Reading through biblical narratives, there is no doubt that women have a God-given ability to influence courses. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines influence as “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways, the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command.” In Dr. Myles Monroe’s book on The Power and Purpose of a Woman, one of the things he highlights is the God-given ability of women to lead by influence. The woman who influences for the course of God’s kingdom is one who fears God and is bestowed with heavenly wisdom by the Holy Spirit. The ultimate purpose of every ability God endows a person with, including the ability to influence is to foster the plans of God. Nevertheless, when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. The ability to influence, if submitted to God and His precepts will result in the advancement of God’s Kingdom. On the other hand, if this ability to influence is not inspired by the Spirit of God, it can be manipulated by the devil and only result in destruction.
In this write-up, we would delve into the lives of some women of influence in the Bible. In looking at these women, we would understand how women yielded to God used their ability to influence and partake in God’s agenda while other women who were not yielded to God were instruments in Satan’s hands for destruction.
Influence by women yielded to God
- Mary Magdalene: She was a woman who had been healed of seven demons by Jesus Christ. After her healing, she became a faithful follower of Jesus and was a prominent figure in the life and ministry of Jesus. Mary, alongside other women provided their resources to support Jesus’ ministry. (Luke 8:1-3). She was the first to witness the empty tomb after the resurrection of Jesus and was the first to proclaim the message of the resurrected Christ to the apostles (Luke 24:1-12).
- Esther- She was a young woman who was beautiful and became the wife of King. She was aware of the plot to kill the Jews in her kingdom. Despite the difficult circumstances which could also lead to her death, Esther prayed, fasted, discerned the way to act, waited on God’s timing and acted in the right time. Esther influenced the enactment of policies that prevented the killing of the Jews in her kingdom (Esther 1-8).
- Deborah – Deborah was a Prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth and a judge in Israel. Prophetess insinuates she had a relationship with God, she was a worshipper who heard and obeyed God); The wife of Lapidoth insinuates She was a good wife, a wife of noble character- the kind of wife described in proverbs 31:10-31 and being a judge insinuates she was greatly talented and used her skills to serve her community. In her days, the Israelites had sinned against the Lord and He sold them out to King Jabin of Canaan. Hence, they were oppressed for twenty years. They cried out to God for help. Deborah yielded to God’s call and told Barak, the commander of Israel’s army to go and fight king Jabin’s army led by Sisera according to God’s command. Barak insisted for Deborah to accompany them to war. Deborah influenced and encouraged Barak with the words of victory over Sisera which the Lord had revealed to her. Barak pursued the army of Sisera, the Lord routed all Sisera’s army by the sword and all Sisera’s troops were killed (Judges 4 & 5). Outstanding in Deborah’s leadership was her willingness to yield to God’s call, depended on God’s strength and ascribed all Glory to God.
- Jael – Jael was the wife of Heber, a tent dwelling woman. When Sisera’s troops fell after Barak pursued them, Sisera fled and ended up in Jael’s house. She offered him milk to drink and she reached out for the tent peg and workman’s hammer and struck Sisera and Sisera died and on that day, God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites (Judges 4 & 5). One of the hallmarks of Jael’s story is that she apparent wife who was predominantly at home, yet she apparently had skills in tent making and milk production. She used what she had in her hands to fulfill God’s plans and played a very fundamental role in the liberation of the Israelites and restoring peace in Israel in her days.
- Anna- Anna was a prophet and widow. As a woman from the tribe of Asher, she must have been married around the age of 13 and lived with her husband for seven years before he died and was a widow until 84. She never left the temple but worshipped day and night, fasting and praying for the coming of the Messiah – Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born, she thanked God and spoke about Jesus Christ. Prayer is fundamental in the birthing and manifestation of divine plans and revivals.
Influence by women NOT yielded to God (Negative influence)
- JEZEBEL: Let’s start with Jezebel under this category. Jezebel worshiped idols, evidently influenced her husband to idolatry and re-introduced these idols to Israel (1 Kings16:31-32). She killed the prophets of God, thus inhibiting the manifestation of God’s plans (1 Kings 18:4) and she even threatened to kill prophet Elijah (1 kings 19). Jezebel, through deception and manipulation influenced the wrongful murder of Naboath in order to possess his vineyard which she later handed to her husband Ahab (1 Kings 21). It’s interesting to know the kind of people Jezebel manipulated and deceived– the king, the elders, the nobles and she killed the prophets. These category of people are the most influential people in Israel and if these people go astray, a whole nation would probably be in trouble because of a woman’s influence. Jezebel was apparently a vessel used by the devil to try to disrupt the plans of God. How this worked was through the wrong use of her ability to influence. 1 kings 25-26 “There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.” Evidently, the spirit which influenced Jezebel’s actions was a demonic spirit exhibits itself through manipulation and deception. In the book of revelation, the church in Thyatira is appreciated for their love, faith, service and perseverance. Yet one thing they were warned about is tolerating the woman Jezebel who even calls herself a prophetess, yet misleads people into sexual immorality and idolatry (Revelation 2: 18-25). Did you notice that in order to mislead God’s servants in the scripture in revelation and influence them to sexual immorality and idolatry, Jezebel pretended to be a prophetess? Does this sound like same manipulation and deception in the book of kings where in pretense of being kind to her husband she manipulated the murder of Naboath to collect his inheritance?
- DELILAH: Delilah also falls in the category of women with negative influence. Samson was dedicated to God from birth and noted for supernatural Strength but in the quest to overcome Samson his adversaries connived with Delilah to influence Samson to reveal the secrets of his strength. Delilah presented herself to Samson as his lover and Samson revealed the secrets of his strength to her, which she told the Philistine rulers and this led to the capture and destruction of Samson (Judges 16). Do you notice the spirit of deception and manipulation at work in Delilah?
Sister, arise from slumber. We must understand that if we do not yield ourselves to God so that He can use our ability to influence to establish His plans in our generation, the devil will just thrive on our ignorance and manipulate us to use this ability to disrupt God’s plans. Many women in our generation have fallen prey to the schemes of the devil and contributed in influencing courses which are neither Godly nor are in line with Divine precepts, hence ignorantly disrupting the plans of God.
It is time to arise, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and put on the full armor of God so that we would take a stand against the devil’s schemes. Let us arise, yield ourselves to God and partake in God’s plans for our generation. In our next write-up, we will examine the qualities or character traits of Godly Women of Influence and we pray that at the end of this series, we will desire more of God’s spirit to be Godly women of influence in our generation.
Remain Blessed.