She proclaimed words and wisdom from God to discern judgements in various civil cases thousands of years before modern suffragettes would cry out for equal rights.

She led an ancient nation faithfully for decades in the face of unnerving foreign oppression.

And when the time came for her people to overthrow the dominating enemy and her male military commander counterpart refused to believe God’s promise of victory without her auspicious presence by his side in battle, she stood at the peak of a mountain and commanded his troops to rush down that mountain and slaughter every last one of the enemy soldiers.

Then, after it was all over, she sang a beautiful song of triumph long recorded in the annals of history…a song that served as a prelude to forty years of blessed peace for her people.

The limited details of her life and person passed down to us clearly demonstrate the kind of courage that is born when hope incubates in adversity for long spans of time. But the song she sang tells us even more important things about the true meaning of courage itself.

First, true courage is most beautifully displayed and joyfully maintained when it springs from a willing, trusting heart. “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves – Praise the Lord!” (Judges 5:2 NIV)

Second, true and lasting courage springs from remembering what God has done in the past and believing that He can do other good things now, in our day. “They recite the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel. Then the people of the Lord went down to the city gates.” (Judges 5:11b NIV)

Third, true courage is born out of love for what is good and right, what or who is really worth defending. “So may your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.” (Judges 5:31 NIV)

Thank you, God, for reminding us of where true courage is rooted, through the example and words of Deborah, wife of Lapidoth.