Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.. (I Chronicles 4:10 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Pray For Change
When I was young, I picked my nose. I know… it is disgusting. But I found myself in a pattern that repeated itself, repeatedly. To break the pattern, I asked my mom to yell at me whenever I touched my nose. I really do not recall how many times she actually yelled at me for that, but I remember my reasoning. I needed something startling to break the cycle of nose-picking. And it worked.
Jabez saw a cycle taking place in his life. Smack dab in the middle of the time of the Judges, things were getting worse and worse. And each problem seemed to lead to a recurrence of previous problems.
Perhaps he saw in his name, which meant, “Birthed in pain,” a way out of the cycle. Every time Jabez was greeted on the street, he was reminded of the painful cycles of life. Every time he conversed with a friend who used his name, Jabez was reminded of the painful cycles of life. He heard his name, and saw the cycle.
So Jabez asked God to lessen the pains of life, and give blessings instead.
And God, because Jabez had shown the ONLY way to break out of our sinful destructive cycles, answered Jabez’s prayer.
Our fear can be cyclical, too. Old problems return. Old sins resurface. Old troubles repeat.
Rather than try to fix them on your own, copy Jabez.
Fear not, then pray for change.