Are you a motivator? Can you get others to do something that possibly they don’t want to do, or have never thought of doing? Would you consider yourself a positive, godly encourager, or a manipulator?

I want to look at some women from Scripture to see just how they got things done-whether it was handled positively or negatively in God’s eyes.

Delilah wanted to know the secret of Samson’s strength. She was being paid 1,100 pieces of silver from the Philistines to get this information. Money was a huge motivator for her-she wanted it! Judges 16:16 tells us that “she pressed him daily with her words and urged him that his soul was annoyed to death.” Did her nagging work? Yep, he told her. It sounds like he couldn’t take it any longer!

Since the Scriptures are given for our instruction, you tell me: is Delilah seen as a positive example of how to get things done? No. She is forever remembered as the woman who led Samson to his ruin for some pieces of silver. We are never told that she had any remorse whatsoever.

 

Proverbs 21:9, “It is better to live in a corner of a roof, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.”

Proverbs 21:19, “It is better to live in a desert land, than with a contentious and vexing woman.”

Proverbs 27:15, “A constant dripping on a day of steady rain, and a contentious woman are alike.”

I think we get the idea here-God does not want us to be contentious! Ladies, let’s leave the “whine” at the liquor store!

Now, let’s take a look at Bathsheba. She was married to Uriah, who was off serving in the king’s army. She had spent the night with King David-at his request-and now she is pregnant. So what does she do?

II Samuel 11:5 says, “And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David and said, ‘I am pregnant.'” That’s it! Three little power-packed words! All she does is put the ball in King David’s court, so to speak. “Here’s the facts… you’re the king here.”

Another example is Eve back in the Genesis account. She wanted Adam to try the forbidden fruit also, just as she had done. Genesis 3:6, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Now, we can’t pretend to know what was going on in either of David’s or Adam’s minds. All we know is what the Scriptures tell us of how they each responded. David made a “plan of action” and Adam ate.

In both these stories, the lives of all the people involved were traumatically affected, to say the least. Would they change the way they handled the situations if they could magically press a “replay” button? We have to remember that God, in His wisdom, knew how these people would respond, and so these examples are given in His Book for a reason.

Now, let’s jump over to the book of Ruth. She was a Moabite woman who married into a family from Bethlehem. Her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband have all died. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, her sister-in-law, and she are left alone in Moab. Naomi decides to return to her homeland of Bethlehem and both her daughters-in-law head out with her. Orpah turns back at Naomi’s urging. What about Ruth? “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you, or turn back from following you, for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).

Wow! What a powerful statement! No wonder Naomi couldn’t refute her. Ruth is making a pledge to care for her widowed mother-in-law, and she even asks the Lord to “hold her to it.” Essentially, Ruth is pleading her case and stating her commitment to care for Naomi also. What a godly plan of action! Ruth is ultimately blessed for her selflessness, in fact, her genealogy leads to Christ!

Another godly “mover and shaker” is Esther. If you know her story, you understand that death for herself and the Jewish people was a motivating factor in her life, but still, she risked death by going before King Ahasuerus without being summoned.  Before going to the king, she made a plan. Esther 4:16, “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.”

What an amazing way to clear your mind of all that is on it, and totally concentrate on the task at hand! Esther rallies her people and maidens together to be united and intent on one purpose: saving their lives from destruction. Her plan of action is successful and she and Mordecai are forever remembered in the Scriptures for us to learn from.

Ladies, let me ask: when is the last time that you fasted for godly reasons? Maybe you had a huge decision to make, or your congregation was bringing forth men to serve as elders, or even that you needed to talk to your husband about a very serious matter? Let me encourage you to do as Ruth and Esther did. Look at the situation before you through a godly filter, fast, pray, and go ahead with your plans. Maybe you are wanting your husband to lead your family in devotionals, or spend more time in prayer as a family? Do you feel that he is not “stepping up to the plate” when it comes to being a spiritual leader of your home? Do you want to encourage him to do so? Pray for him, and tell him how much you love him-let him know you are praying for him as he strives to be the best godly leader of the family that he can be. I know, from experience, that my husband is encouraged when I tell him that I am praying for him. I hope that it makes him want to be an even better godly man, taking action, being proactive. What better plan of action than to lift someone’s name up to the Father? Who doesn’t want to know that you are praying for them?

As women, we are to love our husbands, and love our children (Titus 2:4) and the ultimate way to do this is by being a godly woman of faith in our home. Let’s strive together to take the examples from Scripture, and learn from them. When our mind is God-focused, our actions will reflect it. We can be godly “movers and shakers” by following the Master’s plan.

“…deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:12-13).

 

Robin Martin
Robin is a wife and mother serving with the church in Rosemount, Minnesota. She says, “My husband and I have been blessed with 7 children, and are grateful to have received instruction at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. We are also so thankful to God for His providence in sending door-knockers to the small town in Iowa where I was raised, so that our family could hear the Gospel. What beautiful feet those were! We want to imitate those feet and take the Gospel to others!”