Last week, we started discussing the life of Jephthah. We learned about his background and how his life journey began. In this series, we'll be exploring an important aspect of Jephthah's life that we can all learn from: the power of resilience.
Resilience is the mental ability to recover quickly from depression, illness, or misfortune. Many of us have found ourselves in situations we never expected to be in. Some of us never imagined we'd go through certain experiences. As believers, we know that scripture says God will be with us in times of trouble, that He'll help us through fiery trials and overwhelming waters. We know that even in the darkest valleys, God is with us.
However, despite knowing these scriptures, we often find ourselves unprepared for life's heavy storms. We wonder who will help us bear the pain of our struggles. But Jephthah's life shows us that we can quickly recover from heartache.
No Plan B—Only Jesus
I've seen many young people give up when faced with challenges, looking for an alternative plan. But as believers, we don't have a Plan B elsewhere; our only plan is Jesus. If we stumble, we go back to Jesus and ask for guidance.
The Pain of Rejection and the Power of Bounce Back
Jephthah's story is remarkable. He quickly recovered from the severe heartache he suffered at the hands of his family. His brothers, who should have been his closest allies, rejected him. Similarly, Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Resilience is what helped them bounce back from these painful experiences.
Resilience helped every one of them, and we believers should learn from this. We never pray for evil, but scripture says there will be days of adversity. Proverbs 24:10 "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." Those days will come, and things will happen unexpectedly, causing us pain. But we need to cleanse ourselves of that pain and move on.
Jephthah's story is a great example. Although his later life is not well-recorded, we can see a transformation from a boy who was ostracized as the son of a prostitute to someone the elders of his clan came looking for help. We can say that Jephthah manned up to his situation and started rewriting his life.
Faith + Action = Change
Everyone who has gone through or is currently going through challenges in life should understand that we have the power to change our circumstances. God is the creator of our lives, but we also have a role to play. That's why scripture says we should work out our salvation. We need to combine faith with action; our part must be played.
We need to rewrite our story, just like Jabez, who was born out of sorrow but rewrote his destiny. As Proverbs 18:16 says, "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men." Yes, you can use your gift to change your circumstances. It may be painful, but keep doing your best to rewrite your story.
Man Up and Take Action
It's okay to cry, but you can't just keep crying every day. You need to man up and be bold about your situation. The pain is real, but keep doing what you can to help your life and overcome obstacles. Invest in yourself, help people grow, and understand the principle of investment. Every leader knows that investing in yourself and others is crucial.
As we see in Jephthah's life, some versions of scripture call the people he associated with 'vain' or 'idle' men. However, Jephthah's story shows that he was able to rise above his circumstances and become a leader.
So, we need to rise above our circumstances, invest in ourselves, grow, and build ourselves. This leads me to talk about value. I often say that if you see a stone, sand, or gold, you'll appreciate the value of each. For instance, stone and sand are essential in our daily lives, like building a house. If you were offered three truckloads of sand and stone for free, you'd likely appreciate it because it would be useful.
However, if you were offered a small bucket of gold, you'd probably choose the gold. Why? Because gold is rare and valuable. Everyone prefers something that's scarce, not something that's readily available. Stone and sand are abundant, but gold is hard to find.
Have you wondered why God hid gold in hard-to-reach places? People dig deep and mine extensively to access raw gold. You rarely hear stories of people fighting over sand or stone, but you often hear about conflicts over gold.
Make Your Life Valuable and Rare
You need to structure your life in such a way that your gift makes you rare and valuable. It depends on how much you've invested in yourself. Joseph became a rare gem because of his gift, even in prison. He offered something nobody else had. Jephthah also had a unique gift—his military strength—which made him valuable in his land.
The military strength of Jephthah was unique; nobody else had it. We need to ensure that our lives are so valuable that people cannot neglect them. I don't believe you should be everywhere at every time. People who are too available all the time will become people who won't be appreciated every day. They will be treated carelessly.
If Jephthah hadn't left his family, he might not have become the person he was meant to be. Perhaps he would have been somewhat successful, but I don't think he would have become as mighty and successful as he was.
Joseph's story is similar. What he was seeing were within the walls of his family and it was limited, but what he later used his gift in the prison to solve a national problem. Sometimes, we need to go through challenges to address issues that affect not just our small community, but the nation.
These are the ways you can become valuable: grow in wisdom, character, speech, and manner of appearance. You don't go to a king's palace looking tattered, and that tatteredness is not just physical, but also mental. Joseph had something unique to offer; his gift was evident.
When you go before a king, you need to have something valuable to offer. Your value is like a currency, an exchange rate. The gift of a man is what gives him access to kings. I know you've been praying, but is your gift, your value, what you can offer, the solutions you can provide? That's what makes you valuable.
Jephthah is not just the son of a prostitute; he's also a solution to people's problems. His life teaches us that we need to become valuable, unique, and rare, so that people cannot neglect us.
That's what you should be aspiring for: to be a solution. What can I do to become a solution to others? What can I do to help people? That's how you become valuable.
To become a solution, ask yourself: what can I do? What can I really do to help others? It could be in your career, spiritually, or in education. Just because you're a believer doesn't mean you're called to be a pastor. If you know you have a passion for something, pursue it with diligence.
For instance, if you have a passion for design, go for it! There are many passionate designers making a difference who are also strong believers. If you have a passion for the medical field, groom yourself and invest in your education. Don't be shy about pursuing your dreams.
One of the things I'm passionate about is writing, and I'm writing to encourage you to do the same. Find what you're passionate about and use it to make a difference.
Now, how did Jephthah develop his skills and abilities? He grew himself in wisdom and capacity by finding opportunities to improve. He grew in those aspects, and that's the importance of self-investment.
The Importance of Self-Investment
1. You become very valuable.
You become valuable because you provide solutions.
2. Self-investment opens you up to bigger opportunities and connections.
3. Self-investment leaves a legacy.
It's essential to understand that our journey in life may be long or short, and we never know when we'll pass away. Therefore, it's crucial to leave a good footprint, not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations.
We all want our children to be able to say, "My dad or great-grandpa did something amazing." For instance, Abraham Lincoln's family and generations after him have benefited from his legacy. His descendants have learned about his greatness and have been honored by it.
Leaving a good footprint benefits those who come after us. It makes them proud and happy to be associated with us.
In part 3 of this series, coming out on Sunday, we’ll explore more lessons from Jephthah’s journey and how they speak to the struggles and greatness within each of us. Don’t miss it.
More ink flow my brother
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