Nameless Heroes

Do you sometimes feel like a number? Like nobody knows your name or even cares what it is? Do you feel forgettable and wish that someone would just notice you for your special uniqueness out of a sea of faces? Good news! Even though you may be treated like a number, forgotten, overlooked or unnoticed, you are still a hero to somebody! Somebody here depends on you, needs you, cherishes you or thinks about you often. And never forget that to God, you are not a nameless face! You are a one-of-a-kind jewel in His eyes no matter how small your purpose on earth is.

I got to thinking about those people mentioned in scripture only for what they did but whom remained nameless. Instead of being left out of the greatest book of all time, they were still included for their very important contribution to society, no matter how small. By faith they acted and great things happened! I imagine many of those people who were anonymously written about in scripture were probably quiet, humble and tended to blend in with the common man.

Maybe the writer did not even know their names or maybe they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to leave out the name for a very special reason. One of the things I glean from this is that it is not who you are (who society deems as a very important person) or what you know, but what you do to leave your mark that matters. Sometimes all it takes is a small act done in faith to stand out enough to be shared with the world. One day, those small acts, unseen or unnoticed by anyone, will be rewarded by our Heavenly Father, so do not give up doing them when you think nobody even notices or cares!

I did some research on nameless people in scriptures and one of the most interesting to me was the Woman of Thebez (2 Samuel 11:21, Judges 9:50-57), who defeated Abimelech, a wicked man who had a thirst for blood and power, who killed many of his rivals and even 70 of his own brothers, because he was determined to be King. When Abimelech went to attack the city of Thebez, the inhabitants fled to the strong tower of Thebez out of fear for their lives. His intent was to burn down the city as he had done just previously in Shechem (where 1000 people died).

Little did Abimelech know that a brave, unknown woman (“obscure daughter of Israel”) would become God’s instrument to defeat him in that spot. Just as God’s power was behind a little shepherd boy (David) to defeat a fearless giant (Goliath) with a mere slingshot and five smooth stones, so was his power behind a piece of millstone, which this unnamed woman of Thebez hurled down from the top of the tower onto the head of Abimelech and cracked his skull before he could destroy this city and kill all of its inhabitants.

Mortified, Abimelech, the evil, bloodthirsty and power-hungry king-wanna-be, ordered his armor-bearer to draw his sword and plunge it through him so that nobody would be able to say that a woman had killed him. In Biblical culture back in those days, I can imagine this would be one of the greatest insults for a man to endure, considering their cultural view on the worth (or lack of worth) of women.

By this brave woman’s one act, she delivered her people from a cruel person and made 45 years of national peace possible. By defeating Abimelech, she restored the God-given rulership of judges back to Israel. More accurately, she was the instrument of God to save her people from death. As we often see back then and even today, God uses the weakest to destroy the strong. The most unlikely person, in this case an unnamed woman, is used to fight an important battle…and win. Do not underestimate the power of God to use even you, though you may be weak, small or overlooked by society. The strongest people used to fight the most noble battles are usually not the one whose name is on everyone’s tongue (the most popular). In many cases, the ones who are always chosen in our churches to lead worship, teach classes, set up the “important” programs and rub shoulders with the pastor or the “in-group” within the church are not the type always used to do great things by God.

Do not be discouraged if your talents and passions are not being used in your church or even in your Christian “circles.” God may have something much bigger and better for you to do than that. Or, you may just be called to do the simple, little things that add up to help or encourage one person at a time. I am speaking to myself too when I say this. Even for the “nameless” person, over the course of many years, little becomes much in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Loving others, touching one heart at a time in your sphere of influence and being obedient to what God called you to do on this earth are all that matter.

This will probably not require you to hurl a millstone on an evil guy’s head, but whatever that looks like for you, do it with the same passion and fervor as the nameless woman of Thebez.

 

Other nameless people in scripture (Not necessarily heroes but worth mentioning):

Noah’s wife, daughters-in-law

Ethiopian wife of Moses

Wife of Naaman, Maid of Naaman’s wife (2 Kings 5:1-19)

Potiphar’s wife

Adam and Eve’s other children (Besides Cain and Abel)

The Centurion & his servant (Matthew 8:5, 9)

The Leper (Matthew 8:2)

The Wise Steward (Luke 12:42)

The two thieves

Not of This World

When things get downright dirty and rough, remember that we are only here in this world temporarily. We are aliens, only passing though until we get to our final destination, heaven! Although time seems to stand still when you are yet AGAIN in another trial, this life on earth is incredibly short in comparison to the eternity we have on the other side. Psalm 144:4 states, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” (ESV) I don’t know about you, but sometimes this is a tremendous encouragement to me! (This too shall pass!)

One thing that totally amazes me about God, though, is that even though our lives are very short, he still cared enough and was thoughtful enough to create unfathomable beauty on this earth for us to enjoy the short time we spend here. The wonderful thing about the internet is that we can “visit” these places and see the unmistakable hand of an almighty, creative and remarkable God who created it all for our enjoyment…and because he could. I can only imagine the fun he had as he spoke those astounding tropical flowers, fish, waterfalls, jungles, sunsets into existence. When life hits me hard, I sometimes reflect on those things, which bring me right back to a place of thankfulness. Once again, I slow down and stop in the midst of the craziness around me as I reflect on him and am in utter awe of the eye-popping colors in nature he created all over the world for us to enjoy! This makes the storms seem much more bearable.

When going through a storm, however, it is so very easy to focus our minds on the storm instead of on him and the amazing things he has already done for us. But if we are to keep on moving in the right direction in our walk with him, we must be able to see him past the storms. As hard as this is and as contrary to our nature, we must have the faith to believe that his hand is indeed still on us and in our situation and he will bring us through whatever we are facing, again. For thousands of years, humans have been facing the devastating effects of the sin in this world; we are no different. And, for thousands of years, God almighty has brought millions of people throughout the ages through impossible situations! Because God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, we can count on him to bring us through this trial too, Praise Him!!

Personal Example of Seeing God Past the Storm:

Throughout this arduous journey called “life,” I have always felt like I do not fit in anywhere. As much as I have moved around (for my ex-husband’s job), I felt the sting everywhere we moved. I questioned what was wrong with me or what was I doing wrong socially. Of course, I made tremendous, life-long friends everywhere we have lived but I still struggled because I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I had my “mommy” groups and my kids usually had playdates but I always seemed the odd egg out, especially at the churches I have been part of!

Even when I was a child, always the one who was bullied and known as the “misfit,” I always struggled with finding my place in the world. My, how I wished I had known then what I have known for the past 15-20 years…that of course I do not fit in because I was not meant to! This world will pass away, but heaven, my destination (and real home) will not. Not to mention that I have always been “a free spirit” who marched to the beat of a “different drummer” than everyone else. If everyone else wore the same thing, I wanted to be different. I was always very artistic and wrote poetry and stories growing up as an outlet to my inner creative “genius” and I realize this was probably not in my favor. J I have learned the past ten years, however, to be okay with that, embrace my uniqueness and enjoy walking the less traveled road, alone.

Because of this, I can walk confidently with the Lord, because I know that 1) He will bring me through any and all difficult situations I encounter, and 2) this life will pass and I am here to make the best of this life and love and help others in their difficulties until I am called home.

Even though we are just passing through, enjoy the “adventure” God has given you! Yes, it may be dirty, rocky, rough and at times torturous, but nevertheless, God still has a plan for you the short time you are here. He also wants us to enjoy this life and find true meaning and joy in the midst of the junk of life. He never said life would be easy here or that we would be immune to problems because we belong to him (have a relationship with him).

Quite the contrary! Actually, the closer your walk is with him, the more obstacles you will have to overcome because Satan is working overtime on you to throw you off course! He will do anything to get you focused on the hard, narrow road and seeing it as a curse so you give up along the way and stop fighting for the prize on the other end. (Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”)

You, child of God, are not of this world, and that is okay! No matter what, keep your eyes on God (your helper) and on the final prize (heaven), your real home and keep walking that narrow road as you pass through with confidence!