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What was the name that you were tagged with? What name was put on you to define you? To mark you as different or unacceptable? What were you called that warned everyone meeting you for the first time?

The remarkable promise of God is that he changes names! The scriptures are filled with examples of men having their names changed.

Jabez was a better man than his brothers, a man of honor. His mother had named him Jabez (Oh, the pain!), saying, “A painful birth! I bore him in great pain!”
Jabez was raised as a constant reminder to his mother that he had caused her pain. Everyone that he met for the first time recognized that he was trouble. His mother tagged him. His brothers mocked him.

But something with Jabez caused him to rise up and be different than his title – it was that he was a man of honor.

Keys to Remember in Painful Times:

1. You cannot prevent pain from coming into your life but you can prevent it from defining your life.

2. Your past does not have a future. The old things have passed away, everything is brand new.

3. Don’t ask unanswerable questions. “Why was I born this way?” Why did God allow this to happen to me?” Why does bad things happen to good people?” Instead of the “why” question, you should ask the “what” question. ”What will I do to prevent this from happening again?” ”What can I do next to move forward?”

4. Some people who’ve experienced pain, hold on to it like a badge of honor. They allow it to scar them, to mark them as traveled, to cut the crevasse of their character. The bitterness of their pain hardens their face, causes their brow to furl, warning anyone who approaches to keep their distance.

5. Some people who’ve experienced pain, become motivated. They allow the experience to become a opportunity to heal others. Their life becomes an honorable testimony of strength, courage, and remarkable dignity. Rather than keeping people distant, they draw hurting people toward them.