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Do you know what the name Jabez mean? Jabez means pain. Now, I don’t know about you but I will never give my child such a derogative name.
You can just imagine how Jabez has become the butt of the jokes of his childhood friends. To make things worse, in our culture, they believe that your name plays a role in what you will become in the future.
So, here we have Jabez, whose name means pain. It definitely gave a bad connotation to his personality. However, Jabez didn’t allow his name to decide what he will be. He didn’t base his worth on what other people may say about him.
Instead, we read in I Chronicles 4:9 that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.”
What does that tell you? It shows that Jabez took the high roads. Though people have prematurely judged him to be a failure, he didn’t let that affect him. He made a decision to prove everyone wrong, including his mother.
For that reason, he became MORE honorable than his brothers. He had brought more decency and integrity in his family than anyone else.
As Christians, we need to learn that no matter what other people may tell you about what you can and what you cannot do, we can always make a decision to do our best instead of simply letting them decide our future. Our true value does not lie in them, but rather in God.
Prayer should be a habit
Most people find it hard to pray for a number of reasons. While prayer is considered to be a powerful spiritual tool available to everyone, it is often not used.
Jabez recognized the importance of prayer in his life. He knew that if he wants to be successful, he would need the help of God. He knew that he can’t do anything noteworthy if he will only rely on himself.
Jabez prayed a powerful prayer. He didn’t simply pray once, but prayer has been part of his everyday life. It’s not a one-time event, but he prayed on a regular basis.
There’s a reason why Jesus Christ said, “Give us today our daily bread” instead of saying, “Give us today our monthly or yearly bread.” God expects us to talk to Him every day and not just when we feel like it.
Strive to be a blessing rather than a burden
If you look into the prayer of Jabez, you might be thinking that he was asking God’s blessings for himself. Actually, no. That wasn’t the intent of Jabez.
Jabez asked God’s blessings so that he can also bless others. Jabez prayed to God to enlarge his coast, not to enjoy it selfishly, but rather he can share it with others.
If you turn to I Chronicles 2:55, you will find a land named after Jabez where may families of scribes reside. This shows us that Jabez’s main intention of asking for God’s blessing is for him to be better equipped in doing the work of God.
Remembering the prayer of Jabez
These are just some of the best lessons we can learn from the life of Jabez.
God Bless you.
Evang. Gabriel O. Richard
