Jephthah

I stood on the porch, as I had so many times before, anxiously awaiting my realtor to work her magic on the lock box and let me into the perspective home.

Brimming with excitement, I couldn’t wait to get inside. The bungalow had been newly remodeled, was in a great neighborhood about 20 minutes from my school district, and was at a reasonable asking price. I had driven past it a few times during various parts of the day, as house hunting experts suggested, and everything seemed copasetic. I had prayed and declared that this property was MINE, in Jesus’ name!

That is, until I went inside.

I crossed the threshold to find that although the home had been updated, the ceilings were way too low for a tall woman such as myself. On top of that, it smelled like smoke, and something in the atmosphere made me feel unsettled in my spirit. As I later looked at the owner’s bookshelf, I was able to deduce that he was heavy into the occult.

With sagging shoulders and a heavy heart, I reluctantly made my way back to my car and back to the drawing board.

It had been a long season of house hunting, much longer than I had anticipated. After watching tons of House Hunters and My First Place episodes on HGTV, I thought I would simply go out one day, look at three properties and then make a decision.

However, eight months later, there I was, still struggling to find the right place to live. Properties were flying on and off the market like hotcakes. Either I would wait too long to bid and someone else would snatch the property up, or I would get ready to bid and I would get stopped by the Holy Spirit, who kept telling me to wait. The whole process had become entirely nerve-wracking and the longing to have a place to call my own seemed to grow heavier and heavier.

Shortly after being let down (again), a good friend called to tell me a little known story in Judges about a man named Jephthah.

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. (Judges 11:30-32)

When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.” (Judges 11:34&35)

And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. (Judges 11:39)

I considered myself to have been “born and raised” in the church, yet in all my 28 years, never had I heard a story as such. Yes, I heard and read many times of how Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac until God provided another way, but I had been blind to the story of Jephthah, a man who made a vow to the Lord and followed all the way through with it, even to the point of sacrificing his only child.

My friend began to challenge me, saying that I needed to get to the point where I laid EVERYTHING down before God and be willing to risk that I might not get it back. I thought to myself, “Am I ready to give the Lord ALL of my desires and dreams, even the godly ones?” I decided my answer was, “Yes.”

And so, I laid down my desire to move and be a homeowner. I told the Lord I would live wherever He would have me to, even if it meant staying in my apartment. I made a choice to remain content and not exalt owning a home over my relationship with Him. As I sacrificed that huge house-buying dream, it became easier to lay other things down that were close to my heart, such as my desire to be married.

The next few weeks were ones of peace. I took a short break from actively house hunting and diligently sought the Lord as my precious weeks of summer vacation were drawing to a close.

One Saturday morning in August, I rose early and felt led to look at the listings in my email. I had not checked them for a few days, but strongly felt the Holy Spirit urging me to. I dragged myself over to the computer and was pleasantly surprised when I opened my email. Six months prior, a property that gained my attention and happened to be a mile away from my apartment had gotten snatched up in less than a week. But on this day, I could not believe my eyes -- it was back on the market!

I looked through the pictures, read through the realcomp, and began to fall in love. I texted my realtor right away and she made an appointment for us to go look at it in about an hour or two. I prayed about the property and laid it before the Lord, asking for His will to be done. I also felt led to ask my parents to come along, and shockingly, they were both available.

We gathered at the secretly stashed condo, and I found myself waiting on the porch, yet again, as my realtor rhythmically punched and clicked the lock box. Only this time, I found myself waiting with much peace and trust in the Lord.

When my realtor unlocked the door, I walked into the foyer and felt something I had not felt at any other property. I felt at home. I turned to my realtor and said, “This is it. I want to make an offer.”

As we looked through the condo, we all loved it, and felt it was where I was to be. It turned out that the seller was a fellow Christian and teacher, whose church was only a mile away from mine. Long story short, I made an offer that afternoon and she accepted. It was a short sale, so I had to wait several months for everything to be approved, but it all worked in my favor.

When I look back on the process the Lord had me to go through in purchasing a home, I see so many things. Most importantly, the old adage, “what God has for me, it is for me,” rings true. The condo I purchased had everything I wanted and needed. Even though it was temporarily taken off of the market, I believe the Lord had it to come back, just for me. God’s plans and His call are truly irrevocable. When I surrendered my will for His, there I found delight, contentment, and satisfaction.

by Kel Hughes

Kel Hughes is a middle school science teacher in a Metro-Detroit suburb, as well as a substitute librarian. She also writes words of inspiration and about her natural hair journey on her blog, His Crowning Glory, http:www.hiscrowningglory.blogspot.com

Desperate

Are you desperate for change? Are you desperate for relief? Have you declared that this year is your year or that this season is your season simply because this year MUST be different? You can no longer endure the status quo. Today is the first blank page of a new book you say, determined to write a good one. Being the reasonable person you are, knowing that change isn’t going to magically fall on your lap, you’ve made appropriate steps. You’ve devised a plan and you’re sticking to it. You’ve surrender your fears and inhibitions as best you could to God. You’re being bold and putting yourself out there. You’re studying. You’re being honest. Yet, you see no improvement. Perhaps you feel as though you are going backwards instead of forward. Whether your quest for change began this year or some time ago, remember that change takes time. While it's true that God sometimes suddenly removes our burdens, more often than not change is a process. Sometimes it may involve one big breakthrough, but most of the time it’s a combination smaller breaking points. If you are waiting for your single “Aha! moment” that will make everything OK, brace yourself for frustration.

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. Psalms 54:4

When it comes to the story of the woman with the issue of blood, the focus of her story is often on “the one touch”. The focus is often on her extraordinary faith. The focus is on the end result. But, the reality is that it took 12 years of process. It took 12 years of pruning for her faith to grow. It took 12 years for her to place her security in Christ and not in man. While the notion of having to wait 12 years for our own breakthroughs is unsettling. Remember that through it all SHE WAS OK. Uncomfortable but, OK. And through her comfortableness she found a greater comfort by knowing, not just in theory but in practice, that God was her all in all. God wants you too to experience Him and that means that He won’t take away every burden all at once or right away. Sometimes He leaves thorns in our sides so that we know the source of our strenght. Insecurity often masks itself as impatience and desperation. The longer we wait the less likely it is to happen we feel. I've noticed that most of the time our desperation is not a reaction to what IS happening but, to what COULD happen but, just as God sustained the woman with the issue of blood, He will sustain you.

-Sydney Henry

Sydney is an independent gospel artist,
executive director of Uprise and a
seminary student. Find her music at
sydneyandpaige.com or follow her on
twitter @sydneyhenry

Until It's Finished...

So it’s officially a brand new year! With brand new expectations, new hopes, new dreams, new goals. A new year often symbolizes a new season, a new opportunity to better our lives. The start of a new year is often a time of reflection, a time of reevaluating the successes and failures of the past year. For me, 2012 was… well disappointing. I faced more challenges than I ever expected, ones that I endure even now. Despite countless “failures” of this last year, 2012 has been the most teachable. Through reflection, I've realized I have gained more than what I had initially hoped for through those “failures”.

It’s easy to set goals and resolutions before consulting with the will of God. This past year God taught me what it really means to surrender. I learned how to trust God in some of the most difficult trials of my life. I’ve gain a deeper understanding of Christ. I know that my faith can survive the loss of what I cherish most. I know now that I’m stronger than what I believed I was. I got everything I forgot to ask for this past year… For that I’m grateful because it turns out those “failures” were exactly I needed. This year my only request is that God will finish the work He’s begun in me…. Wherever that leads.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

-Paige A. Henry

Paige is a clinical therapist who works with adjudicated youth in Detroit, MI and a singer/songwriter. Check out her music at www.sydneyandpaige.com or follow her on twitter @PaigeAHenry

Our Movement

Who is Uprise?

Uprise seeks to increase young adult involvement and membership in local churches, provide current and practical spiritual solutions to the needs of young adults, serve and uplift others, provide Christian cafes and other like events, and support the creation and enhancement of young adult ministries. Find us at facebook.com/experienceuprise or email us at uprisemovement@gmail.com

Jephthah

Desperate

Until It's Finished...

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