THE FIGHT OF FAITH IS TO FIGHT TO BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE MADE RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH AND NOT BY WORKS. PAUL, SPEAKING OF HIS OWN

25/ 05/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
“The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
2 Chronicles 16:9, NLT

HE SEES YOU
God sees things that we can’t see. So often we let our circumstances determine who we are, how people treat us determine our value, and how good we perform determine our worth. God looks beyond all that. He sees the giant killer in the shepherd boy David. He sees a mighty hero in Gideon who’s hiding from the Midianites. In the former prostitute Rahab, He sees a respectful, honored woman who is in the family line of Jesus. God knows your heart. You may have done things you’re not proud of, but God sees the redeemed you. You may be intimidated, thinking you’re not that talented. God sees the history maker in you. Maybe you’ve been hurt, abandoned, or betrayed. God sees the valuable you, the blessed you, the favored you. Nothing that’s happened to you has changed the true you. God looks beyond our mistakes, the hurts, the bad breaks, and He sees who He created you to be. He hasn’t lost the vision of who you are. He won’t stop working until He brings out the best you.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You see my heart and know who I am and all the potential that is in me. I struggle and make mistakes, and there is so much I need to improve on in my character, but my heart is committed to You. Show Yourself strong in my life today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

The grace of God is the unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor of God. When God answers you in your most undeserving moment, that is grace. That is His amazing, unmerited favor!

At your lowest point, in your darkest hour, His light shines through for you and you become a recipient of His unmerited favor, and a recipient of favor can’t help but want to extend grace to others.

My friend, in and of ourselves, we don’t deserve anything good. But because we are in Christ and in His righteousness, God will not withhold any blessing from our lives today. Our part is not to struggle in our own works and be independent from God, but to focus on receiving all that we need from Him.

I believe that the more righteousness-conscious you are, the more you will experience God’s unmerited favor. When the voice of disqualification comes to remind you of all the areas that you have fallen short in, that’s the time to turn to Jesus who qualifies you and hear His voice. That is the true fight of faith!

The fight of faith is to fight to believe that you are made righteous by faith and not by works. Paul, speaking of his own achievements under the law, said that he counts them all “as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:8–9).

So there are clearly two types of righteousness in the Bible: (1) A righteousness that comes from your obedience and from you trying to earn your way to attain it. (2) A righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.

Only one of these has a solid, unshakable foundation. One is built upon you and your ability to keep the law, while the other is built upon the Rock of all ages—Jesus Christ. One can only give you the occasional confidence to ask for God’s favor, depending on how well you perceive you have done. The other gives you confidence ALL THE TIME to access His unmerited favor, even when you feel that you are greatly undeserving.

What do you want to depend on when push comes to shove—your wavering righteousness or the perfect, rock-solid righteousness of Jesus? It is your faith in the righteousness of Jesus that gives you the right to God’s unmerited favor.

Today, because of what Jesus did on the cross, you can expect good things to happen to you. You can ask God for big things and reach out to the blessed destiny that He has for you and your family. His righteousness is your right to God’s unmerited favor! Don’t let any voice of accusation tell you otherwise!