“Only God.” Have you ever had a life-changing experience that only those two words can explain? Have you ever done something for the Lord that in the end you could say “Only God could have done that”?
In his book “Axioms,” Bill Hybels wrote, “It’s the only phrase I intentionally overuse, but it’s for good reason. When God accomplishes activity that no human being could possible orchestrate, you have to respond somehow. And the simple phrase I’ve landed on in recent years is ‘Only God.’ …We watch for our heavenly Father to move and stir and act and call. And when he does, we humbly thank him with the only two words that could even begin to give credit to the one to whom alone credit is due: ‘Only God.’”
It’s my prayer that more people in our church would experience such a God-moment. And when we dare to pray a daring prayer, I believe we will have an “Only God” encounter. Let’s read 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ 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.”[1] Jabez first prayed, “Oh, that you would bless me”. So, I dared you to channel God’s blessings. Then, he prayed, “enlarge my territory”. That’s why I dared you to conquer challenges. Next week, we will look at the fourth and final request: “keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” For this morning we will look at the third request in the prayer of Jabez. “Let your hand be with me”. Today I would dare you to CONNECT with His power. Let us pray first…
Jabez faced a great challenge. He just made a vow to the Lord that he would conquer his portion of the Promised Land and would drive away the Canaanites from that territory that God gave him. He knew that without God, he could never get it done. That’s why he prayed, “Let your hand be with me”. One commentary has this to say about the prayer of Jabez: “His prayer… seems to have been uttered when he was entering on an important or critical service, for the successful execution of which he placed confidence neither on his own nor his people’s prowess, but looked anxiously for the aid and blessing of God.”[2] With God’s help, he did just that! It was an “Only God” experience.
“Let your hand be with me”. In the Bible the hand is “a symbol of might and power… The touch of a person’s hands was held to communicate authority, power or blessing”.[3] In fact, there were times that the Hebrew word for “hand” is translated “power” or “dominion”. That’s why there are verses in the Bible that calls it God’s “mighty hand.” According to the NIV Bible Dictionary, “In the OT the hand is also the symbol of personal agency. When the Lord stretches out his hand, it means that he is taking personal action in whatever case or situation is involved, and this usage carries over into the NT”. To ask for the Lord’s hand is to ask for His presence. That’s why the clause “let your hand be with me” is translated this way in the New Living Translation: “Please be with me in all that I do”.
Since this prayer of Jabez is found in 1 Chronicles, let us see how both books of Chronicles use the word “hand.” By the way, this is the first time in 1 Chronicles that the word “hand” was used. I think Jabez had those meanings in his mind when he prayed, “Let your hand be with me”.
First, it means God’s power. In 1 Chronicles 29:12, David prayed to the Lord, “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” In 2 Chronicles 20:6, Jehoshaphat declared, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.”
When we attempt great things for God, we can only do it according to His plan. When we are doing His plan, we need His power. Only God can accomplish a God-sized dream. That’s why we need to connect with God’s power. We will only experience an “Only God” encounter when we pray, “Let your hand be with me”. The tasks at hand for us here at MGC are so overwhelming. I admit there are times I really feel so insignificant and insufficient. Don’t you feel the same way? But I thank God I don’t need to depend on myself. We don’t need to depend on our own strength. Someone wrote, “Only when we have knelt before God can we stand before men.” We connect with His power when we pray.
Second, it symbolizes God’s provision. First Chronicles 29:16 tell us, “O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.” God’s work done according to God’s way while depending on God’s strength will never lack God’s resources. There may be some of us who think that they don’t have to give an offering here in MGC because they think we have a lot of rich members. That’s far from the truth. If you withhold your tithes and offerings because of that mentality, you are missing out on the blessing of being a channel of God’s blessings. Plus, God gave each one of us the privilege and the responsibility to support this work. We are all called to channel His blessings.
But, more than money, I believe God also provides manpower. More than resources, He gives resource persons. Remember Matthew 9:37-38? “Then [the Lord Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” We are to pray that God would send out… what? Workers! More than money, God provides manpower. All of us here are God’s provision for the harvest that He wants MGC to work on.
Have you ever felt there was something missing in your Christian life? Maybe you are entertaining the idea of moving to a megachurch where you think you would find what you are looking for. But if you would just sit and attend there like what you are exactly doing here, you would still feel that emptiness. So, the solution is not to move out there but to move with us right here. More than just getting busy with church activities, I would like to challenge all of us to work together in doing what God wanted us to do. “Glorify God by Multiplying Biblical, Committed and Loving Followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let us reach out to our spheres of influence, to our families, to our workplace. Maybe in our mind we are saying, “How come this church does not grow as fast as other churches?” I think the right question is, “How may I help our church grow?” When we pray, “Let your hand be with me,” I believe we may be the very answer to our prayers. Why? As part of His body, we are the Lord’s hands after all.
Third, it shows that God fulfills His promises. In 2 Chronicles 6:4, Solomon prayed, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David.” We may be praying that we could share the Gospel or invite our friends and relatives to our church. But we are afraid that they would reject us. We don’t want to be embarrassed. But our responsibility is to share the Gospel to people. It is not our duty to force them to accept. That is God’s part, not ours. His responsibility is to open up their hearts according to His timing. Proverbs 21:1 tell us, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” Their heart is in the Lord’s hand. We are just to do our part of investing in our relationship with them and inviting them to put their trust in the Lord.
Those were exactly what Jabez was asking from God. He can only channel God’s blessings and conquer his challenges when he connects with God’s power. Since today is also a Gideon’s Sunday, allow me to end by sharing my experience. When I was a new believer, I prayed that God would give me an Old and New Testament Bible. At that time, I only had a New Testament. Whenever our campus Bible study leader would quote a verse, I love to open the Bible to check it out. I would underline it and even memorize it. Since I only had a New Testament, whenever the “Our Daily Bread” would assign an Old Testament passage, I would skip the inspirational article.
One time, our leader quoted a verse from Old Testament. It was such a great promise. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. God answered my prayer. A neighbor gave me his copy of a Gideon’s Bible.
I remember I used that Bible the first time I shared the Gospel to a friend. We talked about it on the street. So people saw what I was doing. Then I heard that people were laughing and calling me a fool. I felt so devastated. That was my first persecution experience. I was so discouraged. I wanted to give up. That moment I opened the “Our Daily Bread” and decided to read the articles I missed before I got my complete Bible.
Then I read these words: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand… For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”[4] I felt so affirmed. That was a turning point in my life. I decided to continue following the Lord. I know He has His hand upon me.
Are you facing such a challenge nowadays? Is God asking you to do something out of the ordinary and the usual? To step out in faith? Dare to connect with His power. Dare to pray a daring prayer. It is my prayer that we will experience an “Only God” encounter!
Let us pray…
[1]All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 1 Ch 4:9.
[3]D. R. W. Wood and I. Howard Marshall, New Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 443.
[4]Isaiah 41:10, 13.
