YES, IN ALL YOUR FAILINGS, IN ALL YOUR MISTAKES, GOD STILL LOVES YOU! COME TO HIM JUST AS YOU ARE.

GOSPEL CORNER

27/11/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion….Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18, NIV

Get Your Expectations Up
Did you notice in today’s Scripture that God longs to be good to you, that He wants to show you His favor and compassion, but there’s a condition? He’s looking for people who wait for Him, who are expecting His goodness. He’s looking for people who believe that healing is coming, that breakthroughs are on the way, that their future will be brighter than their past. Could it be that God is longing to show you His goodness, but you’re not seeing it because you’re not looking for it? It’s easy to become passive and complacent, thinking you’ve seen your best days. No, God has an awesome future planned for you. The Scripture says His favor is for a lifetime, but you have to be looking for it. You have to be expecting things to turn around, believing that good breaks are coming, thanking Him that the best is still ahead. Don’t put your faith on autopilot. God didn’t create you to reach a certain level and get stuck. He promises that your path will get brighter and brighter. Are you looking for it?

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You are the all-powerful God who longs to be gracious to me. Thank You for being the God who rises up to show me compassion. I declare that I am believing that the best of Your goodness is still ahead. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Do you feel as if you have toiled all night and caught nothing? Perhaps you feel as though you are in a dead-end situation in your career. Or perhaps whatever you have been trying to do to save your marriage just isn’t working. Maybe your toil is in the area of your parenting—no matter how much effort you put into reaching out to your child, the relationship just seems to grow colder and more distant by the day.

My friend, now is not the time to give up, but to listen to your wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus. Hear Him. Rather than depend on your experience and expertise, lean in to Him. You are not alone in your boat.

Listen to Him and do exactly what He tells you to do. Our Lord Jesus told Peter to let down “your nets”—plural. Peter said, “At Your word I will let down the net”—singular (Luke 5:4–5). It is no wonder the net began to break and Peter had to call for his friends to come and help him.

Jesus is your very present help in time of need. Whatever your struggle is today, you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is with you and knows exactly how to help you.

There are also people who have been toiling relentlessly, trying everything they know to get their lives right and win God’s approval. The more they try, the more distant they feel from Him. The harder they push, the more they feel that they consistently fail and disappoint Him. They are just as exasperated, fatigued, and frustrated as the fishermen who had labored all night and caught nothing.

My dear reader, if this describes you, I want you to know that God loves you even with all your imperfections. Yes, in all your failings, in all your mistakes, God still loves you! Come to Him just as you are.

But Pastor Prince, you don’t understand. Let me sort out my life first, then I will come.

My friend, no one tries to clean himself before he takes a bath. Jesus is the bath! Come to Him with all your inadequacies, all your addictions, all your habits, and all your hang-ups, and let Him do what He does best. Let Him save you and restore you to wholeness! Jesus will transform you with His perfect love.