Out of Pain.
Reading Time: 6 minutes
There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would expand my territory! Please be with me in all I do and keep me from all trouble and pain! And God granted his request.
1 Chronicles 4:9 -10
Now, this is an interesting story. It almost feels out of place when you read it in context. We have a list of people and then boom, a guy named Jabez and his prayer. I wouldn’t have found it if someone didn't mention it. Surrounded by something as boring as a bunch of names, we see the glimmer of a gem beneath the rough.
Sometimes, it is hard to know what to pray for or what is possible. Jabez is born from hurt. His beginning was so bad, his name sounds like the Hebrew word for distress. Yet, he prays to be kept from pain and God grants it. God answers his prayer and keeps him from trouble and pain. Now, we could stop here, but I have a thought. He was born in pain. He was born in hurt. How did Jabez have the faith to not just ask for his territory to be expanded, but for his pain to be alleviated?
I think so often we let our reality be our cap. If you were born into divorce, you may not even realize you can have a healthy family. If you were born into poverty, it may not cross your mind that financial freedom is available to you. If you were born into fear, it may be hard to imagine a life of faith. Sometimes, we don't even know what trusting in God can garner because we can only see our present. Sometimes, we don't even realize we are allowed greater or that greater even exists because we have never seen it before.
If Jabez was born into pain, what made him realize freedom was available to Him through the provision of Jesus? I believe Jabez had a special faith that allowed him to see past his present into his possible. Jabez could have been content, but he asked God to give him something he couldn’t even articulate with details— he asked Him to expand his territory. Now, this may sound like a greedy plea for self-recognition, platform or position, but I want to look at it in a different way.
Jabez didn't ask for a specific plot of land or map out a specific flow of events to happen, though he very much could have. Jabez just asked for something greater, he asked for more. He gave God a blank check and allowed God to fill in the details. He just asked God to move, similar to when God told Abraham to go to a land He would show him. Abraham didn’t know the details of the platform he was being led to, but he followed the calling of God and walked towards it. I believe real faith is trusting the leading of God even when you may not have all the details or understanding and that’s what we see here. Real faith is placing yourself into the hands of God and allowing Him to do whatever He sees fit.
I think we can learn something from Jabez. Jabez prayed for greater, without even knowing what greater would look like in detail. And in the same breath, we see him praying out of the situation he was born into. You may not know how you will be freed from the sexual sin your family has swept under the rug for generations. You may not understand the methods of financial literacy that will remove you from the burden you were born into. You may not know how to get over the addiction you can’t remember life without. You may not be able to get over the fear or trauma that seems to pop back up in every relationship. You may not be able to fight the insecurity that has plagued you and your family for generations. But, you can ask the God of Greater for greater. Remember, asking for your territory to be increased is not just about physical land.
In Romans 12, Paul says you don't have to be stuck in the patterns you see. You can be transformed by the shifting of your mind. The word “repent” in Greek only means to change your mind or turn your perspective. If you ask God to rearrange how you think, you will open the door to a faith that doesn’t make sense. You need a crazy faith to believe God can split a Red Sea when you’re between an army and the ocean. You need a faith that can believe Jesus only needs to say a word to heal your daughter. You need a faith that allows you to walk through the storm that was worrying you when Jesus calls out. Faith takes some imagination because trusting God isn’t always trusting Him to do what he has done before. You have to trust Him for more. You have to trust Him for greater. You have to trust him when you don’t know the how or the why. You need to trust Him. And trust is a process of baby steps that come from turning.
Give yourself to God and allow Him to transform your mind. Then, you will not be stuck in the same patterns your family has found themselves in. You will not be stuck in the same cycles you have found yourself in. You can find rest, peace, forgiveness and worth in Jesus. Turn to Him. Allow Him to not just expand your influence, but expand your mind and faith. Allow Him to free you from the pain you were born into.
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