GOSPEL CORNER : AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.Romans 8:28, NKJV

31/08/23

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28, NKJV

RELAX YOUR GRIP

None of us enjoys being uncomfortable, but we can’t pray away everything uncomfortable in our lives.

God is not going to remove every difficulty from us instantly. He uses those things to refine us, to get us prepared for greater things. In the tough times, God develops our character. The fact is, we don’t grow nearly as much when everything is easy; we grow when life is difficult, when we are exercising our spiritual muscles, through the dark seasons.

Understand that your faith will not instantly deliver you out of every problem. Instead, your faith will carry you through the problem. If God removed some of the things that you’re praying for Him to remove right now, you wouldn’t be prepared for the promotion that He has in store for you. He’s using what you are currently going through to get you ready for the good things to come. If things are not happening as quickly as you would like, relax your grip and trust God. Know this: Nobody wants you to fulfill your destiny more than Almighty God.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY.
“Father, thank You for Your promise that You make all things work together for my good, even what doesn’t seem good at the time. Help me to remember that You always use the difficulties to prepare me for greater things. I believe that You will fulfill my destiny because You love me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SECTION TWO

Not too long ago, Lydia, a sister from South Africa, wrote to me. I believe that many of you would be able to identify with what she shared about her struggles in relating to God as her Father:

“Dear Pastor Prince,”

“I grew up with very low self-esteem, having been labeled the difficult child in my family. I was an unplanned baby, and my Parents already had one child—a girl, so they really wanted a boy. They were disappointed when I turned out to be a girl and even considered giving me to a paternal family member who did not have children.”

“My dad comes from a very cold, strict family, and he has a very bad temper, so I grew up naturally fearful of him and always felt like I was walking on eggshells around him. My mom also grew up in a household where she had not received love. Both my parents are extreme perfectionists, very organized, and raised us with military discipline and no compassion.”

“Thus, I could never relate to God as a Father. God was unapproachable and sitting with a lightning bolt ready to strike me whenever I wasn’t good enough, didn’t pray enough, or wasn’t obedient enough. I was under the impression that God was only pleased with me when I obeyed the law, that I never met His expectations, and I was always under condemnation.”

“Since encountering your teaching resources, the veil in my life has been torn. For the first time, I am free. I no longer walk under the heavy burden of condemnation. I learned that God loved us first, and I can now have a love relationship with my heavenly Father and Jesus.”

“I have experienced victory over fear and sin that kept me captive for years—not by trying to be obedient, but by just learning that my sins have already been forgiven on the cross. And no, I am not sinning more now. I am actually overcoming more and sinning less, and I have a grateful heart for what Christ has done on the cross.”

Do you feel as though you are never good enough, can never do enough, and be obedient enough for God to love and accept you? Do you feel you are always living under perpetual condemnation? Perhaps you can’t relate to God as a loving Father because you’ve never experienced the love of your earthly father or because your own father has hurt you terribly.

My friend, I pray that as you begin to meditate on today’s verse, you will supernaturally experience the intimate love of your heavenly Father in a deep and personal way as never before. I pray that this experience will heal, renew, restore, and transform you in a spectacular way because His love for you is nothing less than spectacular.