It Is Your Rightful Place

Judges 11;1-10 (KJV)

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.


The only view, I think, that can be seen from this passage is two-fold. Sort of a double vision. We have Jephthah side (to do our best to draw from him), and the side of the elders of Gilead (to, again, draw from their state of emergency). Before I present the encouragement, I desire to alert all men who read this, "Please, if you are a father and not with (married to) the mother of your child, this could be of some GREAT assist to you."

First off let's get the obivous out of the way. Jephthah was, by mentioning, the oldest of his father's sons yet he was not one born to Gilead's wife. Yes, he is Gilead's son. Now I just swiped at the aforementioned Brothers, but maybe they head was turned. Again, Jephthah's brothers (the ones we would called legitimate, or rightful) made Jephthah leave their father's house. Actually the scriptures record that they, "thrust out Jephthah". They did so with a harsh reminder to Jephthah as well. My pondering, upon being lead to this passage, was, "Where is Gilead in all of this?" Another swipe just went forward.

Fathers, especially those fathers that are not active in the lives of the child. Go speak for your child. Speak with your child. There can be no greater tragedy than that of a fatherless child. Do you see, by just these first two verses, the mindset that was placed upon Jephthah? Now, insert your child's name in place of Jephthah's name. I needed to put that out there before getting to the encouragement. Fathers!!!!! Go see about your children.


Today's encouragement has to be seen in the words of the elders, in verse 6, when they went to go seek out Jephthah. That is why the title is what it is. It is time for you to go back and claim that placement which belonged to you from the start. No longer are you to sit, wherever it is you are sitting, in whatever defeated mindset you have, surrounded by people who are only present because they know you have more within you than you realize yourself. Rise up and reclaim your rightful place. You are a child of God. God!!! God: who owns all the cattle on all the hills. God: who told the waves exactly how far they could go upon the sands of the beaches. God: who spoke light into exsistence. God: the bginning and the end; to know the end from the beginning. And, God: your Creator; your Father; to know you have purpose, because he created you on purpose.

So what, you got placed in front of a group of people who told you that you didn't belong. How do they know that? Do you not know that you made it to there? To that place where they are at! They didn't come to where you were, no, you had to reach the place where they stand. Why is it you DON'T belong there? You better raise your head and continue to BE THERE until God shows you AND THEM that you are suppose to be there.

So what, the people at the gym are driving expensive, europeon, touring sedans and wearing designer labeled clothes to workout in everyday. You pay your membership dues right along with planning the correct public transit route so you can workout and have enough time to make it to your evening class at the local community college. That gym equipment doesn't care, nor do the fitness center employees care. If the other gym members have a problem with your mode of transportation or "level" of education, allow for your Father in heaven to turn that gym into a private, workout establishment for one: You.

So what, that dude just slammed the door in your face behind some cold, emotionless, statement concerning the baby you two share, "That ain't my kid. Now, bye." You continue to raise that child. That bessing given by God. Because that child has purpose, and you raise that child with purpose. Yes, you will have to sacrifice, and maybe even endure a few more times of having that dude slam that door in your face. But, did you notice that he kept slamming the same door, while all along you kept having to come from a different address. One was your mama's address, the next was that apartment over off Wrightsboro Rd. And then, there was that address to that townhouse over by Westside High School. Finally, the last time you remember him slamming that same door, you had to come all the way, burning up your gas, in your vehicle, from the address of that home in Jones Creek. The one that is close to one of the highest performing middle schools in your city. As well as being close to your new place of employment, which now affords you the opportunity to begin a correct "college" fund for your child instead of the savings plan you have been putting some of your extra money into. All of this, you have been doing, all while he kept slamming the same door.


Prayerfully, all of these examples have gotten some of you to the headspace to see that when God set something in motion, it will be realized. It doesn't matter your circumstamces or status. You can be a child of a prostitute, that doesn't matter. You can not have best of anything, that doesn't matter. You can be a woman who is raising a child on her own, that doesn't matter. You can be a man that doesn't have the wherewithal to get to your child, that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you do not STOP! You do not abdicate that rightful position. God created you on purpose: with purpose. It is in you to reach where he said you would go. You are not an accident, you were not born by happen stance. You have a place and a position that God set for you. It is time to shake off whatever has been said, is being said, or whatever might be said, and begin to move closer to your rightful place within this life. Remember, it is your place to claim.


Holla,
Yer Brova Catalyst