c 2010 deborah kunzie
In my life as a nature photographer an opportunity often arises to share an image as a unique story in comparison to God’s Holy Scripture. Such would be the case in this recent photograph that I took of a group of ibis flying before me. Each of the individual birds had the same chance to move out in front to become the leader of the flock, but as I watched I noticed none did. The same leader remained in position as they flew around the area, while the others followed close behind.
The story about leadership was not revealed to me until after I had returned home. Later that evening while watching the nightly news I became more aware of how depressing things are in these troubled times. Each day seems to grow worse: Two cops were killed in an attempt to arrest a person; a mother killed both her children—her young son in the back of the car as she drove him to soccer practice, and she shot her daughter in the back of the head as the girl sat at her computer doing homework. And, unfortunately, the list continues.
Never have I witnessed so much falling away from God and how desperately we need more real leaders, people who are willing to take a stand and fight for what is good and relevant in life. This thought reminded me of the message in the Bible about a woman named Deborah. Her story is found in the Book of Judges, chapters four and five. She was one of the most talented women of the Bible – a wife, mother, prophetess, judge, poetess, singer, and political leader. Deborah lived in a period of Israel’s history that was tragic. Spirituality was at a low point and corruption griped the nation. Because Canaanite rulers oppressed the people (Judges 4:1-3), anarchy became the standard of behavior.
Deborah was a woman of wisdom. People came to her from distant places to get advice. She was recognized as someone who possessed sound judgment and level thinking. She offered counsel that could guide the declining nation back toward faithful obedience. How did she gain her wisdom? The answer can found in Proverbs 1:7. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Our world needs women like Deborah who will rise and call for people to restore their loyalties to God’s purpose.
Deborah’s story is about success against all odds. Everything about the times and the culture was against her stepping up to serve as a leader of the nation, but she did. The army she led was hugely outnumbered, but they won. She did not allow the circumstances to overwhelm her or interfere with her belief in God’s promises. God raised her up to deliver and rescue the Israelites from oppression. She did not think about the difficulties surrounding her, if she had done so she would have failed.
As I sat listening to the news about the sadness and decay of our nation, the reporters finally offered an inspiring story. Rarely does the news cover someone who is doing good things in the world, but here was a story of a young man who is taking a stand and doing what is right by answering God’s call. His name is Zachary Simmons.