1 Chron 4:9-10

⁹ Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, ^F38 saying, "I gave birth to him in pain."
¹⁰ Jabez cried out to the God 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." And God granted his request.

Jabez prayed for blessings, territory, protection, power. In the last part of his prayer he asked for deliverance from the devil.

When we are blessed by God with many things, the devil is not gonna be happy. He's gonna try to take things away from us; he came to this earth to steal, kill and destroy.

When our territories are expanded, the devil is gonna try to take back these territories. He knows that wherever we go, we are an influence to these territories that we have, and we carry God's blessings into them.

When we know God's hand is with us, the devil is gonna put his thoughts and lies in our mind. He's gonna twist the truth and stumble us.

Jabez prayed "that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" He wanted to know that when the devil approach him, God is gonna stand in front. When temptation comes, he wants to be sure that God will deliver him away from sin.

When we are tempted, we tend to think that we are able to cope with it, just because we have been Christians long enough, that we have the "ability" to stay away from it.

Jesus was tempted, yet He did not sin! When Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11), He quoted scriptures. He quoted the truth. We need not struggle with temptation, we simply turn away from it. The truth is that it is not about our ability to fight with temptations, coz with our humanly abilities we are defeated. It is about how we face it, do we turn to Him, who loves us so much that He chose to die for our sins, or do we depend on what we can do? He gave us a new life, a life free from oppression; we need not turn to our old ways anymore :)

Psalm 39:1-13

¹ I said, "I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence."
² But when I was silent and still,
not even saying anything good,
my anguish increased.
³ My heart grew hot within me,
and as I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴ "Show me, O LORD , my life's end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath.
Selah
⁶ Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

⁷ "But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
⁸ Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.
⁹ I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.
¹⁰ Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
¹¹ You rebuke and discipline men for their sin;
you consume their wealth like a moth-
each man is but a breath.
Selah

¹² "Hear my prayer, O LORD ,
listen to my cry for help;
be not deaf to my weeping.
For I dwell with you as an alien,
a stranger, as all my fathers were.
¹³ Look away from me, that I may rejoice again
before I depart and am no more."


David thought that it would be better for him to keep quiet; not to say good or bad when the wicked are in his presence, but he found out that it burned him from within when he was silent. As Christians, we are called to be salt and light of the world, we are called to make a difference. It's in our nature (Christians) to make things right, and to do right things. This is what we are commissioned to do.

I am not making a difference if I keep everything to myself, pretending that it's more peaceful. In fact, I am an influence, an influence in my church, cell group, workplace, uni. I should stand up and stand for what is right, and turn down what is wrong.