When I incorporated a ministry, the idea of “Commission Fields” was in my heart. Many have asked, “What’s a commission field, anyways?” So in the spirit of answering that question, I give you a meditation on moms and mission.
You’ve no doubt heard many a message on the Proverbs 31 woman. As a 20-something, I attended a women’s conference in Dallas, where each participant got a parchment scroll with the 22 verses of Proverbs 31. I pinned it to the wall and aspired to this woman, and after a few days, disgustedly ripped it down. Seemed like an impossible goal to be this treasured female. “Fahgeddaboutit!” I thought at times, then would pick up and try again in the wake of leaders I watched pursue God. That was decades ago.
One day I saw something in the Prophets, a place where you can really learn the heart of God. “So again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.” – Zechariah 8:15
The phrase I am determined to do good is bound up meaningfully in the Hebrew word, Zamam. It means to meditate, mutter to oneself a determined purpose, to determine and to purpose doing something, and carries the idea of weaving or binding together counsel for its strength. You can see in the verse God contemplating His action, thinking about what He will do, weaving the counsel of Elohim into the divine accomplishment, fulfilling a purpose of His own…and in a divine place, Jerusalem. We do well to remember Jerusalem and Israel are His.
Proverbs 31:16 says the godly woman is like this, She considers a field and buys it; from the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She’s not just trying to be like someone else, she’s being like God – and considering – Zamam’ming – a field.
Like God, she meditates a good while before taking action, and the same Hebrew word, Zamam, is used. She sees the fields and considers what to buy into. The fruit of progress comes literally from her own hardworking hands, but even in this, she leaves legacy and supply for many in the vineyard.
I love the entrepreneurial spirit of moms. They consider how to make a budget work, Za-Mom'ming the weekly sales and schedules, clipping coupons but not cutting corners, Etch-a-Sketching dreams with kids at the kitchen table, burning the midnight oil in studies, weaving the family together, building her own life and others. It’s how Golda Meir built a nation’s army and held up the arms of Ben Gurion, and it’s how we live today when we let ourselves. Heroic women I’ve watched, like Daisy Osborn, were as equally partnered with the Lord as their spouses in outreach and in real estate, if I can say it that way – dreaming big and to borrow from Oral & Evelyn Roberts, making no small plans here.
So Find Your Field. Whether you are pondering a start up, expanding a kitchen-business, or looking to plant in a local church - We can literally serve anywhere. One of my lifetime friends always said “the mission field is anywhere people are breathing.” Any plane of man’s living can become your sphere of influence, of purpose, of business.
Give it some thought. Do your research, but spend enough time in prayer to hear God’s instructions. He can often guide to do something (or somewhere) unlikely or – to your mind – unexpected. Think about your options and don’t be afraid to map a plan of action. Don’t be afraid. That’s in Proverbs 31, too.
Roll up your sleeves and plant. It’s what we do that makes a difference. You can think or dream something to bits and pieces, and become so overwhelmed, you do nothing. Back to What About Bob 101, find those baby steps, for in all forward progress, there is positive momentum. Determine and Purpose. Once Mom’s made up her mind, that’s it, and everyone in the house knows it. Trust your inner Za-Mom!
