GOSPEL CORNER: IF YOU REFUSE TO BOW TO YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONTINUE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE LORD’S PRESENCE, WHEREVER YOU ARE PLACED, WHATEVER YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOU WILL RISE TO PROMINENCE.

10/07/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers.”
1 Samuel 17:17, NLT

NOT ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY
On the day that David’s father told David to take a supply of food to his three brothers who were in the army and caught in a standoff with the Philistines, he thought he was just running an errand, no big deal. It seemed like it was just another ordinary day when, in fact, it was a destiny moment. In the sovereignty of God, David arrived just as Goliath came out and threatened the Israelite army. He was at the right place at the right time to become the champion of the Israelites and defeat Goliath. If he would have been three hours later, he wouldn’t have heard Goliath. If he had refused to deliver the food to brothers who didn’t appreciate him, he would have missed his destiny. God was ordering his steps, and He is ordering your steps. David’s purpose came tracking him down, and your purpose will come tracking you down. You think you’re just going to work, just taking care of the kids, when God turns it into your destiny moment and you defeat your giant.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that in the routine of my ordinary days You break in with these destiny moments that change everything. Thank You that You’re orchestrating what You’ve ordained for my life to be fulfilled. I believe that even now You’re lining up what I need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Hebrews 13:5 says that God’s presence in your life is a guaranteed constant. But I want you to know that you cannot evaluate God’s presence and His unmerited favor in your life based on your circumstances. To help you understand what this means, let’s look at the life of Joseph.

Joseph refused the advances made by Potiphar’s wife, and as the common saying goes, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!” She maliciously accused Joseph of attempting to rape her, brandishing as “evidence” the garments that Joseph had left in her hands when he fled from her. When Potiphar heard his wife telling her version of the story, his anger was aroused and he seized Joseph, stripped him from the place of authority he had given him and threw him into prison.

Just put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. What is happening here? It sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it? With the painful memory of his brothers casting him into the pit still fresh in his mind, here he is once again, cast into a dungeon even though he was innocent.

Any average person would be bitter and angry with God! Most people would ask, “Where is God? Why had God brought him this far, only to abandon and forsake him? How could this happen? Where is the justice against this false accusation?”

But Joseph was literally no “average Joe”! He knew that the Lord would never leave him nor forsake him. Joseph considered not his circumstances, but kept his focus on the presence of the Lord.

And boy, did the Lord deliver him! I want you to read this for yourself to see what the Lord did for Joseph:

But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

—Genesis 39:21–23

Regardless of whether he was a common slave, an overseer in Potiphar’s house or now a prisoner facing the prospect of life imprisonment for a crime he did not even commit, Joseph did not evaluate God’s unmerited favor in his life based on his circumstances. Instead of getting bitter, he kept his hope in the Lord. Instead of throwing in the towel and giving up on God and on life, he kept his confidence, knowing that all his success was wrapped up in the presence of the Lord.

What does this tell you? If you refuse to bow to your circumstances and continue to be conscious of the Lord’s presence, wherever you are placed, whatever your environment, you will rise to prominence. You will have favor with your bosses and they will promote you to man-in-charge. And whatever you do will prosper!