Confidence

Can you imagine your parents sticking you with a name like "Ouch" or "Ugh"?! Well, that's basically what happened to poor Jabez, whose name sounded like the Hebrew word for pain. Did Jabez give in to the destiny his name implied? No way! He knew that God alone controlled his future, so he asked God to direct it and protect him. Are you stuck with some family baggage of your own-divorce, drug or alcohol addiction, cruddy relationships, abuse? it may seem like there's no escaping it, but by God's grace you don't have to carry that with you into your future.  1 Chronicles 4:9-10 9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying "I gave birth to him in pain." 10 Jabez cried out to the Lord of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."