Jabez

Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”

Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory, 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.
2 Chronicles 4: 9-11

Someone wrote a book a while ago called the "prayer of Jabez," which became wildly popular. By wildly popular, I mean that if you go to your grandparent's house, you might find it hanging on the wall of their bathroom. I'm pretty sure Jabez pictured you brushing your teeth while reading his prayer.

It is a nice book, though there were some unintended conclusions that people drew from it. Namely the redneck prayer of Jabez, which reads "oh that you would bless me with beers, lots and lots of cold beers; and enlarge my territory and give me two Chevy silverado extended cab pickup trucks with which I might inspect said territory". The redneck prayer of Jabez pretty much stops at when said redneck gets a DUI and spends the night in jail as apparently God does still honor the part of the prayer about delivering him from evil!

But all of that is not what jumped out of the passage at me today. It's actually the first part of the passage: now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. Who were his brothers? What mischief did they make? Is their misdeeds the reason why Jabez's mom spoke of bearing him in pain? We really don't know at all.

But we do know that God can make good from bad, he can make beautiful from ugly. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted, blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Look at the cross, our life and salvation comes straight from pain and suffering.

Whatever awful family situation he was born into, Jabez is not destined to follow his brothers. And that must give us hope. If your brother is a screw-up, you are not destined to fail. If your mom is negligent or your dad abuses you, you are not destined to walk in their footsteps.

How do you escape "the cycle" of pain, of evil? Pray, pray, pray that God might let you walk with him into green pastures, that he would lead you beside still waters, that he would restore your soul. The Bible is filled with countless stories of suffering and redemption. . .seek them out and take comfort in them. "Though the sorrow may last for a night, joy comes in the morning". True joy, that is, not in the form of beer and pickup trucks, but rather in walking with Christ as he not only redeems your brokenness, but makes you a blessing to the brokenhearted in his world.