Every mother knows the beauty, the fascination and the innocence of a toddler handing them a dandelion. The bright yellow reflecting off the smiling cheeks and the chubby fingers grasping the stem with the deep conviction that this flower will be the thing to brighten my mommy’s day.
I’ve received many dandelions over the years, all with a simple, “it’s for you!”
I had this thought this week when I was reading about two women in the pages of scripture that get little recognition. They helped save a generation of God’s people by giving their gifts into the hand of God himself.
The story begins when the Hebrews are living in fear and oppression of their government.
And it just so happens this king is living in fear of God’s people.
Fear tends to stir up all sorts of sin in our hearts and it guides us to do unimaginable things. It tends to snatch things out of the hand of God.
Which leads me to the king of Egypt declaring in Exodus 1:9 “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.”
So, after intense persecution the king decides that the people are multiplying too fast and too strong. His solution: kill all the male baby boys. That’ll do it. That will get rid of the hand of God on these people. That will eliminate his fear.
So, he calls on these two women in Exodus 1 and tells them:
“When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
Exodus 1:16
Shiphrah and Puah.
Their jobs were to help deliver babies. Comfort mothers. Speak life to a woman giving birth. To say, “do not fear.” (Genesis 35:17)
Their job was not murder or leading an uprising.
But these women were put in a position where they had to choose. Life or death. They were told to murder any baby boy.
Do you think they met after the meeting? Do you think the walk back to the Hebrew camp was heavy and silent or filled with words and planning?
Either way, the Bible gives us enough insight, as always, to help us understand their decision.
It says, “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.”
Exodus 1:17
Big decisions are best made when we’ve set our hearts on the sovereign hand of God and His provision and faithfulness.
Although, we may read this story and think they did an amazing thing. They did. But we also may speak to their boldness and courage in a day of intense persecution. Because it was.
But I’d like to suggest these women had walked with God before this decision was made.
They knew their God could be trusted. They’d seen Him show up in their lives. The God who wrote their story before the Hebrew massacre was the same God who would watch over them during the next days of the unknown.
It was as if these strong, bold women of God were handing their dandelions up to God and saying, “Here. This is for you.”
Ladies, we don’t need huge ministries, large homes, giant opportunities to do the next thing God has for us.
The ladies in this story had a story before the decision. Their story began with the words, “but the midwives feared God.”
But, can the same be said about us?
When our story is being written, when it feels the odds are against us…
When churches are closed, silenced and belittled…
What decision will we make after we are given a command by a leader, a diagnosis by a doctor or a betrayal by a friend?
What will be said about us when our circumstances shift below our feet?
Will fear latch onto our hearts in the moments that follow? Or will they see us grinning ear to ear as we hand our dandelion up to our Jesus with unadulterated joy?
It’s not about the size of the dandelion or the amount the bouquet may hold. It’s about the child that brought it and the willingness to give it away.
What is something you can cheerfully hand over to Jesus today with a simple, “it’s for you!”