What the Lord wants from us

What does God esteem? What does the Lord call us toward? 

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 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 mighty be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!' And God granted what he asked.

1 Chronicles 5:;25-26 But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the god's of the peoples of the land, whom God Chad destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Paul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tilglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh...

I look at these two passages and see the stark differences between Jabez and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Jabez was honorable. Jabez looked to the Lord for his provision. He cried out to God for blessing. He knew from where all good things come. The tribes turned to false gods for their provision. They abandoned the God who saved them from slavery in Egypt, who cared for their descendants in the wilderness for forty years.

The Lord is looking for faithful relationship. He wants us to understand how realty works. He wants us to trust him. He calls us into intimacy and honesty in our walk with him. What do we have if not truth in our interactions with the God of the universe?

May we live this way. May we love the Lord. May we walk closely with him. And may he truly bless us in ways that grow us to be more like him.

Taken from reading 1 Chronicles 1-5