written by Blake Shipp

 

Biography

Hello, my name is Blake Shipp. My wife, Rachel, and I have been married for twelve years and we have two terrific children, Addison and Hayden. My wife and I are originally from Austin, Texas. I have been serving as the Equipping Pastor here at Browncroft for two years. 

 

Reflection

If there is one desire that marks my generation and the generation that follows mine, it is the desire to make a difference. Deep inside, people my age and others younger have this strong desire to make an impact, to change the world, to do something significant. I think this desire is behind the increasing number of young people who are volunteering. Maybe each generation has this same desire, expressed in its own way. Maybe each of us really want to make an impact, to do something significant. The problem is that our reality and our desire don’t always fit nicely together. Most days I get up and think, “Who am I to do something great?” Then I read texts like the one we read today. 

 

The Israelites were in a pickle again. They had repeated their past behavior of abandoning God and found themselves under the cruel hand of King Jabin and his military commander Sisera. As He has done before, God moved to deliver the people of Israel. What strikes me is the people He chose to do it. First, He chose a woman, Deborah, to be the judge in Israel—this in a time when women were viewed by most cultures as less than full persons. Second, God calls to a man, Barak, who is less than sure of his abilities. Third, God chose to use a woman, Jael, who was an everyday, run of the mill homemaker. God called. He presented opportunities. Deborah, Barak, and Jael answered God’s call. They seized the opportunities He presented them and moved from the category of ordinary to extraordinary. They made a huge impact. They weren’t stronger than others. They weren’t more educated. In the end God did all the hard work (Judges 4.15, 23). All they did was answer God’s call and seize what were normal, ordinary situations that God gave them. That really encourages me. God can use me, even someone like me and you to make a difference, a huge difference. We don’t have to be strong or highly educated. All we have to do is be available, ready to answer God’s call and to seize the opportunities He provides us. The challenge for me is becoming available for God. Am I willing to slow down, to pause, to change course when new situations are presented to me? Am I willing to listen, to still myself before God on a daily basis so that I can hear His call? It is in these things and through these things that great things transpire. 

 

Your fellow traveler,  

 

Blake