Joel Osteen Podcast - Being Determined to Enjoy Your Life | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: December 8, 2023

Everyday is a gift from God. When we live life with a grateful attitude, we are bringing glory to God.Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.Daily inspiration. Scriptural promises. Get ready for a new year of faith with the Hopes & Dreams 2024 Planner. Our special December offer will let you journal your thoughts, record your prayers, and hold on to the dream God has placed in your heart. Request your copy today! https://bit.ly/3T8xgqS   Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to the podcast, and we want to tell you how much we love you. Trusting you're going to have a blessed Christmas season with you and your family. Know that we pray for you every day. Just speak in God's blessings and favor. We love you. We are praying for you, and we hope you have a very merry Christmas.

Enjoy the podcast today. Welcome to the new Lakewood Church. So good to have you with us today. And we love you and kind of a joy to come into your homes each week. and we always come with good news because we know God has a good plan for your life. He rewards people that seek after him. So thanks so much for tuning in today. And come out and see us.

You'll love our new facility. We'll make you feel right at home. If I'd like to get started each week with something kind of funny, so let me tell you this joke somebody told me. A Hindu priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a televangelist were all traveling together. They stopped at this farmhouse for lodging. The farmer said, that'd be fine, but I only have room for two of you. One's going to have to stay out in the barn.

The Hindu priest said, okay, I'll do it. And he went out there. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He said, I can't stay out there. There's a cow, and that cow is sacred in our religion. The Jewish priest said, OK, well, I'll go. He went out there. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

He said, I can't stay out there. There's a pig, and that wouldn't be kosher. Finally, the televangelist said, okay, I'll go. And he went out there. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was the cow and the pig. Hold your Bible's up and say it like you mean. Ready? This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do.

Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about being determined to enjoy your life. Jesus said there in John chapter 10, verse 2. 10, that he came that we might live life to the full till it overflows. And I can tell you with confidence that God wants you to be happy. He wants you to enjoy your life, not just the weekends, not just vacations, not just when everything's going your way. God wants you to enjoy every single day. And we should enjoy getting up in the morning, enjoy going to work, enjoy our family, enjoy the outdoors, enjoy every part of our day. That's God's dream. But I know too many people that are

just dragging through life. They don't like their job. They can't stand the traffic. They don't enjoy their spouse. They're just going through the motions of life. Getting up, going to work, coming home. No joy, no enthusiasm. But friends, it doesn't bring any glory to God for us to drag around with a long face, negative, discouraged, tired, worn out. How you doing, brother? Well, I'm just trying to hold on. Got so many problems. No, God doesn't want us to hold on. We need to change our approach to life. We need to get up every morning and say with David, this is the day the Lord has made and I am going to enjoy it. We need to make that declaration right at the start of the day. David was saying, in effect, I'm not going to focus on what's wrong today.

I'm going to focus on what's right. I'm not going to dwell on what I don't have. I'm going to thank God for what I do have. You can enjoy every day of your life if you want to badly enough. Some of you complain the whole time you're driving to work. I can't stand this job. I can't stand this traffic. No, why don't you change your approach?

Why don't you be grateful that at least you have a job? You could be in an unemployment line somewhere. Well, Joel, I got this old beat-up car. It hardly even runs. Now, why don't you be grateful that you have a car? I know people that love to have your automobile. Well, Joel, it's my husband. That's why I'm not happy.

He's not affectionate. He's not this. He's not that. No, be grateful that you have a husband. This may surprise you, but some ladies would love to have that man. I know some of you are thinking, can I give you a number? But I want to challenge you today to retrain yourself to enjoy everything you do, not just the fun things.

not just the exciting things. You can enjoy driving to work. Enjoy mowing your lawn. Enjoy the people God's put in your life. They may not be perfect or your job may not be the exact one that you'd always had hoped for, but don't use that as an excuse to live your life sour. I cannot think of anything worse after all God's done for us than to go through life and not really enjoy it. And yet that's what so many people are doing today. and there's so much pressure in our society. There's so much stress. It's easy to get pulled in to where you're just rushing here and you're rushing there. You're so busy.

You're so stressed out. We end up enduring our lives, but not really enjoying them. And some of you today, you love your children, but you can't say that you really enjoy them. You're so busy working for them, cooking, cleaning, getting them to ball practice. No, you need to make some adjustments. take time to enjoy your children. They're not always going to be there. And I know people that rush through breakfast

and they get aggravated in the traffic and they don't like their job, come home stressed out and uptight. No, you simply need to retrain yourself. Don't make the mistake of living for five o'clock. You should enjoy your job. Learn to enjoy the people you work with. Enjoy the drive home.

I really believe that we can enjoy every aspect of our lives if we just approach it in the right way. And I know in my own life, I used to kind of get frustrated when I'd get stuck in traffic. I'd think, man, I'm in a hurry. I've got a lot to do. This is getting me off course. But one day I realized I can't change this. I can't make it go any faster no matter how upset I get.

And so I can either get stressed out every time it happens for the next 30 years or I can change my approach. And that day, I made a decision that I was just going to relax and use that extra time to thank God for all he had done in my life. I just started looking out the window and enjoying his creations. And I can tell you today that that traffic doesn't bother me one bit anymore. I retrain myself to enjoy it, not just endure it. You can do the same thing. And some of you don't like your job and you don't like the house you're living in.

You dread having to mow the lawn every week. All that is is a bad habit that you've developed. And you can either go the rest of your lifetime, let that steal your joy, or you can do what I did and just retrain yourself. And understand, anything you do negative and sour, you're not only cheating yourself, but you're not bringing glory to God. When you go to mow the lawn, do it with a good attitude, and you'll not only feel better, but you bring glory to God. And you have to do the dishes, don't dread it, don't complain about it. Put a smile on your face. be grateful that you have a place to live.

Be grateful that you had something to eat. When you do it that way, you're bringing glory to God. And after all, many of those things, although they're small, we're going to be doing our whole lifetime. What a shame to allow them to steal our joy and keep us from really living life to the full. And some of you today, you're already dreading to drive home. You're dreading the traffic.

You're dreading what you've got to do this afternoon. Dreading what you've got to do at work. But my message to you is you don't have to drive home. dread part of your life and enjoy the other. Why don't you make a decision with me that from now on you're going to enjoy everything you do from sun up to sundown. You're going to bring God glory by being happy and having a good attitude wherever you are. And I know some things are not as enjoyable as others, but I really believe if we have the right attitude, if we approach it right over time, they can become more and more enjoyable. I know my most challenging day is on Thursday.

when I write my messages. And up to just a couple of years ago, I used to dread every Thursday. I think, man, what am I going to say this week? And is it going to be any good? And Wednesday night would roll around. And I could feel myself getting pressured and uptight. And I'd just dig my heels in on Thursdays,

and I'd push through it. I would endure it, but I can't say that I enjoyed it. But one day, it dawned on me that practically every Thursday for the rest of my life, I'm going to be preparing my message. And I thought, I am not going to live my life miserable every Thursday. I'm not going to have one day a week that I don't enjoy from here on now. And I simply changed my approach.

Wasn't anything big, I just changed my attitude. I started thinking about the opportunity that God had given me. Instead of getting all pressured, I'd say, Father, thank you for the privilege to stand up before your people. Thank you for choosing me. I can tell you today, I don't dread Thursdays anymore. Really, I look forward to it now. But see, I've made up my mind, I'm going to enjoy everything I do, not just because I want to be happy, but I want to bring glory to God.

We have to understand every day is a gift from God. We're not always going to be here. The scripture says our lives are like a mist. We're here for a moment, and then we're gone. And every day that we live negative and discouraged and depressed, that's a day that we've wasted. Don't make the mistake of going around upset because you didn't get the job you wanted or discouraged because your plans didn't work out or uptight because you've got to clean the house later today. No, look on the bright side.

At least you're alive. At least you're breathing. Most of you have your health. Most of you walked in here on your own two feet. You can see, you can hear. Most of you have good friends and good family. Why don't you change your attitude? Why don't you make the most of you?

of this day. You can never get this day back. Are you really living it to the full? I was reading about these people that had near-death experiences. They were in some kind of accident where they almost lost their lives and miraculously they pulled through it. And when they interviewed them, they all had the same common themes. They talked about how they don't take each day for granted anymore. They get up in the morning and they take time to hug their kids. They make sure every day they tell their spouse how much they love him or her. And they enjoy the simple things in life, like going out and getting the paper in the morning, listening to the birds sing, picking up their children from school. They talked about how they didn't get upset so easily. They didn't live

life so stressed out. This one man in particular told how in the past he couldn't stand the drive to work. He couldn't stand the traffic. But after his accident, after he nearly lost his life, He told how now he cherished every moment sitting in the traffic. He smiled at every car that went by practically blew them kisses. I mean, it's amazing how things change when we put it in the right perspective. And we should live every day like it could be our last. We should get up every morning with a grateful attitude. As I said, instead of complaining about going to work, be thankful that you have a job.

Instead of complaining about, oh, I've got to clean up after these kids. let's be thankful that God has blessed us with our children. Let me put it to you this way. How different would you live this week if all of a sudden you discovered this was going to be your last week? How many times would you get upset and frustrated? How long would you stay offended

if you knew you only had a week or two to live? No, I'm challenging you to make the most of this day. Live it like it could be your last. Don't go around negative and discouraged. don't go around with bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart. Don't allow little things to steal your joy. Life is way too short for that. Take time to enjoy this day.

Take time to spend with your family. Learn to give flowers to people while they're still living. By that I mean, how many funerals have I gone to where I've heard someone say, if I only had one more chance? If I could just really tell them how much I loved him. No, don't make that mistake. spend time with your family. We're all busy these days. We've all got a lot of things to do, but we need to just slow down and enjoy life's journey. Take time for the important things in your

own life. See, God has given you your family to enjoy, not just to provide for them. He's given us our children to enjoy, not just to raise them, not just to correct them. And some of you are so busy making a living, but you really need to take time to make a life. Your family needs more than money, they need your time. They need your love. They need your attention. They need your smile. If something happened to you tomorrow, would you be pleased at how you've lived today? Can you say, I'm at peace with God, I'm at peace with myself, I've got my priorities in order, I'm living each day to the full? Or would you have to say, man, Joel, I'm so uptight, I'm stressed out, I'm overworked. No, make some changes. Take time to smell the roses. Learn to laugh,

more, smile more. Enjoy the simple things in your life. I know some of you today. You have people in your life that are very difficult to get along with. Maybe it's even a spouse or a teenager or a coworker. And if you're not careful, they could very easily steal your joy. How many people have told me, Joel, if my husband would treat me better, then I'd be happy. Or if my teenager would straighten up, if my boss would do what's right, then I wouldn't be so sour. No, I challenge. You you, don't allow other people to keep you from being happy. Your personal happiness is nobody's responsibility except your own. And I know you love your spouse. You love your child. Of course you do, but you cannot make somebody do what's right. Only God can. And you should not allow other people

to steal your joy. I heard somebody say, you are responsible to them, but you're not responsible for them. In other words, you should treat them with respect. Do you? You, you should treat them with respect. Do you your best to make things work out, but you're not responsible for their actions. You should not allow somebody to burden you down and keep you all upset month after month because they refuse to make good choices and they refuse to do what's right. Now, do your best and then turn the situation over to God. But if you take on a false sense of responsibility, you'll feel like you've got to keep them happy. You've got to make them do right. You can't do that. All that's going to do is still your own happiness. And I've discovered some people don't really want to be happy.

They like the attention it brings, and if you're not careful, they'll use that to manipulate you. I talked to a mother the other day, and her son was doing just this. He wasn't making very good choices, and she was so upset. And she told how the last three years she had struggled with this, and it just totally drained her emotionally and physically. She had no joy, no enthusiasm. I told her what I'm telling you today. do your best, love him, encourage him, but then turn him over to God.

Don't let him steal your joy. You've got to be happy in spite of him. A lot of people like that that are negative and discouraged, not doing right, they would love to pull you down. But I just challenge you, don't get into the pit with them. I found if they can't give you what they've got, if they can't make your life miserable, eventually they're going to want what you have.

Eventually God will use you to turn their life around, but you've got to remain consistent. stay happy in spite of them. And really, almost every day, we can find some excuse to not enjoy it. Well, my back's hurting, or I got stuck in traffic, or I had to work late,

or somebody was rude to me. But no, we cannot control every person. We can't control every circumstance, but we can control how we respond. And you may not get everything you want today. I hope you do. You may have some disappointments, but that should not change the fact

that you are going to, enjoy this day. It is the day the Lord has made. And our attitude should be, as long as I am drawing breath, as long as I'm alive, I am going to be happy and enjoy this day. Well, Joel, I don't see how you can do that. That's just impossible. What if you're sick? What if you're in the hospital? Listen, I've been up to visit people in the hospital that were on their last leg, and yet they were happier than I was. They were full of joy. And really, anybody can be happy in the good times. That's easy. But we need to dig our heels in and learn to be happy in the tough times. Don't let the enemy steal your joy. If he can't get your joy, he can't get your strength. When you have joy,

you are strong. When you have joy, you can fight the good fight of faith. And some of you today, you need to draw the line in the sand and say, enough is enough. I am done with living negative, depressed, dreading things. I'm going to start tapping into the joy on the inside. I'm going to start living my life to the full. See, each one of you has a well of joy right down in here. God put it there, but you have to do your part and tap into it. And some of you, that well has been clogged up with years of sadness, years of discouragement. You never smile, you never laugh. Everything's a burden. But no, you need to unclog that well. Quit living with that heaviness. Quit looking at what's wrong and everything that you don't have. Learn to lighten up and start enjoying

your life. When things don't go your way, don't let it get you down. God's in control of your life. He's directing every one of your steps. And he never said that every day would be easy and every person would treat us right and things will always just fall into place. No, Jesus said in life, you're going to have difficulties. You're going to have unfair things happen. But he said, here's the key. Be of good cheer. In other words, he was saying, no matter what comes your way, put a smile on your face and be determined to enjoy that day. When times get tough, really one of the best ways to show God that we're trusting Him is not by how much we pray, not by how many scriptures we quote,

but simply by putting a smile on our face and a spring in our step. Why don't you start tapping into that joy? The more you smile, the more you have a good attitude, the more you laugh, the more you enjoy your life, the freer that joy is going to flow, the stronger you're going to be, and the more victory that you're going to see. says in proverbs a merry heart is like taking a good medicine but a broken spirit is going to drive the bones i believe that much of the sickness in our society today is a result of a lack of joy we open ourselves up to disease through sadness depression discouragement our bodies weren't made

to live like that it weakens our immune system you may have a problem today you may be facing difficulties, but you've got to learn to turn that situation over to God. Quit worrying about it. He is in control, and he's promised if you will keep your trust in him, no matter what comes against you, he will turn it around and use it to your advantage. And some of you need to shake yourself out of that old negative, defeated mentality. Quit dreading going to work tomorrow. Quit being depressed because you haven't gotten married yet.

Quit getting all upset because your plans didn't work out. focus on what you have, not what you don't have. I heard somebody say, give this day your very best because there may not be a tomorrow. In other words, change your attitude. Put a smile on your face. He said, Joe, I don't feel like it.

Do it anyway. Smile by faith. When you smile, you send a message to your whole body that everything's okay. That smile sets the tone for your life. Oh, Joel, that's easy for you. You smile all the time. always happy. No, listen, I get up each morning just like you, and a lot of times I don't feel like

being in a good mood. I don't feel like smiling. When I get out of bed, I make a choice. I say, Joel, you can either go through this day happy, enjoy it with a positive outlook, or you can go around negative and sour focused on your problems. And one thing I'm very good at is I choose to be happy. I choose at the very start to enjoy that day. Well, you say, Joel, if I had your life, I'd be happy too. If I was married to Victoria, sure I'd be happy. Had a big church like you? Yeah, I'd enjoy my life. No, every person faces their own challenges.

You probably have to pay your house note each month. Well, this place costs $95 million to renovate, and I'm responsible for that. That alone is enough to make me go back to bed each morning. But no, I get up and say, God, I know you're in control, I know you've led us here, and I know those people are rich out there. I say, God, I know you're going to make a way. See, I've learned to magnify God and not my problems. I could worry about that all day long, but I just choose to turn it over to God. I choose to enjoy my life while God is in the

process of working things out. And really, that's the key. You may be in a difficult situation today, in your marriage or your health, your finances. But don't make the mistake of waiting. You for everything to get better before you decide to start enjoying your life. Your attitude should be, this is where God has me right now, and I'm going to be happy in spite of what's come against me. In other words, this job may be difficult, or these people may not be treating me right, but I'm not going to allow them to steal my joy. I'm going to be happy anyway. See, learn to enjoy whatever season you're in. Some seasons are more exciting. They're growing seasons where you see all kinds of great things happening. But then there are other seasons that are maintaining

seasons or even pruning seasons where it doesn't look like anything good's taken place. And maybe you've been hoping and praying for a long time for something to change in your life, a spouse or a situation at work. Month after month is gone by, maybe even year after year. And you don't see anything getting better. You're so tempted to just get all discouraged. No, the whole key is you need to just keep enjoying your life right where you are knowing that God is working behind the scenes, and he's in the process of changing things. And as I said, you can't change people. Only God can. You can't make the situation work out. Only God can. And so while you're waiting, there's no use getting all discouraged.

You need to just enter into God's rest. That means you turn it over to God. You quit worrying about it. And in the meantime, you start living your life happy. When I say happy, I don't mean we're laughing all the time, giggling all day long. No, it just means that we're content. In fact, one definition of joy is calm delight. In other words, you're at peace about where you are. It may be difficult. You may be waiting for things to get better, but deep down on the inside, you know that you know

that everything's going to be all right. You know that God is in complete control of your life. You say, Joel, I'd be a lot happier if I had a better job. I don't like the people I work around. they don't treat me good. It's not a very good environment. The scripture says in Ecclesiastes that God has given us the power to enjoy our work. And you should not endure your job. You should learn to enjoy it. Don't get up in the morning and drive to work thinking, I can't stay in this place.

I cannot wait till 5 o'clock. No, change your attitude. God's given you the power to enjoy that place. That means no matter what you do, no matter what kind of environment it may be, if you choose to, if you choose to, you can be happy right where you are. And what a shame to spend 40 hours of your week somewhere and not really enjoy it. Why don't you make a decision from today on out? You're not going to focus on the negative at your job. You're not going to complain about it every day.

You're going to do your best to enjoy it. It says in First Peter that wives are to enjoy their husbands. Some of you today, you don't really enjoy your spouse. You live together, but there's no real friendship. There's no relationship, no communication. Now, you need to make every effort to enjoy what God has given you. Enjoy spending time together. Enjoy each other's personality.

You say, Joy, you don't know my husband. I can't enjoy him. Man, he gets on my nerves. No, quit dwelling on his faults. Quit magnifying what you don't like about him. And instead, if you'll start magnifying the good and being an encourager and being fun to be around, you'll be amazed at how that man will begin to change. See, you've got to bring the best out in each other.

That's what I love about Victoria. She doesn't drag me down. She builds me up. I enjoy being around her. She's my best friend. And I know men that spend all their time away from their house. Really, they're missing out. Victoria and I, we've been married for 18 years

and we enjoy each other more now than we ever have. But she's fun to be around. She's an encourager. If I have the choice to spend time with a bunch of guys, or spend time with her, I'd choose her any day. Do you know, if I, if I'm going to spend time with her, I've got to be willing to go to the mall. Let me ask you today,

are there areas in your life that you're not really enjoying? If so, make some changes. Life is too short to go through it dreading things and not enjoying your family and being upset because you didn't get your way. No, make the most of this day. You can never get it back. Times may be tough, but don't use that

as an excuse to live your life sour. God is in control. You need to get up every morning and say with David, this is the day the Lord has made, I want to be happy. If you will stay full of joy, you'll not only bring glory to God, but you will feel better, you'll be healthier, and you'll live longer. So I challenge you again, enjoy every day. Don't focus on the negative. Don't dread things. Choose to be happy. And if you do that, God promises you're going to live life to the full. He'll pour out his blessings and his favor. You'll be strong, healthy, happy, and you'll experience that abundant life

that Jesus talked about in John chapter 10. Amen. How many of you receive it today? When I know you do, we never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me?

Just say, Lord Jesus. I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you, my Lord and say, friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places you've never dreamed of. Do you have a dream that's waiting to happen? But it often feels like you'll never get there. Is your dream? To start a business? To see a loved one come to the Lord. Are you asking God, will it ever happen?

Sometimes it feels like our dream is so far off, but I believe you're closer than you think. You're on the verge of seeing things change in your favor, new doors opening, the right people showing up. I'd love to send you our new hopes and dreams, 2024 planner. It's not only a calendar, but it has scriptures and inspiration, a place to journal. It'll help you stay focused and encouraged so you can see your dreams come to pass. As you support the ministry this month with a special end-of-year gift of any amount, we would like to bless you with the hopes and dreams 2024 planner. With the new planner, you will start the new year with fresh ideas, fresh hope, and endless possibilities.

You'll find monthly calendars and plenty of space to plan for a better day ahead. Plus, there are inspiring scriptures and thoughts that will encourage you to believe for your dreams. Thank you so much for your prayer and support, your year in giving. You're making a difference around the world. A special thank you to our Champion of Hope Partners for your monthly gifts. If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, see all the music and ministry, and you can download our daily podcast.

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