Have you ever found yourself in a situation of your own making and wishing you hadn’t done anything to get there? I have done this on more than one occasion. I’m not going into too much detail because I don’t want to give away details that might reflect negatively on anyone or any employer. I’ll just sum it up by saying that I REALLY thought I needed a job, and I pushed all the right buttons, including praying for it, to get it. Then I found myself in a mess of my own making. I got exactly what I wanted, but I later wished that I hadn’t gotten what I wanted. It was a difficult lesson to learn especially since I was old enough to know better. I pushed for something that was outside the plan God had for me, and then He let me stay there until I learned my lesson. Believe me when I say that I learned my lesson!
I’m reminded of Jephthah in Judges 11 when he prayed for deliverance against the Ammonites. Jephthah made a rash vow. If God would make him and his warriors successful, Jephthah promised he would sacrifice to the Lord whatever came out of his house first to greet him after his victory. Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, but tragically, upon his return home, his only daughter and child was the first one to come out to greet him in celebration. In that moment, Jephthah realized his mistake. (For further discussion of this, see the notes at the end.) What always stands out to me in this story is that Jephthah didn’t think to pray first because he was so caught up in thoughts of victory.
I remembered to pray about the job I wanted, but I forgot to ask if it was what God wanted. Now, I pray for something while asking to receive it only if it is God’s will. Lately, I’ve been praying every step of the way. When I start feeling confused about the path, I pray and read the Word. When I lose confidence in the path, I pray and read the Word. When the budget gets tight, I pray and read the Word. Every time, God comes through. It might not look like I thought it would, but He always answers.
The benefit of making mistakes like this is that I’m making them less frequently as I get older because I finally seem to be learning from them. I’m stretching my faith muscles to trust that God has a plan that I might only be able to see in hindsight. I just keep taking it one day at a time, and I’m trusting that He’ll catch me if I fall. Mistakes are inevitable. What we do with what we learn from those mistakes is optional. I’ve chosen to take the wisdom from my mistakes and apply it to my current path. I’m still learning, and that will be a continuous process.
Most importantly, I don’t feel like I’m off God’s path for my life. I don’t quite understand where it is headed professionally, but I have the confidence that He will be with me every step of the way. I’ve learned to pray myself into God’s will for my life instead of my own will and misguided path. If I walk away from this with just stronger faith and a belief that God knows what’s best for me, it will be enough.
FURTHER DISCUSSION:
Many Biblical scholars today agree that Jephthah’s daughter was not sacrificed as a traditional burnt sacrifice as God found this abhorrent. When Abraham thought he would have to sacrifice Isaac, God provided a ram (Genesis 22). Twice in Leviticus, God forbade human sacrifice, and in Deuteronomy, it is noted that human sacrifice is abhorrent to the Lord (Leviticus 18:21 & 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 12:31). Therefore, his daughter would have given her life in service to the Lord, and Jephthah would have had no heirs to continue his name, which was a very big deal in ancient times.
According to Enduring Word, a proper translation would have been that whatever exited the house first would be consecrated to the Lord. God did not approve of human sacrifice so his daughter would have been consecrated to service for the Lord.
Reference:
Guzik, David. (1996). Judges 11 – Jephthah and the Ammonites. The Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Enduring Word Media. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/judges-11/
All Things Subject to Change 