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

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Jephthah

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