The Pound For Pound PrincipleSample

The Art of the Start 

Are you despising your start or ashamed of your humble beginnings? 

Some are blessed with success from the beginning, but normally a start is small and the odds seemed stacked against you. Jabez faced a horrible start, so much so that his mother gave him a name that originates from the word “pain.” Yet Jabez boldly asked God for an uncommon blessing. He didn’t stop there. Jabez asked the Lord to bless him, enlarge his territory, remain close to him and keep him from harm. Here was a man who had one of the worst starts in the Bible beginning with his name, but he believed it was perfectly fine for him to ask God to bless him with uncommon blessing.

What was the reason for his confidence? Favor happens when someone is prepared to receive it. Jabez was prepared and God granted his prayer. The Lord loves all kinds of “starts.” Perhaps you have been blessed with a great start, but if not, take hope in the fact that God knew there’d be lessons you could glean from a slower start that will one day encourage others with similar beginnings. The Israelites were disheartened when they realized that the new Temple they were building would never match the former glory of the first Temple. Yet Zechariah encourages the people in Zechariah 4:10 by reminding them not to “despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” God expects us to the do the very best that we can with what we have been given. Remember to look at where you are today, where you were yesterday and find joy in your humble beginnings.