01/226/2012
The time was 7:20 a.m. I was driving down I-24 to get to work. My Slacker Radio Station was tuned to the J. Moss Radio Station. What began to play is a song that I had not heard in almost 10 years… It was Donald Lawrence’s – “Bless Me” (Prayer Of Jabez).
Who is/was Jabez?
Then Jabez is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.”
The name Jabez means “he causes pain,” so we can assume that something about his birth was exceptionally more painful than the usual birth – either physically or emotionally. In Bible times, a name was very important. A name often defined a person’s future – what they would become. So perhaps Jabez’s mother was predicting her baby’s future.
It seems as if Jabez defied his hopeless name and dysfunctional beginning to become a man who believed fervently in the power of God. He prayed with urgency and vulnerability. He cried out to the Lord with boldness!
Jabez was honored because of his relationship with God. In fact, 1 Chronicles 4:9 says, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers…” The record of the genealogy of Judah was interrupted to bring us these details about Jabez. His relationship with God must have been exceptionally noteworthy to cause the author of Chronicles to stop and elaborate on this one man’s life.
So, as I am driving I begin to reflect over this week. I had some things to happen that just took my breath away…I was on an emotional rollercoaster like none other, BUT God! I then began to think about my life and just how blessed I really am. This is the time that I REALLY listened to the words of the song…
Bless me, bless me
Oh Lord, bless me indeed
Enlarge my territory
Oh God, bless me indeed
Increase, increase, I pray for increase
Enlarge my territory
Oh God, bless me indeed
That no evil cannot harm me
Sunshine and rain
Through sickness and pain
Lord I humbly come to you
Oh Lord, bless me indeed
At this time I began to cry…yes, I am a cry baby! 🙂 I came to the realization that over the past 5 years that the Lord has been really blessing me.
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I have a extremly loving family
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I have a career that I absolutely LOVE and ENJOY
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My students…even though at times they may make me upset, I love them unconditionally
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He allowed me to purchase my first home within a year of my first REAL job/career
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I have a loving church family
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I also have 2 circle of friends that I adore greatly.. “The Get Fresh Crew” and “Sensational Six”
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also…did i mention that i have a career that i LOVE?!?! 🙂
You cannot welcome more abundance into your life until you have said to the Lord truly, “Hey, thanks for all I have”. The problem is that when things are given to us over and over, we start taking them for granted or we forget being appreciative of what we receive. You can overcome this tendency by dedicating some time daily just to be thankful maintaining an attitude of gratitude.
Remember: In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.
– David Steindl-Rast
What Are YOU Most Thankful For?
What makes YOU tick? What makes your heart sing? What is it that you are most thankful for?
Rave about it here! C’mon! Share your appreciation with the world!
~Love, Peace, and SOOOOOOOUL!!
live. love. teach. travel! 
Thank you for the bible study. I have been thinking about this prayer lately. The fact that Jabez’s name means pain is not necessarily a bad thing. We can denote from this man that although he suffered pain, he was also made better, stronger because of that pain. Sometimes we go through pain in order to get toughened. Let the church say amen.
Amen! We sometimes forget that even though we are going through our God WILL restore!