GOSPEL CORNER: YOU MAY BE AT AN EMPTY PLACE,PERHAPS YOU DON’T SEE HOW YOU COULD EVER BE HAPPY AGAIN. IF NAOMI WERE HERE, SHE WOULD TELL YOU THAT’S NOT HOW YOUR STORY ENDS.

09/08/23

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES

TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.”
Ruth 4:14–15, NIV

EXPECT HIS FAVOR
After the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi felt heartbroken, empty, and bitter. But when her daughter-in-law Ruth fell in love and married Boaz and had a baby named Obed, Naomi’s life was renewed. She took care of that baby like he was her own son and was happier than she’d ever dreamed. What’s significant is that Obed became the grandfather of David, and out of David’s family line, Jesus came. Naomi couldn’t see it, but through her heartbreak she became instrumental in our Savior being born.

You may be at an empty place. Perhaps you don’t see how you could ever be happy again. If Naomi were here, she would tell you that’s not how your story Ends. God has things in your future better than you’ve imagined. You may not understand the hardship right now, but trust Him. It’s all a part of His plan. Keep believing, keep living with passion, keep expecting His favor. He’s going to take you to a blessed place where you’re more fulfilled and more rewarded than you’ve ever been.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You know best when it comes to the difficulties that come into my life. Thank You that Your plans are always so much more fulfilling and bigger than my plan. I declare that You are in control, and at the right time You will get me to where You want me to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Today I want you to see two powerful keys to winning life’s battles from the account of King Jehoshaphat. The first is to believe in the Lord, and you will be established. God’s Word tells us also to believe the words of His prophets (the pastors and preachers whom God has placed in your life), and you shall prosper! That is the power of right believing. Don’t be myopic and be caught up with your current challenges, running around like a headless chicken, trying to solve your problems in your own strength. God doesn’t want you to live in a perpetual state of uncertainty, anxiety, stress, and fear. When you believe right, you will experience true Bible hope and start living with a certain, joyful, confident expectation of good regardless of your current circumstances.

The second key is to go into battle singing praises to God. This was what Jehoshaphat did. It may have been an unusual military strategy, but as the Israelites began to sing and praise, God caused confusion among the enemies’ camps, and they utterly destroyed one another. Judah did not draw a single sword that day, but the battle was won. In fact, it was won before Judah’s troops even arrived at the scene.

God deliberately records for us the words with which the people of Judah praised Him: “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 118 begins and ends with this same refrain—a refrain so close to God’s heart that it features very prominently in many key moments in Israel’s history (see 1 Chron. 16:7, 34; 2 Chron. 7:3). My friend, there is something very special about these two simple lines of praise. The word for “mercy” here is the very potent Hebrew word hesed, which speaks of God’s grace, love, tender mercies, and loving-kindness. No matter how many times you have failed and fallen short, and even if the troubles that surround you are a consequence of your own actions, would you turn to the Lord today and praise Him for His goodness and His hesed (His grace)?

When you are feeling down, overwhelmed, or fearful, worship Him with these words, and as you praise Him, He will “set ambushes” against all your enemies, troubles, fears, challenges, and addictions, as He did for Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah (see 2 Chron. 20:22). By the time you reach your battlefield, I believe your enemies will all have fallen. Not a single one of your adversaries will escape because the Lord Himself fights your battles.

https://www.josephprince.com/meditate-devo/believe-and-praise-him