Mighty Mouse always come to mind. He believed that he could handle any situation, any obstacles he face. I remember how Mighty Mouse wasn’t afraid of anything even though he wasn’t big as anything. Though small in stature, this mouse was large in his outlook on life and how to handle difficult situations. Mighty Mouse didn’t rely on his physical abilities rather he relied on his supernatural abilities. And that’s how God works! God doesn’t want us to rely on our abilities (our strength). What God requires of us is “faith.” It takes faith, supernatural faith to please God (for without faith it is impossible to please faith). We must believe that God is (meaning it takes faith to believe in the existence of God). Without faith, man cannot be saved for the Bible declares, “we are saved by faith and not of our works.”
While Mighty Mouse is fictional character Zelophehad daughters were real, non-fictional who exhibited courage and faith that only can come from God. These 5 daughters didn’t allow the cultural time to impede what was rightfully theirs. They were faithful, courageous women under fire.
Church, scripture should never be taken out of context. So as we look at these women it’s important to understand that during this period of time, women were considered to be property…just like a dog, a house, etc. is property. Women had no voice; they simply obeyed as instructed. So for these women to take a bold step in lieu of the civil and judicial policies was a big step of faith and courage. What about you! Are you willing to take that step of faith and receive what’s rightfully yours? It’s yours because Romans 8:17 states, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”
Daughters of God understand who you are. You are an heir whom God has commissioned them to do greatness in His kingdom. Daughters claim and receive your inheritance. Know that we, the heirs of God and coheirs with Christ have a rich inheritance available to us just as these five (gracious) daughters did. Our inheritance, like these daughters, does not belong to anyone else. It’s ours daughters of God! But we can lose it if we don’t know that it belongs to us.
The bible says that God’s people are destroyed and taken into captivity for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 5:13). When you don’t know about your inheritance, you live in survival mode and often is taken captive by the cares of this world. You only think about “just trying to make it.”
God wants more than that for us than to just make it. We are His heirs and because we are He has greatness in the kingdom for us. God wants us to prosper, not just to continue to exist. Through His son’s death and resurrection, you gained an inheritance and the power to die to your old ways and arise to newness of life!
The story about Zelophehad's five daughters--Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1-11) -- encapsulates the challenges that women faced and what they had to do in order to affirm their rights with dignity. The bravery of these five daughters stood out to me because of their exceptional act of courage; they went before Moses and the other leaders of Israel. They protested the unfairness of a legal requirement that favored sons rather than daughters. They not only protested; they asked for the law to be changed!
Because of their bravery, a new (e- dict) edict was given - when a man had no sons, his daughters now had a right to their father's inheritance. Question: What act of bravery might God call on you and me to do today? What do you do when facing mountains after mountains and the threat of defeat faces you? How do you keep on going when the mountains of defeat are coupled with a overwhelming opposition?
I’m glad you ask. Heirs of God with thanksgiving in your heart speak to God, utter a “Naked Prayer” to Him. Be honest, be real and don’t hold anything back. In reverence to God voice the fatigue, tiredness, discouragement and how you want to throw in the towel and quit. God already knows how we feel; He’s just waiting for us to realize that we NEED HIM! Come on now, let’s be real up in here. Some of us have faced some pretty difficult mountains in your lives. We’ve seen injustice, unfairness amongst certain classes of people because of personal preferences and choices in race relations, religion, sexual relationships, career goals? And please, let’s not even mention the courage needed to simply get along with those who we live with on a daily basis. It takes courage just to live.
These daughters faced the possibility of being ostracized yet they didn’t allow what rightfully belong to them to be disbursed to someone else. Daughters, we can’t allow what rightfully belong to us to stand by the way side. Oh no, we must be courageous and pursue what belongs to us. So what is it that as heirs belongs to us; I’m glad you ask. According to scripture, to name a few:
• Deuteronomy 28:13, “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
• Psalm 37:18, “The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever.”
• Proverbs 1:33, “But all who listen to me will live in peace untroubled by fear of harm.”
• Isaiah 40:29-31, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
