Jephthah!
Judges 11:6”And they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites."
God takes what’s in you and uses it for your advancement and the fulfillment of His purpose as in the case of Jephthah who was considered as a riff raff; nevertheless, in the intro of Jephthah, he is mentioned as a mighty warrior, God used this courage and boldness of Jephthah that was earlier used for worthless purpose but now was put to use for God’s Kingdom. Glory to Jesus! Stay right there for a powerful message!
Never consider yourself as worthless, useless and valueless! You are special and significant in the eyes of God! Jephthah was lampooned, mocked and humiliated for being born for a harlot; his pain and agony during his growing years must have been enormous. This made him hard and unreachable and in order to soothe his scars he mixed with worthless boys and became a gang leader. One day, a group of elders from Israel came up to Jephthah and invited him to be their leader and fight their enemies. This was not just a call from the Israelites but a call from God to Jephthah to come back to Him! Not just come back but also spearhead His people! Wow, His grace is amazing, profound and unfathomable! God’s eyes are on a riff raff for a prominent position in His army! I am speaking to someone out there! God would change your present circumstances and make you head and not the tail! You would be above and not below!
From the year 2009, after relocating to Hyderabad from Tamil Nadu, God diverted my attention to a different arena and that was compassion for rag pickers and street kids. I would suddenly halt in the middle of the road and would minister to teenagers wandering and begging on the roads; at times, I have been a big pain for my husband, who would watch me and know not what to do! None knew the explosion God was creating in my heart for the abandoned children! Slowly, God guided me, directed me and we started our Abide School and Abide Angel Home which are now both functioning well by His grace. I watched one thing among the abandoned street children and the rag pickers – they don’t trust people easily. It took me one full year to get close to a mother of three children who was picking rag and collecting garbage from our area, all the three children are studying in my school now. These people cover themselves with a hard shell, by being rude and boisterous. You can hardly see them smile. Many teenagers from slums joined our school and it was a herculean task educating and rehabilitating them; unable to squeeze into a strict, neat and clean environment, many left but few stayed back.
This morning I preached the message on Jephthah in our fasting prayer at church, where the school children also attend. Preaching to a huge group of students and getting their focus has been the most difficult task that I have encountered, because they are like caffeinated cats : restless, energetic and noisy. After the sermon, while I was at the gate, a group of teenagers came running to me and said pray for me, while I laid hands on them and prayed, Nani a fifteen year old rag picker who studies in our school, dug his hands into his pockets and gave me twenty rupees as offering. The previous day, I worked late on the message of Jephthah, along with my husband, we pulled out video clippings, connected to the message – so that somehow, someone gets blessed. The twenty rupee note was precious to me! My daughter was with me and watched the entire scene!
I only pray more ‘Jephthahs’’ would bloom from our School and also through all the ministries that we are doing!
