Grace is the only thing against which the devil has no defense.

Gospel Corner

17/06/25

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.”
Isaiah 43:17–19, MSG

Snuffed Out
When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, He drowned all their enemies. If He would have just brought them out, they would have always lived with the threat that Pharaoh could come find them. There would have been this lingering worry, lingering anxiety, that their enemy might still be coming. But when God snuffed out what could harm them, He freed them from the past and any fears.

You may have some lingering anxieties in the back of your mind that are always trying to remind you of what might happen if your past mistakes catch up to you, if your regrets come to light. Can I tell you that the threat has been taken care of? God has put an end to what you’re worried about. You don’t have to live afraid, anxious, or worried. He didn’t just bring you through the difficulty, but He’s drowned the guilt, the shame, the opposition. What was trying to harm you is already defeated. Jesus Christ set you free and is about to do something brand-new.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that the power of Jesus’ shed blood has secured an everlasting release from my sins. Thank You that He paid the incredible price to blot out all my sins and set me free. I declare that I am free from any lingering anxiety about my past. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Grace is the only thing against which the devil has no defense. If you are living by your self-effort to earn God’s approval, the devil has power over you because he can always point to something that you have not done. This gives him dominion over you.

If you claim God’s protection and healing based on what you have done, the devil, who is a master accuser, just has to point to one of your failures, and all your faith implodes. You will disqualify yourself mentally and inwardly from receiving whatever you might be trusting the Lord for.

But grace qualifies us for protection. Because Jesus paid the price, we who are in Him have a right to walk in divine health and protection.

When the devil accuses you, saying, “How dare you believe God for protection, when you are (he goes on to list your failures),” you just have to point to Jesus’ blood, which has paid for all your failures. With grace as your basis, the God of peace can reign over your fears and impart to you unshakable faith for His protection!

Something else happens when you understand His grace—you will also grow in your understanding of how perfectly loved you are by your Father in heaven. God so loved you and me, He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross on our behalf, carrying all our sins upon His own body so that today, we can come boldly to His throne of grace.

He did it so that today, we are not as sheep without a shepherd, but we are so deeply loved and cared for by our Abba Father. We are His children and when we call on Him, He WILL answer.

We have a God who demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners—when we had nothing to offer Him but our brokenness, our shame, our sins, and our disqualifications! Oh what perfect love!

The Word of God says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:18–19, boldface mine).

Are you fearful today? Ask yourself this question: Do you know how much God loves you?

You see, you can’t reason away fear. But when you have a revelation of His perfect love for you, every fear in your life will be cast out. To the extent that you understand His love for you, you will live fearlessly in dangerous times!