Rescued from Trials
“ 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 evil that it may not hurt me!”
And God granted him what he requested.”
1 Chronicles 4:10
In the genealogy connected with Bethlehem in the book of Chronicles, the name of Jabez shines forth like a brilliant star in the midst of a multitude of names. His name indicates that He was born in sorrow, for that is what his name means. The Bible doesn’t tell us what the nature of the sorrow was, all that we have is his prayer of brokenness to The God of Israel. We live in a time of great sorrow, a time when the word of God is neglected for sinful passions, entertainment, popularity, sensuality, lust, and all other kinds of abominable idolatries. Let us just for a moment, this day, listen to the prayer of Jabez, and just maybe we will desire to be like him. For he is like a brilliant star that shines forth in a day that exalts evil.
Notice that he begins to wrestle with God in prayer by crying aloud, “Oh that You would bless me.” First, we too need to pray for the blessing of God, in that He would redeem our souls from the wrath to come, and that we fully understand our sinful natures and the deceitfulness of our hearts. It is then that we become desperate and seek to put our dependence solely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that Jabez prayed, “Enlarge my borders.” He sought to honor God in all of his endeavors and to see the evil in his day diminished. Should we not seek to honor God in all of our activities? Come now, soldiers of the cross, take up your weapons for the great battle. Let faith and repentance go before you so that you may slay the wickedness that rises up within you. Let your battle cry be, “If God is for me, who can be against me?”
Oh, to be broken for the Glory of God in such a manner that we would take up our cross every day, crucifying our passions to it as we seek to imitate our beloved Savior. Look again at the last portion of Jabez’s prayer, “That Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that it may not hurt me!” In our constant endeavors to honor Christ in this life, blowing the trumpet of God’s word for everyone to hear, we must understand that we are surrounded with evil. From every side, we are being attacked. We must have the attitude of Moses when he cried out to the Lord, “if Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” The last thing we want is for our testimony to bring reproach upon the name of Christ. Therefore, let us take up God’s Holy Word, which is to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. God’s word is unalterable and cannot change. We must measure all of our circumstances and decisions against its great truths so that we will not stumble over the deceitfulness of our own evil hearts. Now may the Lord of host enlarge our borders, keeping us from evil, that we may be a herald for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.