2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, we will look at the third element in the Prayer of Jabez, “oh, that Your hand would be with me!” It’s important for us to understand what this deceptively simple prayer request can mean to us. Jabez’s deep faith in God is revealed in this request, because it acknowledges God’s supremacy and sovereign power. The Lord wants us to know and understand this part of His nature very much. That is made clear in EX 20: 3-6, “Worship no god but Me. Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate Me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. But I show My love to thousands of generations of those who love Me and obey my laws.” There are many more Scriptures than space would permit which reveal some aspect or another of the supreme power God has to bring about His will, DN 4: 17 for example. The whole time I was writing about Jehovah Shammah in the “Who is God?” series, I was writing about the impact on our lives that God’s presence and power in them has.
How many times have we turned down an assignment that God gave us because: 1) it went against common sense, 2) it contracted our previous life’s experience, 3) it seemed to disregard our feelings, training, and need for security, or 4) it seemed to set us up to look like a fool or loser? This was a question that Pastor Wilkinson asked in his little book, The Prayer of Jabez. It is one which deserves our careful examination individually. That examination is likely to tell us a lot about the contents of our hearts and the status of our faith. Consider the stories of the commission of Moses and Jeremiah. These two men were definitely called out of their “comfort zone” and commanded to take on huge assignments that they couldn’t possibly fully understand. Each felt quite unqualified and ill prepared to carry out God’s command. EX 3: 11-12, “But Moses replied [to God], ‘I am a nobody. How can I go to the pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ God answered, ‘I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship Me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.’” Later in EX 4: 11-17, Moses spoke to God about having slow, hesitant speech and not knowing what words to say. God counted that with, “I will tell you what to say,” and reminding him that it was He Who created man’s mouth, ears, and eyes. It is so easy for us to forget Who our Creator is and how much power He has.
Jeremiah’s story is much the same. JER 1: 4-10 tells the story of how God calls Jeremiah to be a prophet and how Jeremiah responds by saying “I am too young; I do not know how to speak.” God counters by saying, “I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.” In view of the unpopular message to repent and come to obedient faith that Jeremiah had to deliver, it can only be through God’s hand in his life that he was able to go on to a long and very meaningful lifetime of service to the Lord.
Paul knew the importance of God’s hand in our lives when he wrote 2 COR 3: 5-6, “There is nothing that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God; it is He Who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.” After the Jews had crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, they set up a memorial of stones to commemorate that occasion. God told Joshua to give the people an important message in JS 4: 23-24. “Tell them that the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan for you until you had crossed, just as He had dried up the Red Sea for us. Because of this everyone on earth will know how great the Lord’s power is, and you will honor the Lord your God forever.” When Isaiah condemned the people’s sins, he began in IS 59: 1 by saying, “Do not think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help!” God had told him that He would punish the people’s sins by not acting on their pleas for relief until He was satisfied they would have been punished enough to break their stiff-necked heart attitude. He was saying He had the power to bring the punishment He knew they needed.
God’s power has been used by Him throughout mankind’s history in an effort to bring them closer to Him. The phenomenal success in the growth of the early Christian church was not an accident. AC 11: 21, “The Lord’s power was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” 2 CH 16: 9a uttered by the prophet Hanani to King Asa of Judah is revealing. “The Lord keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to Him.” If anyone tries to talk us into the fact that carrying out one of God’s assignments is impossible, remind that person of these two Scriptures: PHIL 4: 13 and MK 10: 27, I hope you will consult. In my humble opinion, God is eager for us to ask for His hand in our lives. That is because He will only give us that kind of power when we are doing His will-that which is best for us and best for Him. I hope each of us will have the good sense and courage to ask for God’s hand in our lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, the grace You extend us is such a magnificent demonstration of Your love and wisdom! Only those who do not love and obey You have reason to be afraid. Those who do love You are richly blessed by Your presence and power in their lives. Without You, Dearest El Elyon, sovereign Ruler of the universe, Lord Most High, we are worthless nobodies, weak and helpless. With Your power in our lives, we are equipped to do the work You want us to. With the death of Your Son on the cross, we have been released from bondage to sin as the Jews were released from bondage in Egypt. You have taken ordinary people and given them the talent and the power to do great things to show us Your power. You want us to know what it can mean to our lives and the lives of others we touch under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for You. Seemingly impossible challenges to our faith can be met and conquered, because of power You impart to us. As we yield to Your power in our lives, You bless us and others with whom we come in contact. You also move us forward in preparation for that Day when we called to a meeting in the air with Your Son. You deserve nothing less than our humble worship, adoration, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and heartfelt thanks. In Christ’s name, we offer these today. Amen.
My next message will look at the fourth element in the Pray of Jabez, “oh, that You would keep me from evil!” What a gift this little passage, 1 CH 4: 9-10 is! That is another reason why I call the Bible “God’s Love Letter To Us.” I think there should be a bumper sticker that reads, “Have you hugged God today?” Every time we read the Bible or pray, that is how we can show God we want to return to Him the love He has for each one of us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn