28/03/24
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
Psalm 78:41, NKJV
NO LIMITS
When God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He told them that they would make it into the Promised Land, but along the way through the wilderness they had delays, setbacks, and opposition. They got discouraged and started complaining. “What are we going to eat? How are we going to survive? The people in the land look like giants. We don’t have a chance.” The whole time, God was whispering, “I’m in control. I have provision for every season. I’ll defeat those enemies for you.” But they let the doubt and what they saw talk them out of what God promised. They limited God, and that generation never went in.
What we do in the face of doubt and negative voices telling us God’s promises are not going to work out will determine whether we see the fullness of our destiny. God allows us to be in situations and puts things in our spirit that are too big for us to work out on our own. Let what God says override the doubt, and believe that it’s still going to happen.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You are the Holy One of Israel, and You are not limited by what limits me. Help me to remember that You can do the impossible when I’m tempted to doubt and listen to negative voices. I believe that what You say is still going to happen. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
SECTION TWO
As we press deeper into the power of right believing, I want to show you practical ways in which you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Right believing is all about renewing your mind and uprooting the wrong beliefs that shape your thinking and behavior. That’s why the Word of God says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Rom. 12:2 NLT).
God wants to change the way we think by shifting our thoughts from self-occupation to Christ-occupation. Our human tendency is to be focused on ourselves. We are prone to excessive self-introspection and are easily susceptible to becoming preoccupied with ourselves rather than with Jesus.
Many of our greatest pains, struggles, failures, and miseries stem from us being “I” centered. Oftentimes, we are engrossed with thoughts such as, “Have I done enough?”, “What is wrong with me?”, and “Why do I have so many weaknesses?” Unfortunately, when we become overly occupied with self, we become obsessed, oppressed, and inevitably depressed.
My friend, is your mind filled constantly with thoughts of how you have failed, how you have missed it, and how unworthy you are? That is symptomatic of someone who is clearly self-occupied. Thoughts like that cause a person to develop an inferiority complex.
People who suffer from this are ever ready to condemn themselves. Their minds are clouded with negativity and pessimism.
But self-occupation can also manifest at the other end of the pendulum’s swing as a superiority complex. There are people who think they are always better than everyone else. They are painfully arrogant, and they think their perspectives and opinions are always right. Whether you are feeling superior or inferior, your focus is still on yourself, and in the end that causes you great pain, misery, and heartache.
Only in Christ will you experience true transformation and walk neither in pride nor in false humility. When you are Christ-occupied, the flesh in you becomes inconsequential and you begin manifesting all the lovely, wholesome, and beautiful attributes of Jesus unconsciously.
The fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, and kindness, flow through you effortlessly when your mind is renewed and occupied with the person of Jesus. It’s an inevitability! You cannot touch His grace and not become holy any more than you can touch water and not get wet.
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