By Pastor Bimpe Ishola.
\Women are experts at dealing with situations or things or people. When a woman rolls her eyes, hisses or spouts, she’s either dealing with a person ( most probably another woman), reporting another person or discussing an issue that she finds offensive or disturbing. A woman’s body language speaks louder than the words she utters. Yet, women are leaders!
Women lead at home, influence the character, attitudes and interests of not just their children but also their husbands. Women are known to also influence the course of history.
Eve
It started with Eve, the first woman that God created. Eve gave her husband, Adam, a fruit which God had instructed them to eat.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate”. – Genesis 3:6 NKJV
Sarah
When the shame of barrenness was hitting her sorely, Sarah suggested to her husband to sleep with her maid. Abraham did. Genesis 14:1-4
Delilah
The classic Bible story about the ‘fall’ of a mighty deliverer in the book of Judges 13-16 is another case of powerful influence that women wield.
“And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” – Judges 16:15-17 KJV
In contemporary times, there are several cases of women who influence their husbands either positively or negatively or the course of history. It was said that Nancy Reagan, wife of former President Ronald Reagan generally had a strong influence on her husband and played a role in a few of his personnel and diplomatic decisions.
Erstwhile Nigerian First Lady, late Mrs Marian Babangida was certainly a woman of great influence. As First Lady of Nigeria between 1985 and 1993, Mrs Babangida turned the ceremonial post into a champion for women’s rural development. Her popular program “Better Life for Rural Women” launched rural women into the limelight such that lots of monetary and other supports were provided for women in rural areas. Marian Babangida championed women issues vigorously. She worked with National Council for Women Societies ( NCWS), gained support for SFEM – Special Foreign Exchange Market to cut subsidies and to devalue and fix Nigerian currency.
Similarly, one cannot disregard the powerful influence of our dear Mother-In-Israel, Pastor Folu Adeboye, affectionately called Mummy GO by many. She’s the powerful nfluence behind most of what the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God does by the grace of God. Mummy GO is a powerful women leader, a role model, mentor, mother, teacher, prayer warrior, lover of children and a missionary to the core. She’s the brain behind AFRICAN MISSIONS the platform on which the gospel has reached so many unsaved souls in African nations through different charitable acts that African Mission supports and champions.
If leadership is simply influence as it has been established, then, from the afore stated examples, one can safely conclude that women are natural influencers.
Three things are unique about women: Women’s breasts produce milk which contains all nutrients that a baby needs in order to grow perfectly. Thus, women are naturally gifted with the ability to nurture. When a woman is nursing her baby, there’s a natural flow of love between the two which bonds them. The breastfeeding process, provides a natural means for mothers to impact their children positively by speaking life into them as they nurse their babies. This divinely given grace can be used by women in other circumstances to turn things around. Women should learn to speak life rather than complain or murmur. No matter how dead a situation is, if you speak unto it long enough, the situation will succumb and come alive.
“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” – Mark 11:23 KJV
Women are gifted with womb which gives them the natural ability to conceive a seed and multiply it. Pregnancy experience is a practical example of how prayer works. When you receive the seed of the Word and you work on it to germinate; you travail over that Word until it produces results just as a seed planted inside a woman germinates and becomes a child.
“Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” – Isaiah 66:8 KJV
he gift of tears. Women tear up easily; it is a God given gift and the purpose is to attract God’s presence. Often times, this gift is misused. Instead of weeping over perishing souls before God and asking for God’s mercy, some women use tears to manipulate their husbands and situations for their personal benefits. That is witchcraft! God does not play over the tears of godly women.
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation”. Jeremiah 9:17-20 KJV
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” – Psalms 126:5 KJV
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”. – Psalms 56:8 KJV
Christian women in leadership should for instance, take prophetic word given by the mouth of respected servants of God, travail over it in prayers and see it germinate, producing fruits of righteousness, mercy and abundance. Christian women leaders should call a solemn assembly and weep between porches and cry ‘save your people O Lord!
There’s so much going on in the body of Christ that is begging for attention – conflicts, disagreement, disunity, open disputes among leaders and members, sins of adultery and fornication are no longer a taboo in our churches, in some cases leaders use unorthodox means to fight each other, pride, insubordination, reveling and such like are fast becoming the norm in our churches.
We, as women leaders are positioned and gifted to divinely turn things around as we partner with God on various prayer altars. This is what we are gifted and called to do!.
Like Deborah of the Bible, we must arise as mothers in our various homes, local assemblies and communities. If we are going to make a difference in our generation, we must change our position spiritually, we must start leading instead of dealing! We must understand our position in Christ, determine where our heart is, and press in at the altar of prayer to birth destinies! We must understand that our wombs are not meant just for physical birthing of babies, we are called and gifted to also birth destinies! But in order to do that we must be women of God’s presence. Like Deborah and the children of Issachar, ( read 1Chronicles 12:32) we must learn tytarry in God’s presence long enough to hear His heartbeat and provide direction to the body of Christ. We also may need to repair all broken altars so that our sacrifices can be accepted by God.
“And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.” – 1 Kings 18:30-32 KJV
Two ordinary women in the Bible birthed the destinies of two extra ordinary children. Jochebed, mother of Moses ( read Exodus 2:1- 10 ) and Mary, mother of Jesus ( read Luke 1:20-55 ). How did they do it? In reading these accounts, ask yourself these questions:
What made Jochebed hide baby Moses; defying the king’s order to kill all male children under two? How was she able to muster the boldness to defy Pharaoh’s instruction? What or rather Who gave her such confidence? How did Mary cope with the stigma that went along her conception outside of wedlock? How was she able to raise an extraordinary child like Jesus?
Your answers should point you to what God expects from all his children- intimacy with Him so He can reveal His heart to us. ( read Jeremiah 29:11- 14). When we know the mind of God in any situation, we are empowered to do His will. ( read Ephesians 5:14-17).
What else should we desire as women leaders other than “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Women, Christian women leaders in Ministry, must start leading and stop dealing.