16/04/24
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
Today’s Scripture
“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”
Isaiah 48:10, NIV
REFINED
The Scripture talks about the “furnace of affliction,” where you could either give up and get sour or you can say, “God, I’ll show You what I’m made of. I’ll forgive those who hurt me. I’ll keep believing even though it looks impossible. I’ll stay in faith even though it was unfair.” When you pass those tests, something is deposited inside that nothing can take away. There is a trust, a confidence, a knowing that can be developed only by going through the fire of affliction. I’ve learned that God is not as interested in changing my circumstances as He is in changing me.
Where you are today is not nearly as important as who you are becoming. While God is changing the “where,” allow Him to change the “who.” God puts us in the furnace to refine us, to take out the impurities, the selfishness, impatience, anger, and resentment. If you let God refine you and make the necessary changes in your life so you treat people well and handle disappointments without complaining, you can be used for God’s highest purposes.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You are refining my life with fire and using the pressure of challenges to make me stronger and grow my character. Thank You that every test of my faith is preparing me to overcome and persevere, to go higher and increase. I believe that I am coming out better. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
SECTION TWO
Beloved, in the natural, there are so many reasons for us to be afraid. We can be fearful of terrorist attacks. We can be worried about contracting diseases and plagues. We can be anxious about destruction and accidents. Round the clock, there seems to be legitimate reasons for us to be filled with dread.
But there is a realm that is higher than what we see in the natural, and I declare to you today that YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID. Fear is a spiritual condition, and cannot be combated with a natural answer, or by us trying to reason it away. The Bible tells us that the natural mind cannot understand things that are spiritual (1 Cor. 2:14).
So how can you not be afraid? Invite the God of peace to reign in your life. As you do that, the robust peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.
Beloved, as you allow the Lord Jesus to be your refuge and your hiding place, you can receive the peace that He gives. Today, hear your Lord Jesus whispering to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
Receive His supernatural peace, which is beyond what is logical, beyond what your limited mind can comprehend. Receive His supernatural peace that will guard your heart and become a bulwark for your mind. And may Jehovah Shalom, our God of Peace, fill your heart and set you free to live fearlessly in these dangerous times!
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