When we understand that God works generationally, we step into generational blessings. We see things that were orchestrated long before that catapult us into our destiny.

Gospel Corner

03/06/25

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Ruth 1:22, NIV

Something Far Greater.
Life had been good for Naomi in the land of Moab, but then her husband died. Ten years later, both her sons died. Both she and her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth, were left heartbroken and very poor. Naomi decided to move back to her hometown of Bethlehem, and Ruth went with her. You can imagine how devastated they were, but God was doing things they couldn’t see right then. He was getting them back to Bethlehem so that Ruth would meet a man named Boaz who was very influential and wealthy. This was a part of God’sz, divine plan. Ruth ended up marrying Boaz. They had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David, through whose lineage Jesus was born. The disappointment was all a setup for something far greater.

When we isolate a loss or a door that closed by itself, it’s not fair. But when we understand that God works generationally, we step into generational blessings. We see things that were orchestrated long before that catapult us into our destiny.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You know best when it comes to the difficulties that come into my life. Thank You that Your sovereign plans are always so much more fulfilling and bigger than my plan. I declare that You are in control, and I believe that something big is coming my way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Several years ago, I preached a message on how the devil sometimes uses the first-person pronoun to plant thoughts in our heads to deceive us. For example, he doesn’t say, “You have an eating disorder” or “You have an addiction.” The devil uses the first-person pronoun to sow thoughts such as these in your mind: “I have an eating disorder” or “I am addicted to pornography.”

He makes you think that you are thinking those thoughts of defeat. He wants you to believe that is who you are.

Upon hearing this message, a man named Walter, whom the devil had used this strategy on and trapped in a destructive addiction for many years, went home after church, locked himself in his room, and for the first time declared out loud, “I am not an addict!” He chose to reject this evil mind-set in the name of Jesus.

He related this: “At that very moment, I felt something powerful happen inside me. I don’t know how to describe this. It was as if life became spectacular because of the love of God, and I couldn’t contain the feeling.”

After making that confession out loud, Walter said, “My addiction stopped. I just lost all interest, and I don’t feel even a little bit tempted. All the wrong desires are gone, and best of all, I know I love Jesus more than ever before and I can’t live without Him. I am renewed. I am reborn. I know that everything is in His control, and I am blessed and forgiven.”

Wow! What an amazing testimony of God’s power and goodness in this brother’s life. With just one declaration, he broke the mental stronghold that the devil had placed him under for many years.

That is truly the power of right believing. If you can change what you believe, you can change your life, just like this brother did.

Are there lies about your identity that you believe in today? Break the power of those lies by declaring your identity in Christ. Say out loud, “I am a child of God. I am healed, forgiven, righteous, and holy in Christ Jesus.” Instead of believing the devil’s lies when he uses the first-person pronoun strategy against you, speak your true identity in Jesus.