Joel Osteen Podcast - Believing For Restoration | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: July 26, 2024

We've all faced unfair situations, but the good news is, God’s favor is new every morning. Trust Him to be your vindicator.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.God wants to release His goodness and favor over you. Now is your time to break free from stress and walk fully in His blessing. Our July offer, 55 Ways to Be Blessed and Not Stressed, gives short, powerful readings packed with God’s promises! Request your copy today,  https://bit.ly/4cxwUAz  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 so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024, healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message. God bless you. It is a joy to come into your homes each week. We love you. We know God has great things in store for you. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll come by and see us. Just be our joy and honor to have you be a part of one of our services. But, you know, Thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny.

And I heard about this pastor and song leader that weren't getting along. And it began to spill over into the worship services. One Sunday, the minister preached on being willing to change. And afterwards, the song leader got up and led the hymn, I shall not be moved. The next week, he preached on giving. The song leader got up afterwards and sang the song, Jesus paid it all.

The next week he preached on not gossiping. The song leader got up and led the song, I love to tell the story. The minister got so frustrated, he finally resigned. He said, Jesus brought me here, and Jesus has taken me away. The song leader got up and led the song, what a friend we have in Jesus. Hold up your Bible.

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 not living in the past and how we need to let things go. Life has a way of pushing people down. We all go through disappointments. At times we all have unfair things happen to us, and it's so easy to develop. a negative mindset, and this always will rob us of our future. And I see too many people going around with a chip on their shoulder, bitter, resentful, kind of angry, and it's because they won't let anything go. But every morning, we need to start our day with a fresh, clean slate. When we get out of bed, one of the first things we need to learn to do is let go of the

disappointments of yesterday. Let go of our failures, forgive the people that did us wrong, release any negative thing that's trying to pull us down. We need to start each day a fresh and a new. In other words, we may have made mistakes yesterday, but the good news is God's mercy is new every single morning. Learn to receive that. Or maybe somebody offended you last week. They said something to hurt your feelings, let that go. That unforgiveness will poison your own life. Maybe somebody cheated you out of a promotion. At work, they lied, manipulated things, and man, it wasn't fair. But don't get bitter. Don't try to get even. If you'll let it go, God will be your vindicator. God will make your wrongs right. And I know some of you have been through a lot of unfair situations.

Maybe growing up, you weren't treated right. A spouse walked out of a relationship. You lost loved one. It's so easy to stay focused on the pains of the past, but I'm asking you to let all that go. Don't allow your past to poison your future. And know this, your best days are not behind you, they are in front of you. And our God is called a God of restoration. And he's promised, if we'll keep the right attitude, he'll not only restore what's been stolen, but he'll bring us out better off than we were before. He said in Isaiah, he would pay us back double for our former shame. So when unfair things happen to you, instead of getting bent out of shape and going around with that chip on your shoulder, learn to just turn it around. Say, you know what? That wasn't fair.

They offended me, but I'm not going to get upset. I know that just qualifies me for double. They meant it for evil, but God's going to use it for my good. So I'm going to believe to come out of this with twice the joy, twice the peace, twice the favor, twice the victory. See, if you can learn to have the right attitude, then when people do unfair things, you'll know in a sense they just did you a favor. They put you in a position to receive double. I remember one time years ago, this person that I knew started talking about me, spreading rumors, lying, saying things that just were not true. He was basically trying to ruin my reputation, turned people against me. And the funny thing is, I knew a whole lot of bad things about him.

He didn't have a good reputation to start with. And when I heard he was talking about me, the first thing I wanted to do in the natural was to start talking about him. I thought, let me set the record straight. Let me announce to you what I know about him. Better yet, let me take out an ad in the newspaper. But I've learned no matter how we feel, no matter what our emotions are telling us, it's always best to take the high road. You don't overcome evil with more evil. Somebody's talking about you. Don't start talking about them.

That makes you just as wrong as they are. The scripture says we overcome evil with good. We're supposed to bless our enemies. We're supposed to be kind to people even when they're not being kind to us. And that's what I tried to do. I said, God, this is not fair. But you said you would be my vindicator.

So I'm not going to get offended. I'm not going to go around with a bad attitude. He doesn't realize it, but he's done me a favor. He's put me in a position to receive double. And all through the day, when that situation would come up, instead of getting all stressed out, all worked up on the inside, I just said, Father, thank you that you're fighting my battles for me.

I believe I'm going to come out of this better off than I was before, stronger, happier, and healthier. And that was years ago, and I saw God do exactly that. he'll do it for you as well. When unfair things happen, maybe somebody's talking about you, or maybe you've just gotten some bad breaks in life. Nothing you did to deserve it. It wasn't your fault,

but you've gone through some painful, hurtful situations. What I'm saying is don't let it get down on the inside. Instead of trying to pay people back and getting all worked up, learn to stay on the high road. Know that God is in control of your life. and if you will keep the right attitude, he's promised to bring you out with double what you had before. That's just the way our God is.

He never brings us out the same. He always makes the enemy pay for bringing that trouble into your life. You heard my sister Lisa tell last week how when she was in her early 20s, she went through an unwanted divorce. It was very unfair, very hurtful, very painful. And for week after week, Lisa just sat,

there in all that defeat, thinking that she didn't have a future. And she continued to sink lower and lower, allowing that self-pity to control her life. But one day, she decided enough was enough. She said, this is not the end for me. This is a new beginning. And she rose up in her authority, shook off that self-pity, and she put on a fresh new attitude. She got hopeful, expectant. She stayed aggressive. And God not only, brought her out, but he made the enemy pain. It was through that difficulty that Lisa learned to to teach God's word. She began to help other people that were struggling in their marriages, and she would share the scriptures with them and encourage their hearts. That's where she

developed her gift of teaching. See, the enemy meant it for evil, but God used it to thrust her into her destiny. Something new was birthed out of that adversity. And when you go through unfair situations. In your time of need, don't you dare sit around, feeling sorry for yourself, thinking that your life is over. No, dig your heels in and believe that you're

going to come out of that better often you were before. Believe you're going to come out stronger, happier, wiser. You know the scripture in Romans 828. All things work together for good when we love the Lord. It doesn't say that all

things are good. We all go through things that are difficult, painful, unfair. We don't like them. They may not be good, but know this, God is good. Life may not be fair, but God is fair. And what you're going through today may be difficult, but if you'll keep your trust in him, not get bitter, not get resentful, then somehow, some way God will turn that situation around and use it to your advantage. That's exactly what God did for me when my dad went to be with the Lord. That was the most difficult thing that I'd ever faced in my life. I had worked with my father here at Lakewood, 17 years behind the scenes. Daddy and I were the best of friends. I used to think, what am I going to do when my father's gone?

Really, my whole world was built around him. But in January of 1999, my father had a heart attack and went to be with the Lord. And of course, we were kind of in shock. It was a lot of a sudden thing. And I remember I had to make a decision back then. Was I going to get better? Go around with a chip on my shoulder. Thinking God, it's not fair. Why'd you let this happen to me? Or was I going to press forward and believe that God still had a good plan for my life?

And looking back now, I can see what I thought would have been my darkest hour turned out to be my brightest hour. God used that adversity to thrust me into a whole dimension of my life. I didn't know that I could minister. I didn't know I had this in me. My father tried to get me up here many times. I said, Daddy, I'm not a preacher. I can't do that. I'm too shy. I'm too nervous. Sometimes God has to push us into our destiny. Sometimes he'll use the adversity. He'll use the dark hour to get you where he wants you to be. And if you've been

through some kind of loss, some kind of disappointment, I know that's hard, but know this, God still has a great plan for your life. I've found that when one door closes, God will always open up another door. You don't know, God may use that difficulty to thrust you to a whole new level. You have things on the inside of you

just like I did, that you don't even realize it. I can tell you if my father was still here, I wouldn't be up here. It was too easy behind the scenes. I was too comfortable. and sometimes God has to give us that push. And it's up to us to keep the right attitude and to stay hopeful and to believe that God is in control of our lives.

I love what God said in the book of Joel, 225. I will restore the years that the locust has eaten. I believe God's saying that to every one of us. He wants to restore the years that have been stolen from you. Some of you feel like you've wasted years of your life in a relationship. that didn't work out. Or maybe you've spent years on the job, working hard, doing your best, but not getting promoted, not getting the credit you deserve. I know some of you didn't have a

proper childhood. Growing up, you were mistreated, talked down to, pass from one relative to the other. The good news is, God wants to restore all those years. He wants to make that up to you. Now, why don't you do your part and have a vision for it? Quit living depressed. and defeated. Quit going around with a chip on your shoulder. You've got to get up every morning excited about your future. Get up expecting things to change in your favor. I see too many people going around bitter, resentful. Joel, I don't know why this has happened to me. It's just not fair. But understand, that very attitude is going to draw in more of the problems. It's a negative cycle that's just going to keep getting repeated. The only way it's going to change is for you to put your

foot down and say, no, I'm not going to let my past ruin my future. I'm not going to allow what somebody did to me to keep me from my destiny. It may have been unfair. I may have gotten some bad breaks in life. I may be in the middle of a big mess right now, but I know this. It didn't come to stay. It came to pass. It may not be good, but I know God is good. He's still in control of my life. And I believe he's going to restore and bring me out better off than I was by. before. That's the attitude we've got to have. See, we need to keep our hopes up. Hope is called the anchor of our soul. No matter what you've been through, no matter how unfair it was, know this. The best is still yet to come. May not have happened in the past, but this is a new day.

It says about Abraham, all hope being gone, he hoped on in faith. And you may feel like him today. you hear what I'm saying and it stirs your heart. You know down in here it's true. You know God's got great things in store. But when you look out, you think, man, I don't see how it could happen. Joel, I don't see how my dreams could come to pass. I don't see how my marriage could ever be restored. That's okay.

That's not your part. You don't have to figure it out. Your part is to believe. Your part is to get up every day expecting good things. And know this. Our God is a God of justice. He sees every wrong that's ever been done to you. He sees every person that's ever mistreated you.

He sees every tear that you've ever shed. God is keeping the records. And he's promised if you will keep your trust in him, he will not allow you to be continually mistreated. No matter what's come against you, if you will just dig your heels in and keep fighting that good fight of faith. That means you get up every morning,

put a smile on your face, and keep pressing forward, shaking off disappointments, shaking off offenses, shaking off self-pity. Listen, if you do that, God will reward you. And the scripture says here, do not cast away your confidence, for it shall be richly rewarded. Notice God is saying, if we'll just stay on the high road and keep doing our best, then eventually things are going to change in our favor. Now, I love one translation. it says, keep your hopes up for payday is coming.

I like that. You got to know, God will pay you back for doing the right thing. He will pay you back for staying hopeful even though you felt like giving up. He'll pay you back for being kind to somebody even though they were treating you bad. He'll pay you back for having a good attitude even though you had a right to be bitter and angry. And when unfair things happen, when you go through tough times, all we are, remember, as long as you're on the high road, payday is coming.

I think about Joseph. Nobody had more unfair things happened to him than he did. When he was a young man, his brothers were so jealous of him. They were going to kill him. They threw him into that pit, but they finally sold him into slavery in Egypt.

And even though Joseph kept doing the right thing, the wrong thing kept happening to him. He was lied about, falsely accused. He ended up spending 13 years in prison for something that he didn't do. But what I love about Joseph

is he just kept on keeping on. He just bloomed right there where he was planted. He didn't go through the day saying, God, it's not fair. I don't deserve any of this. Why did this happen to me? No, he just kept giving it his very best. And every place they put him, he got promoted.

He rose to the top. Even in prison, they put him in charge of the whole prison. Well, one day God turned this all around. He brought him out. His payday came, and he was put in charge of all the affairs of Egypt. He was second in command only to the Pharaoh. And at this particular time, there was a great famine in the land. And Joseph was in charge of the food supply. And one day, his nine brothers showed up at the palace. They had traveled a great distance, looking and hoping to buy some food. These were the same brothers that sold him into slavery.

the same ones that had caused him all that heartache and pain, and now they're standing before Joseph. They're at his mercy, and they don't recognize who he is. And the scripture says in Genesis 42, verse 9, when Joseph saw his brothers, he remembered his dream. Isn't that interesting? You would have thought when he saw them, he would have remembered the pain and heartache they had caused. You would have thought he would have been angry and wanted to pay him. them back. Most of the time, we tend to remember the negative, but Joseph remembered his dream. The point I want to make is your dream has to be greater than the painful memories of your past.

If you stay focused on who hurt you and why did this happen and how unfair it is, that's going to rob you of your future every single time. You've got to do like Joseph and say, this wasn't fair, but God, I know my payday is coming. I know you're going to restore. I've still got the dream in my heart. See, too often we allow our painful memories, our hurts, the rejection, the unfair situations to push down our dreams. And we find we're not pressing forward anymore. And some of you today, you've got to stir up that dream. You've got to get your enthusiasm back. Get your passion for life back. Your dream has to be greater than your painful memories. It's interesting

what Joseph did. His brothers, as I said, they didn't recognize him. This had been many, many years later. And so he kind of played with them. He said, guys, if you want to buy food from me, then you're going to have to prove to me that you're not a spy. And he asked them if they had any other brothers. He knew they did. Their youngest brother, Benjamin, wasn't with them. And they said, yes, we've got one brother back at home. And Joseph said, well, here's what you've got to do. I want one of you to stay here with me. The rest of you, go back home and get that younger brother and bring him back. And that way, I'll know you're not spies and I'll sell you some more food. And so they head it off that way. You've got to understand years earlier when those brothers sold Joseph into slavery,

they took the robe off of him and they ripped it up and they dipped it in some animal blood to make it look like he had been killed by a wild animal. And then they took that bloodied robe back to their father, Jacob. And that was their excuse as to what happened to Joseph. And so this father, Jacob, he has a painful memory of losing one of his sons. And when they come back

and give him the news that they have to send the youngest son, Benjamin, back to Egypt, Jacob is so distraught. I can imagine he goes to the closet and he gets out Joseph's old robe. It's torn, it's bloodied, and he begins

to mourn and weep all over again. He says, no, I can't send Benjamin back. I know what happened to Joseph, and I can't let it happen to him as well. And Jacob is so focused on the pains of his past that he cannot move forward. And that's what many people are doing today. They're hanging on to their bloodied robes, the painful memories, the rejection, the disappointments. Their attitude is, I can't go forward. I'm afraid I might get hurt again. And understand this whole time, God had provision for Jacob and his family. He wanted to restore his son Joseph back to him.

He wanted to give them the food and supplies they needed. But it all depended on Jacob being willing to take a risk, being willing to look away from the bloodied robe. And do you know how many people today will not move forward in life because they've been hurt in the past? They won't get into a new relationship, even though they feel. good about it because they were rejected in a previous one. Or somebody burned them in a business deal. Now they won't try anything to. Or maybe at one time they served in the children's ministry. Maybe one time they were at church every Sunday. But somebody hurt them. Somebody offended them. Now they're too busy nursing their wounds to move forward. That's exactly what was happening to

Jacob. He couldn't take advantage of the present opportunity because he was so focused on the pains of his past. And as long as you're not willing to release the Benjamin's in your life, in other words, as long as you're not willing to take a step of faith toward your new beginning, then you're not going to see God restore. The scripture tells us in Isaiah that God wants to give us beauty for our ashes. But I found we have to let go of the ashes before God can give us the beauty. And if you're just playing it safe, nursing your wounds, feeling sorry for yourself, that's going to keep you from God's best. Finally, after more than a year,

Jacob agreed to allow his sons to take Benjamin back to Egypt. When they got there, Joseph prepared this big feast. He had a big table set, and he put the brothers in birth order from the oldest to the youngest. They thought, how did he know how to do that? Long story short, Joseph revealed to them who he was.

He was kind to them. He gave them everything they needed and more. and eventually the father Jacob got news that his son Joseph was indeed alive. He was able to come back to the palace and live close to them as well. God restored Joseph back to his father Jacob, but it only happened when Jacob was willing to quit looking at the pains of the past. Let me ask you today, is your dream greater than the painful memories of your past? It has to be if you're going to move forward.

Or are you kind of doing like Jacob, and you're so focused on the negative that you're afraid to take that step of faith. You're afraid you might get hurt again. No, get rid of that bloodied robe. God wants to do a new thing in your life. You've got to let go of what didn't work out. Let go of who hurts you. All that's going to do is poison your future. It's just going to drag you down.

And it may have been unfair. You may have a thousand good reasons to convince me that you should. be able to live bitter, angry, negative, sarcastic, but I'm asking you to walk away from all of that. The scripture says, because Joseph kept the right attitude, because his dream was greater than his memory, and God took what the enemy meant for evil, and he used it to his advantage. God wants to do the same thing for each one of you. Quit living life, looking in your rearview mirror. This is a new day, and you may have been through more than you.

your share of unfair experiences, but that's exactly the way you need to see it. You've been through it. In other words, it's over and done. Your attitude should be, this is a new season. I'm moving on. I know God's going to restore and bring me out better off than I was before. You said, y'all, I don't see how that could happen for me. Man, you don't know my circumstances. No, God always has a plan. His ways are higher and better than our ways. Just believe. Just keep pressing forward. get up every day expecting good things. I heard a story about this lady. She and her daughter had gotten at odds with each other,

and they hadn't spoken in over 12 years to each other. And this mother was very distraught by it all. She had tried her best to make amends, but there was just so much water under the bridge, and the relationship was so strained that she couldn't seem to make any headway. This daughter wouldn't speak to her, wouldn't come to see her.

the daughter had basically just written the mother out of her life. But this mother refused to give up. She kept praying. She kept believing. Even though it looked impossible, just like Abraham, she just kept hoping on in faith. She said, God, I know you're a God of restoration. I know you can do what men can't do.

And God, I just believe one day, somehow, some way, you're going to restore my daughter back to me. And God works in mysterious ways. Two years ago, I was at a book signing in another state. There were several hundred people in line and had come up to the table and signed the book and talked to them for a moment or two. And all of a sudden, this lady stepped up. I didn't know who she was. She looked to be in her mid-50s. She had a beautiful young lady by her side. And they both had tears streaming down their faces, standing their arm and arm. Come to find out,

over the last few years, they had both been watching our television program. And not knowing any of this, when they heard we were coming to that city, they both showed up at the book signing. First time they had seen each other in over 12 years. And God used that as a time of healing, a time of restoration. The mother looked at me with big tears running down her face. She said, Joel, this is the happiest day of my life. God has brought my daughter back to me. Friends, God knows how to restore.

He knows how to put you at the right place, at the right time. stay in faith. You may not think anything is happening, but God is working behind the scenes. He's planting the right seeds. He's rearranging things in your favor. He's in complete control of your life. And when

you believe, all things are possible. When you don't lose your hope, payday is coming. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen. God is a faithful God. Now, I want you to go out of here today with the spirit of restoration. It may look impossible to

but it's not over until God says it's over. Keep praying. Keep believing. And know this. When negative things happen to you, when unfair situations come, don't get all discouraged, don't get all been out of shape, they just put you in a position to receive double. If you'll do your part and keep your hopes up, stay expecting, you'll not only rise above every negative circumstance, but God promises he'll bring you out better off than you were before.

Amen. Do you receive it today? 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 Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good church. Keep God first place. He'll take your places that you've never dreamed of. Sometimes the stresses of life can feel like you're just getting by. God wants to bless us, but how do you move from barely enough to just enough to more than enough? We all face difficulties and people that are hard to deal with.

You can't eliminate all the stress, but if you'll handle it the right way, you don't have to live stressed out. Much of our frustration is we're trying to control things that we can't control, letting things stress us that don't have to. I'd love to send you my new book, 55 ways to be blessed and not stress. I'll show you practical things you can do to live more peaceful and enjoy each day. You can move from stressed to blessed and fully realize God's goodness, favor, and blessings. 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 powerful, life-transforming resource, 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed.

With this book, you'll not just see one pathway forward, but 55 powerful, life-changing ways to kill the stress and give life to a life of blessing. These 55 promises will open God's floodgates and release double the impact of his divine direction, opportunity, and blessing every day. Now expect, declare, and receive a blessed, not stressed, over the top outpouring in your life. How much time are you spending worried, upset, and frustrated? Life is too short to live stressed. If you'll make some simple adjustments, you can live blessed and not stressed.

Victoria and I want you to know we're praying for you, that you'll experience peace and joy and see your dreams come to pass. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Your generosity is impacting lives all over the world. Remember, you can watch the services online Sunday mornings, download our daily podcast, listen on SiriusXM, YouTube,

social media. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed today. Visit Joelosteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.