And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, because I bare him in sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine 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 – 1 Chr. 4:9-10
Grace is an undeserved acceptance and love received from another. Usually, an undeserved favour granted by a superior to an inferior, when used of divine grace toward mankind, refers to the undeserved favour of God in providing salvation for those who deserve condemnation.
In the Christian faith, it is the saving activity of God manifested in the gift of His Son.
The idea of grace is paramount in our message because it is the instrument of power against limitations of life and a foundation for enlargement of material blessings. This means God’s involvement in the reproduction of His creation in a greater form. In this sense, God deals with humankind in the multitude of His love and mercy by ensuring abundant supply of both material and human resources.
Therefore, by means of His grace, there is an unlimited multiplication of resources through the performance of our hands. This simply means that the unlimited and uncommon provisions of life are from the Lord. It again means the unlimited flow of God’s mercy, the increase of His love, the multiplication of His peace and joy, the unprecedented promotion of God’s people in their respective careers.
In our text, Jabez was naturally constrained from any remarkable achievement in life due to the circumstances of his birth. His whole life was full of pain because he was caught in a web of pain at birth. He clearly understood that Satan had placed an embargo of failure upon his life. His fate as one born in pain was obviously bad, as this portends a future of darkness for him.
Jabez, however, had a clear understanding of what Satan had planned against him (to fight his destiny). His name literally means sorrow, and he was called Jabez because his conception and birth were in sorrow.
But we must make a clear difference between what fate offers, and what God gives through our faith in Him. Whereas, fate offered him pains, dishonour and reproach, destiny as designed by God showed him honour, unlimited grace and favour, enlargement, unprecedented success, promotion and expansion of coast.
Jabez was conscious of his biological limitations, but was equally aware of the surpassing and endless mercies of God that overrides human limitations. This prompted him into a heart-broken intercession with a dynamic Faith – It is God who changes the tide of human affairs. He cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh! that thou would bless me and enlarge my territory” (v. 10b) and God granted his request. The yoke of family curse which hitherto reduced and limited him to the cycle of dishonor in his family was broken. God separated him from among his brethren and he became more honourable than his brothers.
He was marked with distinction. He made giant strides through the mercies of God, and was distinctively favoured by God.
At this point, it is important we take note of the following:
1. Your family background is not a determining factor to the measure of God’s favour upon you.
2. It is not evil to be born in a family where there are limitations, but to lose sight of such limitations and not do anything about it.
3. Success in life begins at heart. For God to enlarge your territory, He must first of all enlarge your vision. Therefore, you must have a large heart for what God wants to do in your life
4. You must be conscious of the plans of Satan to sabotage your destiny through family curse, and pray yourself out of it. 5. You must renounce your name from all evil attachments and prophesy upon your life daily. See Gen. 9:27.
The above issues of life must have been addressed by the under-listed five prayer points of Jabez: Bless me indeed, enlarge my coast, let your hand be with me, keep me from evil, and keep me from grief.
As the Lord responds to your prayers, whatever caused you sorrow in the past shall give you joy now.
As you implicitly yield your heart and faith to this revelation from the supernatural realm, God will: bless the effort of your hands, bring your promotion, make you fruitful, restore whatever Satan has stolen from you, cause His faithfulness and mercy to blossom in your life, and the long-awaited growth (increase) of what was started early this year shall manifests.
God will also connect you to the right people, deliver into your hands the appointment you’ve been looking for, settle every indebtedness of your life, and change your story, and you shall weep no more.