Pain: Transformed Not Transmitted

Key Verse to Read and Treasure:

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain! And God granted what he asked—Chronicles 4:9-10, ESV   

For Insight

Jabez carried a heavy emotional burden that had also become a spiritual burden and prison. His mother’s pain during childbirth was transmitted to him. Her labor was so difficult she saddled her son with a name that would always remind her and him that he was birthed through and had caused pain to her. I know mothers who have made it a point to let their children know they have been the cause of their unfulfillment; the reason they had never been able to achieve, attain, or experience something they desired.    

The Word of God teaches us this truth: If we don’t transform our pain through Christ, we will surely transmit our pain to others. Unhealed pain will pass from us to the lives of others. Unhealed pain becomes self-destructive, other destructive, and generational. Jabez desired the pain that had been passed down to him from his mother, not go any further. He did not want his life to be shaped around pain or his future limited by the pain he had inherited. He did not want his emotional, mental, and spiritual pain to become generational. Jabez realized his pain could not be ignored, was not going to disappear on its own, or worked around. It was evident on every level of his life, and he could not pretend he was not in pain. So, he called upon the God of Israel to not only deliver him from pain but bless him through his pain.     

Christ endured the pain of the cross so we would not have to endure the painful episodes of life for the duration of our life. An abiding relationship with Jesus assures we can have full access to the supernatural and divine power that brings healing to even the deepest places of life. Painful memories do not have to linger forever. The pain of heartbreak does not have to stunt and keep us from experiencing healthy relationships going forward. Pin brought on by abuses does not have to cripple us emotionally, sexually, or relationally. Pain from loss does not have to keep us from enjoying life beyond our loss. The pain that comes from disappointment does not have to keep us from starting over or continuing. The pain passed down to us from those who have become paralyzed through their pain does not have to become the pain that paralyzes us. Through Christ we can have healing. Through Christ’s healing touch our pain can be transformed so it is not transmitted.

Jabez’s pain could have easily become his prison but he was determined that would not be so. He did what we all must do when we don’t want to be saddled with pain: he reached out to the God of Israel. He called on the name of the most powerful healer and fixer in the entire universe: He called on God and asked that his pain become a blessing instead of the curse it was intended to be. He asked that God would enlarge his emotional, mental, and spiritual territory. He wanted victory and freedom, healing, and relief. He did not want to be a self-harmer nor a harmer of others. And the Scriptures say God heard the prayer of Jabez and granted his request.  

Jesus, there is no pain too deep that you cannot heal. The devil wants us to believe this is not true. He makes it his mission to keep us bound to pain and believing our pain is too deep, too old, too complicated for you to do anything with it, but the Word of God says otherwise. Transform our pain, Jesus so we do not transmit it. In Your Name we pray, Amen

Ask Yourself

Do I truly believe Jesus can heal my pain? How have I transmitted my pain? Am I living with pain I can ask Christ to heal, deliver and enlarge me?     

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