Tips on being “Honorable”
Hey Friend, Can I tell you something? Oh, my goodness! Now he has me saying it! My son Eligh seems to start off every conversation with this one phrase… “Can I tell you something?” Even if what he really wants to do is ask for something it starts with “Can I tell you something?” Ever hear something so often you start saying it subconsciously?
Well, I want to tell you something you already know. I want to tell you something so simple that it is profound.
The devil lies. And his lies can sound so sweet, pure and true.
He is indeed. The father of lies… the king of deception. The misleader of humanity.
Sometimes in the most subtle ways.
There is a line in the song by Martina McBride called “God’s Will.” It is about a little boy who is disabled. It says, “And then he'd pray for everybody in the world but him.”
Watch the full song here. (disclaimer, don’t watch if ya don’t want to cry)
In our humanity we think that is so noble. To the point where we might actually feel a twang of selfishness if we were to pray for ourselves. I think that is one of the lies that Satan loves to feed us. And we are prone to eat up so readily with a sense of honor and nobility, a sense of false humility. I know I have felt it. I mean if I am grateful and thankful, then why should I ask for anything more?
But then I got to thinking about a man named Jabez. (I got a thing for obscure characters in the Old Testament. By the way have you gotten a copy of my Book Raising De Bar yet? It dissects the character and story of Mephibosheth. You can learn more about that HERE).
Ya know what the Bible says about Jabez? Well not much actually but it does say he was noble. 1 Chronicles 4:9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”
And do you know what Jabez prayed for? (well, he probably prayed for a lot of things but) His most notable prayer was a seemingly selfish one. 1 Chronicles 4:10 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.
“Oh, that you would bless me indeed.”
It makes you think doesn’t it. I wonder if our sense of honor and nobility are all wrong and backwards. Scratch that. I don’t wonder about that at all. I know full well that our way of thinking is often all wrong and totally contradictory to God’s way of thinking. (See Isaiah 55:8-9).
Actually, that is why my life verse is Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
It is honorable to pray for ourselves. To ask that God would bless us and bless us indeed. Isn’t that one of the things Jesus told us He came to do? John 10 :10 …I came that you might have life and life abundant!” (emphasis mine)
You see God wants to bless you so that you can bless the world! Think about it. He has called you and me to be a city on a hill. (Mathew 5:13-16)
You and I were called to care for the orphan and the widow and to give to the poor. None of which can be accomplished if we are barely able to fend for ourselves.
The devil lies and tells us to be humble, content and to not ask for anything. But God’s word tells us that it is honorable to ask God to bless us!
So that was my prayer Early this Morning. Lord Bless me! Bless me so that I can be a blessing to my friends. Bless me with Wisdom that I can share with my friends. Bless me with the right words to say that I might be an encouragement to my friends today!
So, I encourage you to pray some big prayers today as well. And take God’s blessing out there and bless the world!
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