Some years ago, there was a popular book called “The Prayer of Jabez” that focused on the short prayer recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10:

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”

The book explores each of the four basic requests contained in the prayer:

  • “Bless me indeed”
  • “Enlarge my coast”
  • “Be with me”
  • “Keep me from evil”

You can probably see how a nice lesson can easily be built around at least three of the four requests, but it might not be as obvious what is meant by “enlarge my coast.”

The Hebrew word that was translated to “coast” in the above verse also means boundary, border, or limit. For example, the eastern and western boundaries of the U.S. that border oceans are referred to as the east coast and the west coast.

Based on this definition, our personal “coast” would refer to our own personal boundaries or limits. If you’ve ever looked into self-help books or videos, you would recognize the call to push yourself beyond your current limits — grow, be all you can be, etc. There is nothing wrong with this. All too often, we remain inside artificial boundaries created by ourselves or others such that we do limit what we can accomplish in life.

However, from a spiritual perspective, enlarging my coast has to include allowing the gifts that God has blessed me with to bless other people, too. One way of thinking about it is to say that you want your life to make a difference to others or that you want your span of influence to expand as wide as possible. This doesn’t have to be a prideful way of thinking. If you believe that God has blessed you with certain gifts, it’s only fitting that you would want those gifts to benefit as many people as possible.

So, consider your personal gifts from God. Can any of them benefit other people? If so, pray that God gives you the opportunity to enlarge your coast in order to share these gifts with others. If you have a musical gift, then seek opportunities to sing or play for as many people as possible. If you have a gift of spiritual knowledge, then seek opportunities to teach and share that insight with others. If God has blessed your life in any way, then seek opportunities to share your testimony with as many people as possible. These are just some examples of how your personal gifts can bless others when you seek to enlarge your coast.

Alma 63 gives a brief account of a man named Hagoth who is “exceedingly curious” and seeks to enlarge his coast by building a large ship that carries many of the Nephites to a land beyond the borders of the land where the Nephite nation has been residing. When the first voyage is successful, Hagoth builds more ships that carry additional people away. The record indicates that “they were never heard of more. And we suppose that they were drowned in the depths of the sea” (verse 8).

Of course, just because the Nephites who boarded the ships were never seen again by those who remained behind doesn’t mean that they drowned. In fact, it is believed by some that it was these travelers who populated the islands off the coast of the Americas and are the ancestors of the native people who reside there today. If that is true, then the actions of Hagoth to enlarge his personal coast resulted in the enlarging of the coast of the entire Nephite nation.

Likewise, your efforts to enlarge your personal coast will not only multiply the value that God has placed within you, but it can also help enlarge the coast of The Church of Jesus Christ. And that is something that benefits us all.

Writer’s Note: This concludes the most ambitious phase of this writing project — 63 blog articles relating to the Book of Alma. See below for an index to all of the other Alma articles. Next up will be the Book of Helaman. I appreciate all of the kind words I receive from the dedicated followers of this column. I’m so thankful that God is blessing you through what is being written.

Chapter Article Title
 1 Amateur or Professional?
 2 Are They With Us?
 3 Equally Yoked
 4 Pruning Your Tree of Life
 5 Can You Sing It?
 6 Gather Together Oft
 7  What Brings Joy to a Minister
8 Come to My House
9 You Should Know Better
10 Cross-Examination
11 How God Uses Money
12 Lying to God
13 Not on My Watch
14 When Your Work Is Not Yet Finished
15 Lay Down the Weight
16 When God Is in the Matter
17 The Value of Attending Gatherings
18 Power of God Provides Credibility
19 Seizing the Opportunity
20 Ready to Go
21 Why Don’t I See Angels?
22 Ministering to Your Family
23 A New Name
24 Burying the Old Man
25 The Golden Rule
26 Boasting — In the Lord?
27 When Winning Is the Only Thing
28 Kingdom Algebra
29  Being Content
30  Don’t Be Deceived
 31  Less Self, More Righteousness
 32  You Are the Church Building
 33  Typology
 34  The Last Sacrifice
 35  A Divisive Message
 36  Remind Me, Dear Lord
 37 Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
 38  Diligent in the Work of the Lord
 39  Ministry and Sin Don’t Mix
 40  OK, You’re Dead — What Happens Next?
 41  Kingdom Hashtags
 42  Justice for All
 43  Haters Never Prosper
 44  A Key Part of Repentance
 45  One Phrase to Represent Your Life
 46  Raise Up the Standard
 47  Poison Control
 48 Strip the Enemy of His Power
 49  The Scout Motto
 50  When the Game Is Over, Everything Goes Back in the Box
 51  One Nation Under God
 52 The Decoy Play
 53  Wrong for You but OK for Me
 54  What I Said — That’s It
 55  Arming Everyone for the Battle
 56  No Doubt
 57  Serving God With Exactness
 58  Strengthening Our Small Army
 59  Angry With the Government
 60  Neglect: When You Can and You Should, But You Don’t
 61  Resist Evil and the Enemy Will Flee
 62  Carrot, Egg, or Coffee Bean?
 63  Enlarge My Coast (this post)

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

Author

  • Brother Jerry Valenti

    Brother Jerry lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with wife Sister Pat and daughter Maria.

    View all posts Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ. Books, pool, and sun (preferably all together). The four gospels and The Book of Mormon.

2 Comments

  1. Brother Gary Thompson

    I’m so thankful to GOD for your articles Brother. Thank you for your time. ???❤

    Reply
  2. Terri

    Brother Jerry, thank you so much! I have gained so much insight into the scriptures by reading the chapter and the corresponding blog. God Bless!

    Reply

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