Jabez

Chronicles 4:10 - And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thou hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

So many times when we discuss, teach or even pray this scripture, we concentrate on the "Bless me and enlarge my coast (or territory)."  What if God granted the request of Jabez not because he asked for the blessing, but because he asked that God would keep him from evil so that he would not cause pain.

As Christians, we can unkowingly or unconciously cause pain to others by allowing the enemy to influence our thoughts. We sometimes say things without thinking first of how it may sound to someone else as it comes out of our mouth. Psalm 141:3 " Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

Even Jesus, in the Lord's prayer, instructed us to pray for God to deliver from evil. If this is the motive of our heart when we pray the prayer of Jabez, then our hearts will be pure. God will bless the pure in heart and as we receive His blessings, our coast (territory) will be enlarged.

Thessalonians 2: 3-3 " But the Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from the evil one."

Lord, I pray, keep me from all evil, so that I may not cause pain to you or anyone else. Amen

                                                                 Donna Marie

The elephant

No circumstance is too large;  “ ... with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26 

           

            A couple of years ago, I worked in a department that was short of  staff. The daily workload was overwhelming as the paperwork continued to come in. It piled endlessly in boxes covering much of the floor and desk space. With every task that was accomplished, several more took it’s place in line waiting to be performed. The small staff worked endlessly to meet work requests that seemed to never slow down. Then one day, there was a flood in the office that created even more work as everything had to be moved and cleaned and reorganized.

            I heard the manager ask, “How do you eat an elephant?  He then smiled and replied, “One bite at a time”  

            I thought of mine own elephant, which at the time was a large debt that overwhelmed me.  Two years later, I can see where it has been reduced and I have confidence that with God's help, I will see an end to it. No matter how large the elephant is or how overwhelming it may seem, God has promised that with Him, all things are possible, therefore we can have hope in Him for every situation.

PRAYER:  Lord,  help us to not be anxious when our circumstances become an oversized elephant, but to come to you in prayer and to be thankful that you are with us as we take each bite slowly devouring our situation. Help us to not give up, to not quit, to not lose hope, but to forget those things which are behind and to reach forward to those things which are ahead, remembering that all things are possible with you. Amen.

                                                                      Donna Marie