“There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.“ (1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NLT)
Almost nothing is known of the man Jabez. Evidently he believed in prayer and used it for his own benefit. One of his requests is something we can all relate to. Who wouldn't prefer to avoid “all trouble and pain”?
However, I've lived long enough to know that pain isn't the mortal enemy we think it is. While my sufferings with cancer were relatively pain free, the blinding pain of migraine headaches did more to help me pray than all the sermons I've heard on prayer.
I think we sometimes fear pain too much. We get a little pain and want an instant cure. We can't see how ”no pain, no gain” is helpful. We view pain as the enemy of the life we want to enjoy.
Ask someone who has suffered much. They are the ones who've been refined and come through as pure gold. Those who've lived pain-free lives (and especially those who know nothing of suffering), are often those whose personal lives are distorted and morally ugly.
Think of the famous actors who have all their hearts could desire, and you'll likely be thinking of people who are ruined by their relatively easy existence. It's usually through adversity that we grow into the kinds of people the Lord will use greatly.
Like Jabez, I've “prayed to the God of Israel” to keep me ”from all trouble and pain”. But my greatest spiritual growth, and my closest intimacy with my Creator, has been when my pain was the greatest.
As I reflect on my own suffering, I can honestly say with the Psalmist concerning all of it, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” Psalm 119:71 (NLT)
So, like Jabez, and—like most (if not all) of God’s people—we pray for deliverance from the pain and suffering that seems so prevalent around us. Yet, after the storm has passed, we look back and recognize we've become better people for the suffering we wanted to avoid.
“We pilgrims walk the tightrope between earth and heaven, feeling trapped in time, yet with eternity beating in our hearts. Our unsatisfied sense of exile is not to be solved or fixed while here on earth. Our pain and longings make sure we will never be content, but that’s good: it is to our benefit that we do not grow comfortable in a world destined for decay.“ Joni Eareckson Tada
