And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Jabez had many personal and spiritual reasons to call upon the name of God. When he was born his mother gave him a name that no child would want, the meaning was “he will cause pain.” Can you imagine having to endure a name like that! Can you possibly understand what it was like for him as a young person. All because his mother had given him the name after a hard, difficult birth!
Side thought here be careful what you say when going through the painful times in life it will affect those around you.
Jabez knew himself to be a sinful man. He understood his weaknesses. He knew he was not what he should be. And in knowing this he cries out to God. But not just for his sinful self, his problems or things he was going through, but it reached beyond his personal borders into the world around him.
The land that had been given to Israel by God was still inhabited by the people they had been commanded to put out. Though they were to be gone according to God’s command, they were still there! Israel had decided they could cohabitate with them in the land that had been given exclusively to them. This sounds so familiar with our world today - God tells us to turn away and put certain things out of our life but we think we can “cohabitate” with them. Be careful what you allow to stay in your life. God is able and willing to help us but if we do not follow what He says then we are left to drown in our own sorrows.
Life is never easy. Seek to be faithful to the Lord. Too often, we find this to be a convenient excuse to say, “Well, I will just go along with it. It is much easier that way.” What happened among God’s people then, happens among us today, as well. Forgetting that we are set apart unto God brings trouble into our lives
Jabez pled with God for help. Jabez prayed a prayer of faith – faith in God’s Covenant Promise.
Jabez began, “Oh, that Thou wouldst bless me indeed.” This is a cry of faith. This was from one who was in the depths of darkness that seemed to be closing all around him. He is crying out to God: “Oh, how I need Your blessing – that blessing which was promised!”
He continues on with , “…and enlarge my coast” – or, territory. Please do not forget the lost and hurting world around me. Wow - even through everything he was feeling about himself he still had a desire to see God move in the world around him.
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How many times do we stay focused on our own situations and problems forgetting that there is a world around us that is in desperate need of God’s help? Where is our focus?
Jabez continues: “that Thine hand might be with me.” Of course, we all know that God does not have a hand, but God’s hand speaks of His power and His protection. So what Jabez is praying here is to be lead by the power of God that he will be faithful in the midst of a dark and sinful world.
We need to pray this way as well, why? Because we live in a wicked world that keeps drifting farther away from God. We should be praying “Lord Keep me, in spite of my weakness, I know that I can be tempted, and I know that I can fall. But I also know that with your powerful hand of guidance upon my life I can walk in victory.”
Finally, Jabez pleads: “that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!” Meaning “Keep me from pain”. He pleads this because he knows how easily he can react in pain. Have you been there,reacted to pain that came into your life only to look back later and realize your reaction was not only wrong but unpleasing to God?
We read in verse 10, “And God granted him that which he requested.” God was able, God was willing and God DID!
God blesses His people. This blessing may not be filled with all those things that make us happy. It may even be filled with problems or persecution. But if we will learn to cry out to God when we are faced with the obstacles that come into our lives, God is ABLE!
Are you facing situations in your own life or possibly in the lives of those around you? Sure we all do, remember God is WILLING!
Are you ready to see God work a miracle in your life as the lives of those around you, then it is time to turn our eyes back on HIM, make sure we are living right, following the Word of God, being faithful to Him and PRAY. God is WAITING!
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