WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU PRAY, YOU BELIEVE, YOU’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING AGAIN AND AGAIN, BUT NOTHING’S IMPROVING—THE PEOPLE AREN’T CHANGING, THE MEDICAL REPORT ISN’T IMPROVING, OR YOUR BUSINESS ISN’T GETTING BETTER ?

02/07/23

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES

Today’s Word

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:2, NIV

Pass the Test
When the Israelites were in slavery, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the people go. Moses obeyed, but Pharaoh said no. What do you do when you do what God tells you, but it doesn’t work? Was Moses going to get discouraged and give up because it wasn’t happening the way he thought? It was a time of testing. He had to go back and tell Pharaoh again and again before freedom was finally granted.

What do you do when you pray, you believe, you’re doing the right thing again and again, but nothing’s improving—the people aren’t changing, the medical report isn’t improving, or your business isn’t getting better. This is when you have to dig deep and say, “God, I’m not moved by what’s not changing. I’m not going to wilt, start complaining, and give up on my dreams. I’m going to keep doing the right thing.” When you pass the test like that, instead of those difficulties stopping you, they will lift you; instead of defeating you, they’ll promote you.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that my faith and trust are anchored to You and Your mighty power at work in my life. Thank You that I don’t have to be moved by the tests and troubles I face because I know that You are fighting my battles. I declare that my hope is in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

PART TWO

Today, I want you to read the parable of the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). As you read, keep in mind that this son utterly rejected and completely humiliated and dishonored his father, then only returned home when he remembered that even his father’s hired servants had more food than he did! It was not the son’s love for his father that made him journey home; it was his stomach. In his own self-absorbed pride, he wanted to earn his own keep as a hired servant rather than to receive his father’s provision by grace or unmerited favor.

God wants us to know that even when our motivations are wrong, even when we have a hidden (usually self-centered) agenda and our intentions are not completely pure, He still runs to us in our time of need and showers His unmerited, undeserved, and unearned favor upon us. Oh, how unsearchable are the depths of His love and grace toward us! It will never be about our love for God. It will always be about His magnificent love for us. The Bible makes this clear: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 KJV).

Some people think that fellowship with God can only be restored when you are perfectly contrite and have perfectly confessed all your sins. Yet we see in this parable that it was the father who was the initiator, it was the father who had missed his son, who was already looking out for him, and who had already forgiven him. Before the son could utter a single word of his rehearsed apology, the father had already run to him, embraced him, and welcomed him home. Can you see how it’s all about our Father’s heart of grace, forgiveness, and love? Our Father God swallows up all our imperfections, and true repentance comes because of His goodness.

Do I say “sorry” to God and confess my sins when I have fallen short and failed? Of course I do. But I do it not to be forgiven because I know that I am already forgiven through Jesus’ finished work. The confession is out of the overflow of my heart because I have experienced His goodness and grace and because I know that as His son, I am forever righteous through Jesus’ blood. It springs from being righteousness-conscious, not sin-conscious; from being forgiveness-conscious, not judgment-conscious. There is a massive difference.

If you understand this and begin practicing this, you will begin experiencing new dimensions in your love walk with the Father. You will realize that your Daddy God is all about relationship and not religious protocol. He just loves being with you. Under grace, He doesn’t demand perfection from you; He supplies perfection to you through the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. So no matter how many mistakes you have made, don’t be afraid of Him. He loves you. Your Father is running toward you to embrace you!