THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU. THERE IS TALENT, WISDOM, CREATIVITY, AND POTENTIAL IN YOU. DON’T OVERLOOK YOURSELF AS THE ANSWER TO THAT PRAYER

19/10/24

GOSPEL CORNER

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
James 2:15–16, NLT

BE THE ANSWER
It’s easy to look at a person who is in need, or situations that require someone to step up and make a difference, and hope that someone shows up. You might even pray, “God, send a deliverer, someone strong, talented, with Your favor, with Your blessing.” But what if you are the one you’re praying for? What if you’re the one to do great things, to set a new standard, to take your family to a new level, but you don’t recognize who you are? When we’re always looking to others, always counting on someone else, it’s because we’re overlooking what God put in us. There is greatness in you. There is talent, wisdom, creativity, and potential in you. Don’t overlook yourself as the answer to that prayer. Don’t discount who you are.

You have so much more in you than you realize. Don’t get stuck in an old version of who you are. There are new versions of you coming that are stronger, wiser, more successful, and have greater favor. God has destined you to do something awesome. He’s destined you to leave your mark.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You bring people across my path so I can be the answer to their prayers. Thank You that the gift and creativity and dreams You have given me are all I need to make my mark on this generation. I will celebrate and develop all that You have given me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

In more than two decades of ministry, I have learned this from the Lord: Without Him, we cannot. Without us, He will not. What this simply means is that we need to recognize the fact that if we do not depend on Jesus, there can be no real, long-lasting and abiding success—without Him, we cannot.

The Bible tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain (Ps. 127:1). Believers who want to experience His success need to recognize this truth and begin to depend on Jesus and Jesus alone.

There are some believers who may not articulate it, but in their hearts, they believe that without Jesus, they can still succeed. By believing and acting on this, they fall from the high place of God’s grace (His unmerited favor) back into the law, back into trying to merit and deserve success by their own efforts.

God’s Word tells us, “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace [unmerited favor]” (Gal. 5:4 NLT).

These are strong words of warning. Once you start depending on your own merits and efforts to deserve God’s favor, you are back under the system of the law. You are cut off from Christ and have fallen from the place of having His unmerited favor work in your life.

Don’t misunderstand me, Jesus is still with you (He will never leave you nor forsake you [Heb. 13:5]), but by depending on your self-efforts, you effectively cut off His unmerited favor in your life.

So what do I mean when I say, “Without us, He will not”? Well, Jesus is a gentleman. He will not force His unmerited favor and success down your throat. He needs you to allow Him to work in your life. He waits patiently for you to trust Him. He waits patiently for you to depend on His unmerited favor, the way Joseph trusted and depended wholly on the Lord’s presence, until His manifested presence took over, and His glory radiated from everything that Joseph touched.

Beloved, let’s learn quickly that without Jesus, we cannot succeed, and if we choose not to respond to His unmerited favor, He will not force it on us. God’s unmerited favor is ever-flowing toward us and Jesus is waiting for us to come to the end of ourselves. He is waiting for you to stop struggling in your own attempts to somehow “deserve” His favor, and just depend on Him.

So in the areas that you are still depending on your own efforts to succeed, start resting in Jesus’ unmerited favor and begin experiencing His manifested presence and glory upon everything you touch!