20/06/24
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
Today’s Scripture
You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
Psalm 3:3, AMPC
THE LIFTER OF YOUR HEAD
Sometimes circumstances may convince us to keep our head down. But we cannot go through life looking down, thinking about our problems, dwelling on how bad it is, reliving every negative thing that’s happened, and expect to have God’s best. You may feel you have too many problems, but God is the glory and the lifter of your head. He is the source of your help.
The enemy tries to weigh you down with heavy burdens and depression and convince you to stay focused on your difficulties. Before long that discouragement is like a heavy weight you are dragging around. But if you allow God to be the glory and the lifter of your head, and work with Him to shake off that discouragement, the only thing that will weigh on you is the favor of God. You’ll be heavy with joy, with blessings, with victory. When you can’t lift your head on your own strength or when circumstances have overwhelmed you, that’s when God will show up as the glory and the lifter of your head.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You for being a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. Thank You that the enemy has no right to weigh me down with discouragement and heaviness. I declare that I am looking to You as the source of my help and victory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
SECTION TWO
There was a man in the Bible by the name of Jabez. His name was rather unfortunate. It means “sorrow” because his mother “bore him in pain” (1 Chron. 4:9). What a name to have!
But Jabez cried out to God, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” (1 Chron. 4:10).
Some preachers claim that believers should not pray “selfish” prayers for themselves to be blessed. Jabez’ prayer would probably fall under their definition of a “selfish prayer” as it was all about him asking God to bless him, enlarge his territory, be with him, and protect him.
But God didn’t reprimand Jabez for asking Him for these blessings. Without any fanfare, the Bible in the very same verse simply records that “God granted him what he requested.”
That was all. No drama, no long list of what Jabez had to do or not do. It’s really that simple. God heard his prayer and granted his request! No rebuke, no instructions, no “Jabez, if you want Me to bless you, you must first do this.”
No, God honored the man’s faith and turned his sorrow into joy and his pain into blessings—all because he had an unshakable confidence in how good God is and asked big!
My friend, have a good opinion of God. He is not out to get you. He loves you and desires to unleash His favor into every area of your life. He loves it when you call upon Him. And He promised that He would answer when you do.
Just see Him declaring to you Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Could it be that we are not seeing many breakthroughs because we have made asking God for big things a taboo with our religious and legalistic rhetoric? Could it be that we are just not seeing many blessings because we have not been asking God and seeking Him with a confident expectation of good?
My friend, it gives your heavenly Father great joy when you ask Him. It’s His good pleasure to bless you as well as your family (Luke 12:32). Stop being held back by erroneous beliefs about God, and start asking Him for whatever is on your heart today!
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