HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK, BUT A DREAM FULFILLED IS A TREE OF LIFE.PROVERBS 13:12, NLT

31/08/24

GOSPEL CORNER

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK, BUT A DREAM FULFILLED IS A TREE OF LIFE.
PROVERBS 13:12, NLT

The Tree of Life
One definition of hope is “the happy anticipation of something good.” If you’re anticipating something good, for a dream to be fulfilled, it brings you joy and gives you passion. When you believe that God is arranging blessings in your favor, you’re going to be excited about life. It will affect your attitudes, your relationships, and your productivity. But if you’re not anticipating anything good, if you think you’re stuck, that a problem is permanent, that you’ve reached your limits, that mind-set will drain your energy, stifle your creativity, and take your joy. You’ll just drag through the day as you endure life.

God created you to have something to look forward to. Faith is all about believing that God has good plans for you, that He’s taking you where you’ve never gone, and that the best days of your health, finances, and relationships are still in front of you. That’s not just being positive; that’s getting in agreement with God. That’s what allows Him to do amazing things and bring your dreams to fulfillment as a tree of life.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for the hope rising in my heart that You have good things in store for me. Thank You that my hope is secure in who You are, that You never fail, and that You will bring my dreams to fulfillment. I expect to see You do amazing things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Not too long ago, Lydia, a sister from South Africa, wrote to me. I believe that many of you would be able to identify with what she shared about her struggles in relating to God as her Father:

Dear Pastor Prince,

I grew up with very low self-esteem, having been labeled the difficult child in my family. I was an unplanned baby, and my parents already had one child—a girl, so they really wanted a boy. They were disappointed when I turned out to be a girl and even considered giving me to a paternal family member who did not have children.

My dad comes from a very cold, strict family, and he has a very bad temper, so I grew up naturally fearful of him and always felt like I was walking on eggshells around him. My mom also grew up in a household where she had not received love. Both my parents are extreme perfectionists, very organized, and raised us with military discipline and no compassion.

Thus, I could never relate to God as a Father. God was unapproachable and sitting with a lightning bolt ready to strike me whenever I wasn’t good enough, didn’t pray enough, or wasn’t obedient enough. I was under the impression that God was only pleased with me when I obeyed the law, that I never met His expectations, and I was always under condemnation.

Since encountering your teaching resources, the veil in my life has been torn. For the first time, I am free. I no longer walk under the heavy burden of condemnation. I learned that God loved us first, and I can now have a love relationship with my heavenly Father and Jesus.

I have experienced victory over fear and sin that kept me captive for years—not by trying to be obedient, but by just learning that my sins have already been forgiven on the cross. And no, I am not sinning more now. I am actually overcoming more and sinning less, and I have a grateful heart for what Christ has done on the cross.

Do you feel as though you are never good enough, can never do enough, and be obedient enough for God to love and accept you? Do you feel you are always living under perpetual condemnation? Perhaps you can’t relate to God as a loving Father because you’ve never experienced the love of your earthly father or because your own father has hurt you terribly.

My friend, I pray that as you begin to meditate on today’s Scripture, 2 Corinthians 6:18, you will supernaturally experience the intimate love of your heavenly Father in a deep and personal way as never before. I pray that this experience will heal, renew, restore, and transform you in a spectacular way because His love for you is nothing less than spectacular.