“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
I sat in my car in the parking lot after a meeting, replaying the conversation I’d just had with a client. I spent weeks building his case, and even though I’d explained more than once that our legal system is imperfect and rarely makes anyone completely whole, he still walked out frustrated, unable to accept that judges don’t always rule the way we want and it’s rare for anyone to leave a courtroom entirely satisfied. I remember gripping the steering wheel and asking God if any of it actually mattered. It’s a familiar ache, isn’t it? The sense that no matter how hard we work, somebody will always be unsatisfied, and our labor feels swallowed up in thanklessness.
But God reminded me of a woman named Deborah.
Deborah wasn’t a warrior by trade. She wasn’t born into royalty or trained for battle. She was a wife, a judge who settled disputes under a palm tree, likely handling cases nobody else wanted to touch. And when Israel had been crushed under oppression for twenty years, when the roads were too dangerous to travel and the villages had been abandoned because of crime, the Bible makes this remarkable statement:
“The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.” (Judges 5:7)
Not a general. Not a king. A mother in Israel. That’s the phrase God chose to describe her. He didn’t need someone impressive. He needed someone willing to arise. This pattern isn’t unique to Deborah. All through the Bible, God seems to delight in choosing the overlooked to accomplish the impossible. Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27)
And the prophet Zechariah delivered this word to a discouraged leader trying to rebuild the temple with nothing but rubble and a handful of exhausted workers.
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
God isn’t limited by our resume, our intelligence, or even our hustle. He’s not looking for talent, credentials, or a corner office with a window. He’s looking for availability. I think about who might be reading this right now. A mother rocking a colicky baby at three in the morning, wondering if her exhaustion means anything. A father grinding through a job he finds tedious just to keep food on the table. A grandmother whose main ministry these days is prayer. A personal assistant answering someone else’s calls and managing someone else’s calendar. A checkout clerk scanning groceries for the hundredth frustrated customer of the day. Someone flipping burgers at McDonald’s, or a street sweeper working before dawn while the rest of the city sleeps.
None of this sounds mighty. And yet Genesis tells us something that changes the entire equation.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
If we are made in the image of God who spoke galaxies into existence, then our possibilities are not confined by our job title or our win column. Greatness was never about position. It was always about the image we carry and the God we serve.
So how do we actually walk this out?
Well, God is so good to remind me of a few things to place into the foreground of my mind:
First: Greatness starts with intimacy with God, not ambition. Deborah wasn’t seeking a promotion, she was already close enough to God to hear Him clearly when the moment came. The deeper our relationship with Him through prayer and time in His Word, the more sensitive we become to His voice and His timing, even in the middle of flipping that burger or rocking that fussy baby.
Second: Obey God in the small assignment in front of you. Do all you do for God’s glory. Deborah judged disputes under a palm tree long before she led the army of Israel. Faithfulness in the unnoticed case, the unnoticed client, the unnoticed effort, is 100% the training ground necessary for the mighty one.
Third: Release the need for recognition or affirmation. This is the part I have to remind myself of most, especially when a client walks away unimpressed after everything I poured into their case. Sometimes greatness doesn’t show up in our lifetime at all, and that’s alright, because our audience was never people. The only audience that ever matters is God. Consider this, how much do you actually know about George Washington’s mother or father? Most of us couldn’t name a single detail of their character, THEIR prayers, or their daily sacrifices. Yet whatever they poured into their son shaped a man who helped birth a nation. The same is true of countless unnamed parents, mentors behind history’s most celebrated names. The people whose faithfulness will be remembered for eternity. Their faithfulness matters and they will receive many eternal crowns—even though not one act was ever recorded.
Greatness, biblically speaking, is never about being seen. It was about being available. Whatever your hands find to do today, befriending a neighbor’s child, ringing up groceries, sweeping a street, or fighting for a client who may never appreciate it, do it as one who carries the image of God—because you do.
Arise—you don’t have to be somebody great to do something mighty—you just have to be willing.
We each have the same opportunity to glorify God with exactly where He placed us.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that my life is not defined by how ordinary it may look to the world or how unappreciated my work may seem. Help me see myself the way You see me, made in Your image, carrying the great possibilities that You placed in me before I was even born. Give me the courage to arise in the small assignments You have placed in front of me, trusting that faithfulness matters even when no one else is watching. Deepen my relationship with You so I can hear Your voice clearly as each moment to arise is in front of me. And when I don’t see the fruit of my labor in this lifetime, remind me that You do, and that is enough. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
