August 28
'Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested' – 1 Chronicles 4:9-1
Parents spend endless hours deciding on a suitable name for their new-born child. It's important that the name is appropriate as the child will carry it throughout life. Here, in our scripture reading is an example of the psychological, and even social effects, an inappropriate name can have. This mother chose to call her child Jabez – or in Hebrew, 'pain.' What a moniker to saddle a child with.
When I first came across this brief prayer of Jabez, my head bubbled with questions.....was his delivery traumatic – breech? Did his mother make an idol of the pain, constantly repeating the saga over and over? Had her husband left her when he knew another mouth to feed was imminent? Whatever caused a mother to name her new-born child “a pain,” relationships with siblings and friends must have been affected. Can you imagine the field-day his brothers, and especially school pals, would have when he first said “Hello, my name is pain!”
What does this have to do with our lives today? Well, take another look at the scripture reading above. Jabez asks four things of God that are relevant to all of us. Swindoll,C. OT Characters.
1. He asks God to “Bless me indeed,” - not just bless, but to bless him indeed. Jabez doesn't just want to finish the race, he wants to win, and to do that he needs God's blessing. Notice how he left it entirely up to God where, when, and how, the blessing would come. We so often want to take the reins and present God with a list of blessings we want now, pronto, instead of waiting His time, and for His choice of the blessing we need to enhance our lives.
2. Jabez asks, “Enlarge my borders.” He begs God for increase – more influence, more responsibilities, more opportunities. Should Christians ask God for more?....better employment....more money? It is Bruce Wilkinson's view that, “If you're doing your business God's way, it's not only right to ask for more, but He is waiting for you to ask. Your business is the territory God has entrusted to you. He wants you to accept it as a significant opportunity to touch individual lives....for His glory.” Talk with Him about your concerns and financial needs. I know someone with a child in hospital many miles away. They had a word with God and promised to use the car, not only for hospital visits, but in His service too. The Lord listened and gave it. Our homes are the single most powerful arenas on earth to change lives for God.”
3. Jabez knew that once God granted his plea for enlarged borders, he would need God's steadying hand even more desperately. So, he requested that “Your hand might be with me.” Jabez in his second request could have set himself up to fail – just as we so often do – unless God stepped in. Now, like us, he realises his dependence on God. Bruce Wilkinson comments, “Dependence upon God makes heroes of ordinary people like Jabez and you and me.” I don't know about you and your life, but in mine I can see many times God allowed me to be in situations complex and large enough for failure to be guaranteed - unless He and I walked through them hand-in-hand, dependant upon His leading.
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
