GOSPEL CORNER: AND SARAH SAID, “GOD HAS MADE ME LAUGH, AND ALL WHO HEAR WILL LAUGH WITH ME.”GENESIS 21:6, NKJV

02/02/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.”
Genesis 21:6, NKJV

THE SECOND LAUGH
In Genesis 18, when Sarah heard God promise that she would have a son at the age of ninety, she had laughed in disbelief. In today’s Scripture, she laughed again as she held her baby in her arms. Abraham even named him Isaac, which means “laughter.” This time, having seen the fulfillment of the promise, Sarah laughed in pure amazement, thinking, “Wow, God! I never dreamed this could happen. I can’t believe how merciful You are to bring me a miracle baby in spite of my lack of faith.”

You may have laughed in unbelief, thinking you could never get well, never get out of debt, or never break an addiction, but I believe your second laugh is coming. Things that have held you back in the past and limited you are being broken. You’re going to see influence, resources, talent coming out in ways you never dreamed. Problems that look permanent are about to suddenly turn around. You’re going to laugh in amazement and be overjoyed and full of wonder, thinking, “Wow, God! Look how You’ve shown out in my life.”

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for the things You’ve put into my heart that seem laughable and that I have to dare to believe can happen. Thank You that You do what seems too good to be true. I’m going to stay in faith and look forward to laughing in amazement. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

God is a God of forgiveness. He knows you perfectly and still loves you perfectly. We are slaves to the idea that if someone sees our flaws, they won’t love us anymore. Well, while that may be true in human relationships, God is not like that.

God sees all our imperfections, failings, and flaws on Jesus at the cross. Our sins and ugliness do not turn Him off. In fact, to Him they are occasions to demonstrate His grace and forgiveness through the blood of His Son, who has removed all our sins efficaciously at Calvary.

So don’t be embarrassed about your flaws, mistakes, and imperfections. God knows your weaknesses better than you do, and He loves you just the same.

His Word reminds us that Jesus is not someone “who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses.” Instead, Jesus was tempted in all points, yet He was without sin (Heb. 4:15).

He understands every temptation and every trial that you are going through. He is not disappointed with you, and He is not waiting for you to live up to a set of dos and don’ts before He forgives and loves you.

The Bible says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:8–9).

Did you get that? When did God love you?

That’s right, when you were still a sinner. Before you even knew Him, when you were still in sin, He already loved you. How much more today, when you have been cleansed by Jesus’ blood and made righteous!

Having received Jesus’ righteousness, you are righteous forever. Even when you fall into sin, your sins don’t make you a sinner again.

When you fall short today, you are still the righteousness of God. This is because your righteousness comes from Jesus.

In the same way that a beautiful butterfly cannot morph back into a caterpillar, once you have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus, you cannot morph back into a sinner. Knowing your righteous identity in Him then gives you the power to overcome every sin, every addiction, and every bad habit!