Inheriting a Blessing

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:10

Much has been written about the prayer of Jabez in the last decade. In fact, this verse has risen from obscurity to be found in book titles, multiple articles, and Christian paraphernalia galore.

Presumably as a result of all this publicity, many people are daily praying Jabez' prayer. However, doing so without understanding the laws of the harvest will miss a most important point. 

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7-8

No farmer would ever plant a grain of wheat and be content to harvest a grain of wheat. No, when a farmer planted a bag of wheat seeds, he expected to harvest a field of wheat. According to the laws of harvest we will get in abundance whatever it is we plant. And this is what God says will happen in my life. I will reap a harvest of whatever it is I plant. 

Image Pixabay

And so how do I "reap" a blessing? 1 Peter 3:8-9 reads, "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." 

When, under the inspiration of God,  Peter wrote that these first generation Jewish Christians were to return a blessing for unkindness, it was not only counter-intuitive but revolutionary. These people had been taught the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth law of the Old Testament. And in those days and in that culture a blessing was not simply doing a good turn for someone, but actually praying beautiful words over a beloved one's head such as "The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-6).

The bottom line is that if I want to receive the benefit of the increased blessing for which Jabez prayed, it will not happen in a vacuum. If I would reap a harvest of blessing, I must sow seeds of blessing. Then and only then, in accordance with His laws of the harvest and in the manner He chooses, will God "enlarge my territory." 

Image Pixabay

See Following My Heart, A Truly Stupid Idea.
See The Upside of Suffering.
See "What Not to Wear"—Liberia Edition.