BLESSINGS AND PITFALLS OF
EXPANDING OUR VISION
Jane and I have a number
of daily scriptures we’ve been praying for many years. We’ve seen how the
content of these scriptures have change our vision, our habits, and our lives.
One of the most influential has been 1 Chronicles 4:10. And yesterday, the Lord
gave me more insight on the blessings and the pitfalls of how this verse works
in real life.
“And Jabez called on the God of Israel, ‘Oh that thou
wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine
hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that
it may not grieve me!’ And God granted him that which he requested” (1 Chron.
4:10).
Jesus gave his followers a mission: “And this gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations” (Matt. 24:14). “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations” (Matt. 28:19). And in Mark 16:15: “He said
unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’”
The blessing is that we get to do God’s will and
know that it is a good thing. But Jesus also told his followers that they would
be persecuted. That persecution is not only what we could imagine bad people
would do to us, but it’s much more than that, and that’s what the Lord was
showing me yesterday.
We, as Christians, not only support those who are
physically taking the gospel around the world, but we also pray for the Word of
God to be taught and believed around the globe. Our prayers are a big part of
what Jabez was talking about in 1 Chronicles 4:10: “Enlarge my coast.” To Jabez
and to us, having our Lord give us a bigger prayer vision is a blessing. In
fact, in that verse, when Jabez says “bless me indeed,” the original word for
“indeed” means “abundantly, exceedingly, greatly.” So Jabez is saying that if
God trusts us to let Him enlarge our vision, “our coasts,” it is a huge
blessing to Him and to us. But it comes with a price that Jabez addresses in
the rest of that verse.
The devil deals in the spiritual world, as well
as the physical, like we do. He can see when we are stretching out ourselves in
prayer or in action, and he hates it. He knows that our God will indeed answer
all of our prayers.
So when we enlarge our coasts in prayer or in
preaching and following Jesus Christ, the devil will send evil to attack us.
But God already has the answer for that.
In Jabez’s prayer, he admits to being grieved by
evil. That’s being honest. In the U.S., when we hear about human sex
trafficking, Satanic sacrifices of babies, cannibalism, all within our own
borders, we are horrified. But honestly, Jabez is telling us that if we stretch
out prayer as far as God wants us to, we are going to see way more evil than
anyone wants to ever see. The only way to stay at it is to rely on God to
protect our hearts. God needs us to pray for all the world, but He knows we
need Him to protect us from the effects of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
and feeling the depth of evil that Satan perpetuates.
If we are to ask God to enlarge our coasts, we
must also pray that He protect us from what feelings, emotions, physical,
chemical, and biological things that would attack us. And Jabez prays that
God’s hand be with us always. Jesus must grip us tightly as we go to battle in
prayer for the people and creatures of this earth. Remember, God put the seed
of Christ in us, and Philippians 4:13 says:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me.”
If God is calling you to
stretch out your faith vision, in prayer, or in any other physical actions,
please don’t take it lightly. Even personal prayer is a big deal to God, and it
automatically makes you an enemy of Satan. We determine to not let ourselves be
tempted to be over saddened by the world, or overly angered, or despondent, or
fearful in any way, because Jesus will always be with us, and God will never
leave us unprotected if we surrender all to Him and rely upon Him. And, He has
even given us this promise in 1 Corinthians
10:13: “There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it.”
There’s no fear in asking the Lord to enlarge
our coast. It’s a great blessing to be called upon to do just a little more for
Him. But be aware of the pitfalls and pray like Jabez that we will be helped in
avoiding and be protected from every enemy. God won’t disappoint ever. He’s got
our back, and our front, and above us, below us, and all around us! We are blessed,
and we are covered.
Love, Carolyn
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