Jabez

In the 4th chapter from the book of 1 Chronicles, we find the man named Jabez.  Interestingly enough, there are a series of books written about this particular man, which is written in verses 9-10 in chapter 4.  Keep in mind, for the rest of the chapter, it does its usual chronicling of families, with a few minor descriptions like in the first three chapters, but here it goes quite in depth.

It starts out by telling us that Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.  Out of his siblings, he was the only one to cause his mother great pain.  Later in life, Jabez did not want to live up to that name and asked God to bless him, to enlarge his territory, and to keep him from harm.

And God granted the request.

How amazing it was for God to answer his prayers.

The same could be said about you.  How many are told that they're not going to amount to anything special because of where they live, what they've done, or the fact that no one else in the family has accomplished anything good?  The story of Jabez is about a man who was dealt with a poor hand, but with his true faith in God, he prayed and rose about it, all with God's blessing.