GOSPEL CORNER: IF YOU HEARD A RUMOR THAT SOMEONE YOU KNEW WAS SAYING HORRIBLE AND NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT YOU, DON’T BELIEVE IT IMMEDIATELY. Go TO THE SOURCE FIRST.

05/04/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him.”
1 Samuel 25:25, NIV

IN TOUGH SITUATIONS
In 1 Samuel 25, Abigail was the wife of a cruel man who had so offended and outraged David that he and his men were on their way to kill Nabal and all his men. Abigail intervened and persuaded David that her foolish husband was not worthy of any response. She saved many lives, and she kept David from losing an everlasting dynasty through unjust vengeance.

That’s what happens when you don’t let what’s unfair, a bad situation, or a loss cause you to get discouraged and give up. What stops us many times is we have a good reason to live sour and defeated—a bad childhood, a bad relationship, the company let us go. We wouldn’t be talking about Abigail if she had used her husband as an excuse to not do the right thing. She was honoring God, being her best, a person of integrity, despite her situation. That’s a test. Don’t let an excuse keep you from your greatness. Take your stand, knowing that what tries to stop you is only setting you up for something greater.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that it’s possible to rise above very difficult situations and relationships and walk in integrity. Thank You that I can keep honoring You and overcoming what could easily cause me to live sour. I will not let an excuse keep me from my greatness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Psalm 103 is one of my favorite psalms of David, a beautiful psalm that describes who and what God really is—a gracious and merciful Savior. Believing right begins with what you believe about God and must be based on the solid foundation of God’s Word.

To know the truth about who and what God is, we can’t go by feelings, circumstances, human conjectures, or what we may have heard someone say about God. We have to go to the source!

If you heard a rumor that someone you knew was saying horrible and negative things about you, don’t believe it immediately. Go to the source first. Ask this person if this is what he or she really said or if this is what he or she really meant.

Many people allow precious friendships and relationships to become fractured because they believe the rumors. They become bitter, angry, and disappointed without ever verifying with the person if he or she had actually said those nasty things.

In the same way, in the world we live in, there are all kinds of wrong beliefs perpetuated about God: “God is angry at you.” “He is disappointed with you.” “God is allowing all these negative things to happen to you because He’s punishing you for your past sins.”

Please do NOT believe all this baseless gossip about God! Such impressions of God have damaged many people’s relationships with Him, and they live with a distorted perspective of who God really is.

Instead of receiving His love, grace, and forgiveness, they become afraid, distant, and fearful of Him. Instead of allowing Jesus to come into their situations, they live their lives running away, avoiding, and hiding from Him.

Come on, let’s honor God and go to the source. Look again at what the Bible says about Him in today’s Scripture reading: He is “slow to anger, and abounding in mercy . . . as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

This is our God! This is why you can always run to Him and believe that you can freely receive His help!