Zipporah

Lessons from Samson's Mother on How to lead authentically

Lessons from Samson's Mother on How to lead authentically

In my most recent post, I talked about How to be a trailblazer

You can read it here if you missed it, sis

Of the 5 things that I mentioned, one of them was the fact that being a trailblazer often means going first or being the first

which may mean discrimination, isolation, discomfort; people questioning your validity and/or the validity of your vision until God vindicates you- just like Zipporah suffered.

Going first or being the first also means leading by example, which is something that we see through Samson’s mum

To summarise a previous post about her:

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be a trailblazer

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be a trailblazer

One of the many things that fascinates me about Zipporah, as told in Numbers 12, is that she was a foreshadow of what was to come

How?

Although she was not Hebrew by birth, her marriage to Moses grafted her in to their society and heritage (the blessing of Abraham) in the same way that Jesus’ death, resurrection and our faith in it has done for us

(just as Romans 11 explains in more detail).

In other words, Zipporah was a trailblazer

which is “a person who is a pioneer in any field or endeavour”

Because she blazed the trail that we, as modern women, would need to have fellowship with God.

Zipporah’s pioneer status also teaches us a valuable lesson about what it takes to be the change you want to see in the world and take a stand, as we’ve been talking about in the last few weeks i.e.

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be the change you want to see

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be the change you want to see

In my most recent blog post I talked about the importance of taking a stand with your messaging, even if it’s polarising

You can read that here if you missed it, sis

The truth is, though, that sometimes your presence can be polarising not just because of what you say- but who you are

Don’t believe me?

Just look at Zipporah

Number’s 12:1 is very explicit about the fact that “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married…”. In other words-

They disliked her, not because of the content of her character, but because she was a minority

The worst part?

Lessons from Zipporah on how to attract your dream clients and keep them

Lessons from Zipporah on how to attract your dream clients and keep them

Recently we talked about what Miriam teaches us bout being a thought leader and woman of influence

Namely, the fact that they edify, exhort and comfort the people within their niche(s) from a place of divine inspiration. You can read more here if you missed that, sis.

One of the other ways that they influence and guide others is by not being afraid to go against the status quo whether it’s popular with their key stakeholders or not

In fact-

Moses’ decision to marry Zipporah is a prime example of that because she was a black (rather than Hebrew) woman

Not only that-

Numbers 12 tells us that it caused a rift in his family that also almost cost him his (leadership) position

But thank God for divine intervention!

Although it’s easy to dwell on the dark side of this episode of Zipporah’s life, there are 3 positive lessons that I was able to draw from it for us as modern women

Lessons from Miriam on why lack of support is a blessing in disguise

Lessons from Miriam on why lack of support is a blessing in disguise

Do you watch Insecure, sis? If so, then you'll know that one of the overarching themes this season has been feeling a lack of support from the people you most expect it from when you're trying to birth your vision

(e.g. your best friend)

This theme of lack of support is something that we see through Miriam in Numbers 12 too…unfortunately, though, she’s not the hero in this story

Lessons from Zipporah on How to get People to Follow and Support You

Lessons from Zipporah on How to get People to Follow and Support You

One of my favourite quotes from John Maxwell is: “If you think you’re leading, but no one is following, then you are only taking a long walk”

Because, the truth is, as much as you may have a mission and vision that you feel called to establish- you can’t do it by yourself, sis!

In fact, to quote from a devotional that I once wrote on Euodia and Syntyche and make this more clear:

A God-given vision will always require the assembling of a team, as teamwork makes the dream work more effectively and efficiently than doing things alone. However they also teach us that teamwork only makes the dream work if they remain like-minded, just as Paul implored [Euodia and Syntyche] to be [in Philippians 4:2-3] . Without “complete sympathy with the object of the alliance” (in the words of Andrew Carnegie) the vision will fall apart and never come to pass.

But how can you get people to willingly follow and support your cause like that?

Well, there are 5 main steps which we see really clearly outlined in the events of Zipporah’s life (particularly as Moses’ wife)- as detailed in the video below.

Lessons from Zipporah on How to Harness the Law of Reciprocity while Networking

Lessons from Zipporah on How to Harness the Law of Reciprocity while Networking

I hate to burst your bubble, sis, but…

<sigh>

As much as it’s really important to set a firm foundation for your networking and PR efforts by knowing your “why,” no-one else cares about it

#justsaying

“So how do I get other people to care about my mission and vision, Nina?” I hear you say

Well…

It all comes down to knowing how to harness the power of reciprocity

Which is something that is really well demonstrated through Moses and Zipporah’s relationship- as detailed in the video below.

Lessons from Zipporah on why your "why" is important

Lessons from Zipporah on why your "why" is important

So last week, we talked about how to start networking from scratch in order to bring our God-given dreams to fruition. The first (of the five) steps that I gave was to “know your why” because, when it comes to building profitable relationships, you must first establish a firm foundation. This is why in my High Visibility Hexagon, I call this initial step the "Firm Foundation Framework".

When it comes to putting ourselves our there (or our networking and PR efforts), we already talked about the fact that knowing your why will keep you motivated through hard times but it goes even deeper than that for 2 very practical reasons- as detailed in the video below.