Oh, That You Would Bless Me!

But the New King James Version puts it like this: “Keep me from evil that I might not cause pain." I understand that! His birth had caused pain, & his name meant pain. But he didn't want to cause any more pain to others. He wanted his life to be a blessing.

Jabez wanted to be protected from evil, because he knew that sin causes pain in the life of the one who commits it, & it brings pain into the lives of those who are victims. But most of all, sin brings pain to the heart of God.

Do you remember what the Bible says the world was like just prior to the flood in Noah’s day? Genesis 6:5-6 says that, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, & that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time."

Then it says, “The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, & His heart was filled with pain.” Sin brings pain to the heart of God.

I think that perhaps the greatest evidence of the pain that sin brings is the cry of Jesus as He hung upon the cross for us, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Can you imagine not only the suffering of Jesus, but also the suffering of the Father as He turned away from Jesus because of our sins?

ILL. During the depression years a Texan by the name of Yates owned a sheep ranch. But he just wasn’t making enough to pay the principal & interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch.

With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others at that time) had to live on a government subsidy.

Then one day a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area & told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, & he signed a lease with them. That well came in at 80,000 barrels a day.

Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. And Mr. Yates owned them all. The day he bought the land he had received the oil & mineral rights too. Yet for years he’d been barely surviving on welfare.

A multimillionaire living in poverty! His problem? Even though he owned all the mineral rights on his land, he just didn’t know the oil was there.

(Charles Roberts - Sermon Central. Adapted from Bill Bright, Campus Crusade)

Many today are living in spiritual poverty because they just don't realize how much God loves them; that through Jesus He is ready to forgive their sins, & bless their lives with a peace that the Bible says "passes all understanding."

INVITATION: Will you come, seek His blessing, & feel the hand of God working in your life?

(Note: I borrowed some of the wording of this message from an excellent sermon, “The Prayer of Jabez,” contributed by Rodney Buchanan to SermonCentral.com)