09/12/23
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured.
1 Samuel 4:21, NLT
NAME YOUR FUTURE
In the Scripture, an Israelite lady was about to give birth when she heard that the ark of the covenant had been stolen. The ark signified the presence of God with the Israelites. When she gave birth, she was so distraught that she named her son, Ichabod, which means “the glory has departed.” She named her future based on her past. She could have just as easily named him “the glory will return.” But she was so caught up in the disappointment and heartache that it soured her future.
We may be doing the same thing today. We can be so focused on what didn’t work out, on who hurt us, or on what we lost that we don’t think it’s ever going to change. Don’t name your future based on your past. Get that Ichabod spirit off you. This is a new day. God is doing a new thing. Name your future “blessed, prosperous, victorious, healthy, strong, wise, and talented.” The weight of the negative is going to pale in comparison to the weight of glory.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that Your plans for me are for good to give me a bright future and hope. Thank You that the difficulties I face are temporary and pale in comparison to the weight of glory that is coming. I declare that I will not name my future based upon my past. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
SECTION TWO
I encourage you to read the remarkable story of the Samaritan woman in John 4. Considered a woman with a shady past, she was gossiped about in her village and probably shunned for being a home wrecker, a “stealer of husbands.”
Now, hers is not a fictional story. She was a real person, just like you and me. Her problems and pain, like many of ours, were real and hounded her every day . . . until she encountered a very real Savior!
Despite the custom of the Jews of that day to avoid any contact with the Samaritans, whom they perceived as spiritually inferior, John records that as Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee, “He had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4 NLT, emphasis mine).
Pause with me and think about these words for a moment: Had to. Needed to. Must. Words that speak not just of necessity, but underscore a steady resolve and even urgency! Jesus had deliberately scheduled a divine appointment with the woman at the well, though she knew nothing about it.
We know from the account that this ostracized, lonely woman had a life-transforming conversation with Jesus at the well. But make no mistake—it wasn’t she who sought out Jesus to talk to Him. It was the Savior who pursued the one whom others shunned. Do you know that He is still doing that today?
Do you have a past that you are ashamed of? Are you struggling to overcome something that you know is destroying you? Do you feel all alone and that no one understands the pain you are going through?
I want you to know that Jesus hasn’t changed. As He was for the Samaritan woman, the loving Savior is still your very present help in your time of need (Ps. 46:1). He knows the suffering, shame, and struggles you are going through right now. And even if what you are going through is a consequence of bad life choices and mistakes of your own doing, He doesn’t abandon and forsake you.
No—a thousand times, no! He goes out of the way to have a personal appointment with you, to restore and rescue you. The fact that you are reading this right now is a confirmation that Jesus is reaching out to you with His love, grace, and forgiveness.
Talk to Him as the woman did. Taste and touch His grace and compassion for you as she did. And like her, discover Jesus’ forgiveness, freedom, and strength to walk into a bright new future.
Dara Network TV 