Joel Osteen Podcast - Being Grateful For The Gift of Today | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: August 16, 2024

The key to cultivating happiness is to stay focused on the positive in our lives. Discouragement and worry cannot take root in a grateful heart. 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 visitJoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.Dispel worry and gain newfound hope! This August, we are offeringPower Up: A 21-Day Action Plan to Transformative Thinking.Receive the truth about what God says about you and transform your thoughts from Day 1. Take a step up toward powerful living today, https://bit.ly/46jp0ZX! 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.

Hope you're having a great summer. Know that we're praying for you, and we know God has awesome things in store. So great having you with us. Enjoy the message today. God bless you. It is always a joy to come into your homes each week. We love you.

I know God's got a great plan for your life. God rewards the people that seek after him, and I believe that's you or you wouldn't be tuning in today. You guys wouldn't be here today. If you're ever in our area, come out and see us. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home, but we'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I'd like to get started each week with something kind of funny,

and I heard about this minister. He noticed a dead mule on the church grounds. And so he called the health department, and they said they couldn't pick it up without authorization from the mayor. Well, this mayor was known to be rude and hard to get along with, and when the minister called, he didn't disappoint. He began to rant and rave, and finally he said,

why are you even bothering me? Isn't it your job to bury the dead? The minister asked God to give him the right response. He said, yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first. All right, hold up your Bibles. Say it like you mean it. 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. We've been talking about developing a habit

of happiness and how important it is that we train our mind to see the good. This doesn't happen automatically. We have to discipline ourselves to focus on the positive. Many people don't realize the reason they're not happy. The reason they're not enjoying their life

is simply because they've trained their mind to worry. They've trained their mind to complain. They've trained their mind to see the negative. But just as we can form these negative mindsets, we can form positive mindsets. And one of the main keys to developing this habit of happiness is we have to learn how to stay grateful. We have to learn to focus on what's right rather than what's wrong. And understand the seeds of discouragement cannot take root in a grateful heart. If you're not happy today, if you're down, or when you're tempted to get discouraged, the quickest way out of that is to stop focusing on what you don't have and start thanking God for what you do have.

Find some reason to be grateful. Being grateful will lift you out of depression and discouragement. Being grateful can help turn a relationship around. It can save a marriage. It's amazing what happens when we stop focusing on somebody's faults. and we stop complaining about what they're doing wrong, and instead we start seeing the good. We start showing appreciation. Being grateful at the office, expressing gratitude to your employer, to your supervisor.

That can help save your job during a time of layoffs. That can help you get a promotion. People like to be around grateful people. They're drawn to people that are appreciative and thankful. When we get up in the morning, before we read the newspaper, before we read the newspaper, before we turn on the TV, before we think about our problems, the first thing we should do is thank God that we're alive. Thank God that we're healthy. Thank God for our job. Thank God for our friends and our family. We need to start the day off in a grateful attitude. I've found you cannot go through the

day negative and depressed as long as you have a spirit of Thanksgiving in your heart. Well, Joel, I'd do that, but I got this old rattle trap of a car, barely has air, has air, It's hot outside. No, be grateful for what you do have. Some people would love to have your car. Well, if I had more money, I'm sure I'd be happy, Joel. You've got to change your perspective. You may not have all the money you would like, but you do have your health. Let me tell you, that's worth a whole lot. I was reading about this gentleman, one of the wealthiest men in the United States,

worth well over a billion dollars, had more money than any of us could spend. But the problem was he didn't have his health. And he spent years going from hospital to hospital trying all this different kind of treatment. And do you know how much he would have given to be with? well and healthy like most of us today, he would have given it all. You may not have everything you would like, but keep it in perspective. If you have your health, you're extremely wealthy. If you can walk, you can talk, you can think, you can see, you have something that a billion dollars couldn't even buy. Don't take for granted the fact that you were able to get out of bed

this morning without any assistance. When you opened your eyes, you were able to see. When you told your legs to walk, they obeyed. When you went to the kitchen, you had to the kitchen, you had food to eat. Some of you had too much of it. Don't take your health for granted. Be grateful that you can breathe without any problem. I walked by somebody

the other day that had real bad asthma. They were hooked up to oxygen and they were struggling to breathe. After we prayed for them, I went back to my seat and I just said, Father, thank you that I can breathe. Thank you that my lungs are clear. Think you that I'm strong and healthy. You see somebody out here

living on the street, somebody homeless, for them and then learn to say, Father, thank you that I have a home. You see somebody in a wheelchair, bless them, then say, Father, thank you that I'm able to walk. You may be in a wheelchair. You may not be able to walk, but you can thank God that you can see. You may not have legs, but you can thank God you have arms. Find some reason to be grateful. If you have a hard time tonight getting to sleep, instead of just lying there, frustrated in your bed,

think about the people that don't even have a bed. If you get stuck in traffic tomorrow, instead of getting upset, think about the people that don't have a car. Or maybe you have a tough day at the office next week. Instead of letting it ruin the rest of your week, think about the people that don't even have a job. Well, Joel, I had to park three blocks away just to come to church today. I prayed for favor. It never works for me. No, instead of getting sour, you know what you should do with every step you take?

You should say, Father, thank you that I'm able to walk. Thank you that I'm strong. Thank you that I'm healthy. Instead of complaining that your hair is turning gray, you should be grateful that it's not turning loose. Some of you, it's too late. Or maybe somebody's rude to you. They're spiteful, jealous, angry.

Well, just remember, it could be worse. You could be then. Sometimes the only way to be grateful is you just say, thank God, I'm not like you. Just don't do it to their face. But we can all find some reason to give thanks. And being grateful is the key to living a happy life. Our circumstances are up and down.

People don't always do what's right. Disappointments come. This is just a part of life. But if we can train our minds to see the good and always find some reason to be grateful, then we're going to live life happy. We're going to enjoy our lives. A couple of weeks ago,

we had one of our teenagers here at the church killed in an automobile accident. It's very sad. But I love his parents' attitude. They stood right here at the altar. And they said, Joel, we just want to thank God that we had him as long as we did. And I thought, man, that's a mature attitude. Because a lot of people in that situation, they get

negative, they get bitter, they blame God, they drop out of church, but not these parents. They found something to be grateful for. And the scripture tells us in First Thessalonians, it says, in everything, give thanks. Notice it doesn't say to give thanks for everything. It says in everything. In other words, God, in spite of what's happened,

I'm going to choose to be grateful. I'm not going to focus on what's wrong. I'm going to find something positive in my life. I may be sick, but, Father, I just want to thank you today for giving me a great family. I may be struggling in my marriage, but God, thank you for giving me a good job. I may not have gotten the position I wanted, but God, I want to thank you that I was able to see another sunrise,

that I could hear the birds singing this morning, that I could smell the flowers. See, we all have difficult situations, but we have to discipline ourselves to not stay focused on the negative. That's where our mind naturally wants to go. I was talking to a young lady the other day, and she was very down and discouraged. She'd gone through a troubling relationship. She said, Joel, nothing's going right in my life. She explained how the last two years she's just been so depressed.

And I told her what I'm telling you today. You've got to change your focus. I said, look at you. You're beautiful. You've got a great personality. You've got family that loves you. You're healthy. And yet you're allowing this one circumstance,

this one person to steal your joy week after week, month after month. The fact is, there are some things in life that we cannot change. We can't change people. We can't make them do what's right. And if you're constantly trying, that's only going to frustrate you. You've got to turn the situation over to God.

Do your part and then trust God to do his part. But don't allow that to keep stealing your joy. And I know in my own life, when I'm tempted to get down, tempted to get discouraged, I've learned, number one, I've got to get my mind off of my own problems. I've got to quit focusing on what's wrong in my life and what I don't have. And number two, I've got to find some reason to be grateful. I've got to look at what's right rather than what's wrong. A lot of times I'll go find my children.

And I'll think, look at them. They're strong. They're healthy. They're enthusiastic. They're beautiful. That helps to keep it all in perspective. We have to realize that every day is a gift from God. Once this day is gone, we can never get it back.

How are you going to choose to live it? Happy, grateful, enthusiastic? Or are you going to go through the day? Negative. discouraged, focused on your problems, what you don't have, and who hurt you. Now get away from that junk and find some reason to be grateful. And too often, we're not grateful for something until it's almost taken away. Then when we get it back, we have a new appreciation for it.

It changes our perspective. I was reading about this young man. He was a star running back on his high school football team. He'd broken all these records, been recruited by the major colleges. His future looked very bright. But one day, he started complaining about some pain in his right knee. After he went to the doctor

and had several weeks of test, they gave him some very discouraging news. He had something called osteosarcoma. And the surgeon said, this is really one of the worst kinds of cancer. It's eating into your bones. And if we don't remove your leg, it's going to spread throughout your whole body,

and it'll kill you. And of course, this young man was devastated. his dream was to play in the NFL and how that was shattered. And he just sunk into that dark hold of depression like so many people do. But long story short, they did the operation. When the surgeons got in there, they realized it wasn't what they thought. It was just an unusual bone cyst, and they were able to remove it and spare his leg. And when he woke up from that operation, and he got the good news that his leg was still there,

and he was going to be able to play ball and still be strong and healthy. He wept and wept and wept, just like a little baby. You know what he does? Every morning now when he gets up, he's just a teenager. First thing he does, thank you, Lord, for my legs. Thank you, Lord, that I can run. Thank you, Lord, that I'm healthy.

Thank you, Lord, that I'm strong. He has a whole new perspective. And I'm asking us today to not let something have to be taken away or almost taken away before we really appreciate what we have. Don't take your health for granted. Don't take your job for granted.

And let's make sure that we don't take the people in our lives for granted. Husbands, don't take your wife for granted. Recognize that lady is a gift that God has given you. Quit being critical. Quit finding fault and complaining about what she's doing wrong. And start being grateful that you have somebody in your life to love. Start focusing on what she's doing right. rather than what she's doing wrong.

Let's learn to overlook some things. Let's realize that every person has weaknesses. I heard somebody put it like this. When you're tempted to be critical of your wife's faults, just remember it was those very faults that kept her from getting a better husband. But the fact is, we all have room to improve. Let's focus on the good.

It says in Proverbs 1822, He who finds a wife finds favor from the Lord. Men, you need to realize your wife is bringing you favor from the Lord. Victoria never lets me forget that. She'll go through the house saying, listen, Joel, when you got me, you got favor.

And I think, yeah, I got a whole lot of other things, woman. All good. But be grateful for their personality. Be grateful for their gifts and talents. And let's give each other room to not be perfect. husband, your wife may not be the greatest cook, but at least you can be grateful that she keeps a fresh supply of rollades up in the cabinet.

Eat the food and pray the little digest. Listen, ladies, the scripture says in First Peter that you are to enjoy your husband. It does not say that you are to remodel that man. It doesn't say that you're to try to change him and try to make him fit into your little mold. No, let him be who God made him to be and learn to eat. enjoy him. He may have weaknesses. He may do things that you don't particularly care for, but don't focus on that. Focus on his good qualities. And you should never compare your husband to somebody else's husband. Well, my husband never brings me flowers like Susie's husband.

They go out on a candlelight dinner every weekend. Don't know what's wrong with my husband. No, quit comparing your husband to Romeo over there. And just be grateful for the man that God has given you. Too many people today are just enduring their marriage. They let these little things build up. They get resentful. And before long they're hard to get along with. They're at

odds. They're arguing. They're fighting. No change your perspective. I challenge you to find something good, one great quality about your husband or wife, and then begin to magnify it. Your husband may not be the most romantic man. He may not be the best communicator,

but maybe he is a hard worker. Maybe he provides a great living. You never have to think about paying the bills. Why don't you start telling him, hey, I appreciate you being such a great provider for our family. If you will magnify the good, not only will you be happier, but you'll see that man come up higher in other areas.

Maybe you're here today, and your husband doesn't come to church with you. You've tried and tried, but he's just not interested. Well, don't nag him. Don't try to beg him into coming. coming. No, just love the man. I see too many ladies, they're trying to shove the scripture down their husband's throat. They're always preaching him a sermon, telling him what he's doing wrong. But really, I believe a better approach is to just be your husband's best friend. Just be fun to be

around. Just love him. That's going to draw him in quicker than any of that other. And as I said, you can't change him. You just pray for him. You be a good example and let God do the rest. But don't use the excuse. Well, I don't have to treat my husband good, Joel. He doesn't come to church. He's not as spiritual as me. No, we all have a responsibility to treat our spouse with respect and honor. Don't take that person for granted. We need to realize life is very short. That other person may not always be here. Have you told your spouse you loved them lightly? Have you hug that man? Have you kissed that woman? Oh no, Joel, we're at odds. We're mad at each other. We're arguing. He did this. She did that. Don't let me ask you.

If you found out you only had a couple weeks to live, how long would you stay upset? Better yet, if you found out that other person was only going to be here another month or two, how would you treat them? We need to learn to live each day as if it could be our last. And David said here in Psalm 90, verse 12, God teach us to number our days. He was saying, God, help me to remember that every day is a gift from you. When I get up in the morning, help me to remember. Help me to remember. realize that I may not always be here. Help me to be kind to the people in my life. Help me to focus on the good. Help me to not take things for granted. I heard somebody put it like this. We forget how fragile life really is. We wait for Thanksgiving to give thanks. We wait for Christmas to give gifts. We wait for Valentine's Day to express love to the people that we whole dear. We say to ourselves, today is just an ordinary day, and we wait. And while we wait, the clock ticks. Precious moments pass by. But in reality, there is no such thing as an ordinary day. Every day is a gift. It's unique and irreplaceable. Its hours can be used or misused, invested or wasted.

God teach us to number our days. What are you focused on today? what's right or what's wrong. Is there peace in your home, peace in your life? Are you happy at rest, enjoying life? We need to realize this day is a special day. It's not an ordinary day. It's unique. It's irreplaceable. The scripture tells us to make the most of every day. We need to learn to live like it could be our last. Growing up, we knew this older couple. They were very fine people. and the lady especially was very loving, caring, fun to be around. In fact, I never saw her where she did not have a smile on her face. She was always encouraging somebody. People loved her, especially the young people. But late last fall, she went home to be with the Lord. And at her

funeral, the husband said something interesting. About 15 years ago, he had a heart attack. She came to the hospital. She said, honey, this just shows us how fragile life really is. You could have been gone. This could have been it. But she said from now on, I want us to start doing something special. Every night before we go to bed, I want us to kiss seven times, just to show

how much we love each other, just to show that we're not taking each other for granted. She came up with that number seven. And so for these last 15, 20 years, way up into their 80s, they never went to bed without first kissing seven times. Well, one day last fall, she got up

just like normal, happy, loving, peaceful. She was walking to a doctor's appointment, accidentally fell and hit her head on the concrete, her brain hemorrhage, and she went to be with the Lord. But what I love about the way this lady lived is she lived every day like it could be her last. She went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, but Monday night she kissed her husband seven times. Monday night she told her husband how much she loved him. She didn't live in regrets. She wasn't too busy. She wasn't too lazy.

She wasn't upset. She made every day a special day. She realized there's no such thing as an ordinary day. The last day of her life, she lived at loving, caring, at peace, enjoying it. That's the way I want to live. Friends, you never know how long we're going to be here. This day is a gift. It's a special day.

It's not ordinary. Make the most of it. Don't go through it complaining. Negative, holding a grudge. when Joel they did me wrong, I'm not speaking to them. No, be the bigger person. They may be at fault, but swallow your pride and make things right. Do you know how many people live in regrets today? How many times have I heard people say, Joel, if I could just tell them how much I really love them, if I only had another chance. Friends, life is very fragile.

We have to number our days. We have to realize people are not going to be here forever. Have you told your parents you love them lately? Have you told your spouse, your children, how great it is to have them in your life? Do it often. Every day is a special day. And I know sometimes when we face difficulties, it's hard to stay grateful. It's hard to stay positive. But you know, the alternative is to come to the end of our lives and have to say,

you know what, I spent most of my life negative, depressed, discouraged. No, let's develop some of these new mindsets. And things may not be perfect in your life, but the fact is, this is the day the Lord has made. You are not on planet earth by accident. There is nothing that you are going through that God is not aware of. There is no situation in your life that's too difficult for him. But God works where there's an attitude of faith. You've got to give him something to work with.

Be grateful. Stay at peace. And no matter what comes against you, learn to find the good. I was reading about a man by the name of Bill Bright. He was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, a very fine gentleman, a well-respected leader. But toward the end of his life, he developed an incurable lung disease. It was very painful. There was nothing that they could treat it with. It was eating away the lining of his lungs. It got so bad that he became bedridden. He couldn't go out anymore. And here he had spent the last 60 or so years traveling all over the world doing so much good.

And when came down to the end, it seemed kind of anticlimactic, kind of unfair. And just a few days before he died, a friend of mine went to visit him. And he said, Dr. Bright, I'm so sorry to see you in this condition. I'm so sorry to see you suffering. He said, no, no, I'm not suffering. I'm in an air-conditioned room. I'm in a comfortable bed. I've got my family around me.

I've got the best medical care in the world. see, a lot of people in that situation would have been complaining, negative, discouraged, but he chose to be grateful. He chose to focus on the positive. He realized every day was a special day. And his attitude was, as long as I'm breathing, that I'm going to enjoy this day. That's the attitude we need to have. I think about our friend Freddie Lamb here on the front row.

A few years ago, he lost his legs in an accident. He was out on the freeway, changing a flat tire, and a drunk driver came along and ran into him, crushed both of his legs right underneath the knee. They had to be amputated. A few days after the accident, my parents went up to the hospital, thinking that they were going to cheer him up and encourage him. But they got there, you got to know Freddy. He had a big smile on his face. He said, hey, don't feel sorry for me.

I know I'm not a victim. I'm a victor. He said, pastor, he said, in effect, pastor, I may have lost. my legs, but I haven't lost my joy. I know if it was not for the grace of God, I wouldn't even be here today. And some of you today, you're sitting around in self-pity, focused on what you've lost, but you need to do like Freddie and start thanking God for what you have left over. You may have lost a lot, but if God had not shown up, if God had not intervened, you could have lost it all. Why don't you shake off that self-pity? Shake off the discouragement. Find some reason

to be grateful. And really, it's all in how we choose to see it. I heard a story about these two men that were in the hospital. They were sharing a room together. And every day, the man closest to the window would tell his friend what he saw outside. He would describe it in great detail. Things like, today I see a beautiful sunrise. The kids are out there playing, the trees are blooming, on and on. And every day, this friend, who was not able to get out of bed, couldn't wait to hear what he saw outside. It was the highlight of his day. One time he

told how he saw a parade coming by, marching band, kids, and people playing, just celebrating, having such a good time. This went on for several weeks, but one day this man died, went to be with the Lord. And his friend asked the nurse if he could have the bed

by the window so he could see all these great scenes. So she moved him over there. But when he looked out the window, much to his surprise, all he could see was a brick wall. 10 or 15 feet away was the other wing of the hospital. He called the nurse back in and said, hey, wait a minute, what's going on? My friend has described all these beautiful scenes for several weeks, and I can't see anything.

The nurse smiled and said, sir, didn't you realize your friend was blind? He was seeing it all on the inside. Now, I believe in the same way, no matter what life deals us, we have the right attitude, we can find the good. If we have the right attitude, we can see the sunshine even when it's cloudy. We can stay full of joy even when things don't go our way. My prayer is that God would give us a spirit of gratitude, that we'd always focus on the good, that we wouldn't take things for granted, and that we would treat each day as unique and irreplaceable.

Friends, life is fragile. This day is a gift. Make the most of it. Don't take people for granted. Don't go around focused on what's wrong. find some reason to be grateful. Remember, the seeds of discouragement cannot take root in a grateful heart.

If you'll get up every morning and thank God for that day and then go through the day in that grateful attitude, always focused on the good, and I can promise you this, you'll be happier, you'll rise higher, and you'll live that life of victory

that God has in store. Amen, do you receive it today? 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? Say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins.

Come into my heart? I make you, my Lord and Savior. 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 you places that you've never dreamed out. Our negative thinking can short-circuit God's power

and blessing in our lives. say, I always seem to worry. I can't forgive what was done to me. I pray, but it feels like God doesn't hear. I won't have enough to provide for me and my family. How do you overcome this type of negative thinking that limits you from God's best? Our thinking sets the limits for our life. Every morning you have to power up your mind, get it going in the right direction by dwelling on what God says about you. When you think thoughts of faith, hope, and victory, You'll tap into blessing and favor that belongs to you. I'd love to send you my newest book.

It's called Power Up. I'll show you how to delete negative thoughts and focus on the promises rather than the problems. You can discover God's unprecedented power in your life. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you this life-altering resource. Power Up, a 21-day action plan to transformative thinking.

God wants to power up every area of your life. Your relationships, career, finances, health. He wants to bless it all. But sometimes negative thinking can short-circuit the truth. This resource reconnects those power lines, providing the free flow of God's eternal promises. Remember, wherever you're at, whatever you're facing, you can make the choice to power up and access God's promises.

When your mind is going in the right direction, your life will go in the right direction. Start powering up each day and watch what God will do. Victoria and I want you to know that we pray for you and your family. We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting so many lives. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday morning. Download our daily podcast, watch our YouTube channel, listen on SiriusXM.

But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep it. you. Be sure to request your copy of Power Up, a 21-day action plan to transformative thinking. Today, visit Joel Osteen.com or call us toll-free.