REMEMBER, IT IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE. IT IS WHO YOU HAVE THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTERIES
TODAY’S WORD

GOSPEL CORNER

11/08/24

Today’s Scripture
…the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.
2 Peter 2:9, NIVl

We all know that God opens doors. We’ve seen Him give us favor, good breaks, promotion. But the same God will close doors. Maybe you prayed, but a relationship didn’t work out or you didn’t get the promotion or the loan. Too often we become discouraged and feel that God let us down. But we can’t see the big picture that God sees. He knows where every road is leading. He sees the dead ends and the shortcuts. A big part of faith is trusting God when you don’t understand why things happen the way they do. When a door closes, you don’t know what God is saving you from. God may close a door because a relationship or a position will lead to heartache and pain. If He opened what you think is the opportunity of a lifetime, it could limit what He wants to do in your life. The bottom line is: God has your best interest at heart. Instead of being discouraged, have a bigger perspective. The reason the door closed is because God has something better in store.

Prayer For Today
“Father, thank You that You know best when it comes to the things I want and ask You for. Thank You that You see what I cannot see and You have reasons for closed doors as well as open doors. I believe that You have something bigger, something better, something more rewarding up in front of me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Do you know of anyone who is in a worse situation than Joseph when he stood naked in an Egyptian market, waiting to be sold as a slave? His whole world appeared to have collapsed around him.

Just a few days earlier, he was in his father’s embrace but now, his own brothers had betrayed him. All that he owned had been stripped from him. He was reduced to nothing more than a slave in a foreign land.

Was this the end of Joseph? In the natural scheme of things, it sure looked like it was. But even with the odds stacked up against Joseph, the Lord was far from finished. Even in this dire situation, the Lord was with Joseph, and at this dark and bleak juncture in Joseph’s life, the Lord called him a successful man (Gen. 39:1–2)!

Remember, it is not what you have. It is who you have that makes all the difference.

“How can the Lord make a young slave with not a single cent or possession to his name succeed?”

Well, let’s continue with Joseph’s story. Genesis 39:3 tells us, “And his master [Potiphar] saw that the LORD was with him [Joseph] and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.” This is a powerful statement and it offers a promise that you can believe Jesus for, in every area of your life.

Can you imagine every project, assignment, and even errand that you undertake becoming prosperous? Your hands become hands of blessing.

You touch your family members and they are blessed. Your company may be struggling to manage a difficult project, but once it is placed in your hands, the project becomes blessed. You become a blessing waiting to happen to someone, waiting to happen to something, everywhere you go!

Now, how will this happen? The Lord Jesus will make it happen when you depend on Him in the same way that Joseph depended on Him.

Joseph had nothing. He could not trust in his skills or experience (he had never been a slave), nor could he trust in his natural connections (his father was out of the picture because he believed that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal). All Joseph had was the Lord’s presence, and he depended on the Lord to manifest His presence, His power, and His glory through him!

That’s what you and I need—a manifestation of His presence in everything that we do! You see, it is one thing to have His presence (all Christians have His presence because they have accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior), but when His presence is made manifest in your life, that’s when His glory shines forth through you!

My friend, God wants to make everything you do prosper, just like He did for Joseph. See Him leading and blessing you, and increasing your effectiveness today!