1 Chro. 4:9-10, “Jabez was more distinguished than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because she had such a hard time at his birth (Jabez means “Distress”). He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would wonderfully bless me and help me in my work; please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all evil and disaster!” And God granted him his request” (TLB). If you want your story to change irrespective of what the devil has done; no matter the level of unsatisfactoriness of things in your life, no matter the seal that is operating in your life, all you need do for there to be a transformation is PRAY. The song writer said, “I found the answer, I learned to pray, with faith to guide me I’ve found the way, the sun is shining for me each day, I found the answer and I learned to pray”. The answer is in prayer. Things don’t just change until you make a positive decision that things must change. Anything you tolerate you cannot change. If you are satisfied with the status quo, it will remain. Whatever you accommodate will become your tenant.
There are some vital lessons that you need to take note of in this story.
- The circumstances of your birth need not define your destiny. Every unsatisfactoriness of things in your life can change if you make the decision. Don’t justify your present location; don’t be comfortable with it, be angry enough to desire a change. If you don’t make that decision, the situation will remain. It is a law in physics that every body remains in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is acted upon by an impressed force. In the preceding scriptures, we were give a list of genealogies of Judah, nothing spectacular was written about anyone of them, they just lived. But when it came to Jabez, there was a pause, the King James Version said, “And Jabez was more honourable …” Prior to this, his name had never been mentioned before. The Bible says he was more honourable; more distinguished than the others. Why? He prayed but others didn’t. They were satisfied with their situation. But Jabez was not. Whenever his name was mentioned, it was a bitter reminder of the circumstances of his birth because he had a bad name, ‘Sorrow’. I don’t know the things you have been tolerating in your life but if I were you, I would decide that there must be a change. Certain things must change for the better in your life. Things change in the place of prayer. You can recreate your world by your actions; one decision is all it takes to recreate your world.
PRAY:- Eternal Rock of Ages, Most Holy God I worship You. Grant me the grace to take the right decision that will bring positive change in my life in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
TO BE CONTINUED.