“Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast…” – 1 Chronicles 4:10
Devotional Thought:
Jabez’s life story is one of the most remarkable in the Bible. His very name meant “sorrow,” a constant reminder of the pain surrounding his birth. By every natural account, his life should have been marked by limitation. Yet, Jabez refused to let his beginning define his ending. Instead, he lifted up a bold, faith-filled prayer: “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast.” And Scripture records something profound—“God granted him that which he requested.”
Many believers live far beneath their potential because they have settled into a mindset of limitation. They measure their future by their background, education, financial status, or environment. They say things like, “This is how far someone like me can go” or “People from my family don’t do big things.” But Jabez shows us another way. He teaches us that the limitations of your past don’t have to define the possibilities of your future.
God is the God of enlargement. He specializes in taking small beginnings and stretching them into something significant. Abraham was just one man, yet God promised to make him the father of many nations. David was a shepherd boy forgotten in the fields, but God enlarged him into a king who ruled with influence. Jesus Himself began His ministry with 12 disciples in a remote corner of the world, yet today His message has spread across nations, cultures, and generations.
Enlargement begins not with possessions, but in the mind. If you think small, you will live small. If you allow fear, doubt, or inferiority to cage your thinking, you will never step into the “more” God has for you. But when you allow God to renew your mind and expand your vision, He enlarges your capacity. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” What you permit in your thinking becomes what you experience in your living.
Jabez dared to ask God for more—not out of greed, but out of a desire for transformation and impact. True enlargement is not about selfish ambition; it is about kingdom expansion. God enlarges your territory so that you can enlarge the lives of others. He blesses you so that you can be a blessing. When your business grows, you employ others. When your ministry expands, more lives are reached. When your capacity increases, you carry more responsibility for kingdom impact.
So today, dare to pray like Jabez. Refuse to let the label of your past or the limitations of your present box you in. Ask God to enlarge your influence, stretch your capacity, and release resources into your hands—not for your glory, but for His. Then, be ready to step into opportunities He will set before you, even when they feel bigger than your ability. Enlargement always requires stretching, and stretching can be uncomfortable. But it is in that stretching that you grow into the fullness of who God called you to be.
Start by enlarging your faith and vision. Write down one area of your life—family, career, ministry, or personal growth—where you have been thinking too small. Then, replace that small thought with a faith declaration rooted in God’s promises. Actively look for one step you can take this week that reflects enlargement—apply for something bigger, start the project, reach out to someone new, or commit to serving at a higher level.
Prayer Point:
Lord, enlarge my territory. Stretch my influence, expand my capacity, and release resources into my life—not for my glory but for Yours. Make me a channel of blessing to others.
Declaration:
My territory is enlarged. I think bigger, live bigger, and step into greater opportunities, greater influence, and greater blessings. I am blessed to be a blessing.
