19/04/24
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.
Psalm 92:12–14, NIV
FRESH AND GREEN
If you want to stay passionate and flourishing, you have to stay productive. You have to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. When you’re not producing, you’re not growing. When you quit being productive, you start slowly dying. Don’t let a disappointment, a hurt, or a bad break cause you to sit back in self-pity and lose your passion. Shake off what didn’t work out. Quit mourning over what you’ve lost. A full life is still in front of you. You have not danced your best dance. You have not laughed your best laugh. You have not dreamed your best dream.
Some people quit living at fifty, but we don’t bury them until they are eighty. They lost their joy and stopped enjoying life. Don’t let that be you. You may retire from your job, but don’t ever retire from life. Stay busy. Keep using your mind. Keep helping others. Volunteer at the hospital. Babysit your relatives’ children. Mentor a young person. God promises that He will bring you to a flourishing finish, not a fizzling finish.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that Your plans for me are for good. I may not understand everything along the way, and it may not have been fair, but I’m not going to lose my passion and stop being productive and growing. I know You’re bringing me to a flourishing finish. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
SECTION TWO
Over the last two decades, I’ve had the privilege of ministering to precious people from all walks of life. I’ve had the honor of meeting people in my congregation and at conferences around the world and hearing their stories. For those whom I didn’t get to meet in person, their letters and emails to me told their stories.
Stories of liberation from years of anxiety and depression. Stories of being rescued from the prison of fear. Stories of breaking loose from destructive habits and addictions.
Yet, for every person who found their breakthrough, I also know of many who are still struggling today. They are bound by severe insecurities, trapped by all kinds of disorders, and gripped by constant fear. They’ve tried every solution they can think of, but are still desperately clawing to be freed from their emotional and physical prisons.
How did those who experienced victory break free? Why are others still trapped?
The answer is simple but powerful: their beliefs. What you believe is critical.
You see, if you believe wrong, you will struggle with wrong thoughts. Wrong thoughts will produce unhealthy emotions that will lead to toxic feelings of guilt, shame, condemnation, and fear. And those wrong feelings will ultimately produce wrong behaviors, actions, and painful addictions.
Wrong believing starts you on a path of defeat. It is what keeps you trapped and drives you deeper and deeper into paralyzing captivity.
Right believing, on the other hand, is the door out of this vicious cycle of defeat. When you believe right, you will live right. Right believing always produces right living.
Today, begin to believe right by choosing to know and believe in the powerful truths of God’s Word and in His love for you. In the days to come, set your heart to discover and meditate on the Savior you have in Christ and what He has already accomplished for you.
Choose to renew your mind with God’s truths about who you really are in Christ and how precious you are to Him. I pray that as you begin to encounter the person of Jesus, you will begin to experience your breakthrough and lasting victory!
Dara Network TV 