Joel Osteen Podcast - Blessed In The Dark Places | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

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Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you.

It's always a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. We'll make you feel right at home. But thank you for. tuning in and thank you again for coming out today. I like to start with something funny.

And I heard about this minister. He bought a new horse. He trained it to respond to praise the Lord, meaning giddy up. And hallelujah, meaning woe. Every time he said, praise the Lord, the horse took off running. When he said, whoa, it would quickly stop. One day he was out riding, the horse got spooked and took off straight toward the cliff, running full speed. In the panic, he couldn't remember what he trained the horse to respond to. He said, bless God, glory, amen. Nothing happened. At the last second, he shouted, hallelujah. The horse came to a screeching halt just inches before the edge of the cliff. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, praise the Lord. 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 talking. 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 blessed in the dark places. We all go through situations in life that we don't understand. Company was downsizing and we got laid off. A friend walked out of a relationship. Now we're having to start all over. A young lady, a met last week. She had been pregnant for five months with her first child. She was so excited, already decorated the baby's room, but something went wrong and she had a miscarriage. She looked like she was numb, no expression, a dark place. In 1981, my family thought we'd be

celebrating the Christmas holidays, looking forward to fun and fellowship. Instead, we learned that my mother was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. It's a very very very, very important. We're somber Christmas. All of us at some time will go through dark places. A loss, a sickness, a divorce, a child that broke your heart. It's easy to get discouraged, give up on your dreams and just settle there. But God uses the dark places. They are all a part of his divine plan. Think of it like a seed. A seed cannot germinate in the light. As long as the seed stays up on a shelf, it will never be come what it was created to be. You have to plant the seed in the soil, in the dark place, so that what's on the inside will come to life. In the same way, there are seeds in you, dreams,

goals, talent, potential that will only come to life in a dark place. And if you study the scripture, every person that did something significant went through one of these dark places. Moses made a mistake and killed a man. He spent 40 years on the backside of the desert, alone, feeling like he had blown it. But in that dark place, something was happening on the inside. It was getting him prepared. He was developing patience, humility, confidence. Without the dark place, he would have never held up the rod and parted the Red Sea.

The dark place is a prerequisite to stepping into the fullness of your destiny. Esther was an orphan, a young lady that had lost both of her parents. She felt alone, forgotten, a dark place. But God used her to help save the people of Israel. Elijah was so depressed, he wanted to die. A dark place. Yet he's one of the heroes of faith. Or David, he had an affair with a married woman, had her husband killed.

For one year, he was broken, sick, guilty, yet he's called a man after God's own heart. God doesn't send the difficulties, but he will use anything that comes into our lives. In those dark places is where we really grow. That's where our character is developed. We learn to trust, to persevere. Our spiritual muscles are getting stronger. In the dark places, you pray more. You draw closer to God. You get quiet and listen to what he's saying. In those dark places, you reevaluate your priorities. You spend time with your family. You have a new appreciation for what God has given you. A friend of mine was told that he was going to lose his vision. He had some kind of infection and he had a surgery and wasn't

supposed to see after the operation. But it wasn't what the doctors expected and they were able to correct it. His vision is perfectly clear. Now, every morning when he, he's, he's not, he's he wakes up. He spends the first 15 minutes staring at the sunrise, staring at the flowers, staring at his children. You may not realize it, but in the dark places, you're being blessed. Something's happening on the inside. It's helping you to realign your vision. When you go through enough dark places, you don't complain about small things. You don't get upset because you didn't get your parking spot. You don't lose your joy because you got stuck in traffic. You're not offended because a co-worker was rude to you. You've been through too much to let that sour you. You got a

backbone made a still. A person said to me the other day, Joel, I heard so-and-so was talking about you. I'm so sorry they were saying that. They meant well. They were being kind, but I thought to myself, you don't have to feel sorry for me. I buried my father. I saw my mother. I saw my mother. I fight through terminal cancer. I learned how to minister when every voice told me I couldn't do it. I believe for this place when the odds were against us.

If I could make it through that, I could make it through somebody not liking me. But you know, really, you know, really, that's just like a little gnat that you got to flick away. When you go through a few dark places, it toughens you up. The dark places are what have made me

into who I am today. I like the good times a lot better. I prefer everything going my way, but it wasn't the good times that brought out the best in me. It was the lonely nights. The times I didn't think I could do it on my own. The times that I didn't see away,

that's when I really learned how to pray. That's when I developed an unshakable confidence in God. That's when my faith was stretched and increased. Don't complain about the dark times. There are blessings. in the dark places. God is doing something that can only happen in the fire of affliction. When my father died, I was trying to learn how to minister. I was so nervous to get up in front of people. There were many nights after dinner, I would go to my closet to pray. Victoria would come

looking for me, ask the children, where's dad? And she would find me in there praying. The fact is, I never prayed like that in the good times. I never went out of my way to draw closer to God. when everything was going my way. It was the dark places that helped me to really develop my spiritual muscles. Even though I didn't like what I was going through, I didn't like having to stretch.

I was uncomfortable. I wouldn't change it. It made me better. God uses the dark places. When Joseph was falsely accused and put in prison for 13 years, the scripture says as he sat in those chains of iron,

his soul entered into that iron. He developed a strength, a perseverance that he could not get any other way. There are some things you can only learn in the dark places. Quit complaining about what you're going through, who hurt you, how bad it was. It may be uncomfortable. You may not like it, but it's working for you. You're getting stronger. It's developing something that you could only get in the dark.

you cannot reach your highest potential being in the light all the time. No adversity, no problems, nobody coming against you. That sounds good, but it will stunt your growth. David said, God enlarged me in my times of distress. He wasn't enlarged in the good times. He was enlarged when things weren't going his way. As a teenager, he wanted to be out having fun with his friends, but he got stuck taking care of his father's sheep. Month after month, he was out there alone. Nobody to talk to. Didn't look like he could ever accomplish his dreams.

But those years in the lonely shepherd's fields are what helped prepare him to become a champion. When he went out and defeated Goliath, people called him an overnight success. But the fact is, it didn't happen overnight. It happened because he went through the dark places with a good attitude. When he didn't get his way, when he didn't understand it, when he felt like God had forsaken him, he just kept doing the right thing. David understood

this principle. His attitude was, God, this is a dark place. Now, I may not see it, but I believe that it's working for my good. I believe I'm getting stronger, developing character, patience, learning to trust. At the right time, he not only came to, out, but he came out increased, promoted, better than he was before. It's not a coincidence that David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. David was saying in effect, the same God that leads me to the green pastures. The same God that leads me beside the still waters is the same God that leads me through the valley.

We can all trust them in the green pastures. That's easy. We can trust him beside the still waters. I'm asking you to trust him even in the dark valleys. He hasn't left you. You may feel alone, forgotten. Life hasn't turned out the way you wanted, but God is still leading you. The dark places are all a part of the plan to make you into who you were created to be. It may not be easy. You may not understand it. But faith is trusting God when life doesn't make sense. Dare to believe that He's blessing you even in the dark places.

That what's meant for your harm, he's going to use to your advantage. David went on to say, after you go through the valley, after the dark places, God will anoint your head with oil. He'll prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies. Your cup will run over. Notice, you've got to go through the valley to get to the table that's already set before you. You've got to go through the loneliness, through the betrayal, through the sickness, to get to the fresh anointing, the new beginning.

You've got to go through the shepherd's fields, doing the right. thing when the wrong thing is happening through the struggle, the lack, the debt before you come to your cup that runs over. Now too often, we want the overflow and not the valley. God give me more favor, more resources, more influence. God says, okay, fine, but you got to be willing to go through the valley with me. In the dark times is where we prove to God what we're really made of. Can God, trust you with more favor, with more influence, with more resources. You have to be faithful in the shepherd's fields when you're not getting your way, when it's lonely. Well, Joel, I don't like my boss. That's why I show up late to work. He doesn't treat me right. That's why I slack off. No,

if you're not faithful in the wilderness, how can God trust you to be faithful in the promised land? Have a new perspective. The dark places are opportunities to grow. You're not there by accident. If God wasn't going to use that for your good, he would have never allowed it. You may not understand it. It may not make sense, but God knows what he's doing.

Pass that test. This is what I had to do when my father went to be with the Lord. It was a dark place. And sometimes when you go through a loss, it's easy to get discouraged and kind of feel like that God let you down and there won't be any more good days. But I've learned any time,

something is dying in your life, something else is coming to life. It looks like the end, but God has a new beginning. A friend betrayed you, walked away. That relationship died. At the same time, God is birthing a new relationship. He's got another friend already destined to come across your path. You lost a position, a client, an opportunity. That may have died, but God's already lined up a new position, a new opportunity, a new level. And if you'll go through the valley, trusting, believing, knowing that God is still in control, then you'll come in to the table that's already prepared for you, to the fresh anointing, to increase to where your cup runs over. A friend of mine I used to play baseball with many years ago was the star player on the team.

He always led the league and hitting and fielding. His dream. His dream, was to play professional baseball. During the summer, he was invited to play on this highly competitive team that traveled around the nation. It was a big honor. You had to be extremely talented. He played that year and did exceptionally well. But some of the players were jealous of him. They started spreading lies and rumors about him. The next year, the coach, even though he liked him very much. He believed these rumors and didn't invite him back to play. My friend was very

discouraged. He tried to get on several other teams, but there was no place. They were already full. And for the first time that summer, he didn't have anywhere to play. He missed the whole season. No games. No opportunities. A dark place. He didn't

understand it. It wasn't fair, but he didn't get bitter. He knew the same God that led him to the green pasture, and the still waters was now leading him through the valley. Every night he would go up to the batting cages and keep improving his skills. He kept working out, lifting weights, staying in shape. No games, not treated right.

But he knew on the other side of that valley was the table already prepared for him. You got to go through it to get to it. Don't get stuck in your valley. don't get bitter and lose your passion. Well, Joel, I don't understand why this has happened to me. They laid me off after all these years. They broke my heart.

I'm dealing with this sickness. I just don't. If you're always trying to figure it out, you're going to get stuck. Think about this. In punctuation, an exclamation point is simply a question mark straightened out. If you want God to take your question marks,

the things you don't understand, and turn them into an exclamation point, you have to trust in. In those dark places where it wasn't fair, instead of wondering, why did this happen to me? No, turn it around. God, I know you're still on the throne. I may not understand this, but I believe on the other side of this valley is my exclamation point. The table that's already prepared for me, the fresh anointing, the right people, the new beginning, the new level. If you'll go through the dark valleys like that, you will come in to those exclamation points.

You'll see God amaze you with his goodness. When my father died, I had a lot of question marks. Would the church make it? Could I really get up here and minister? Would anybody listen to me? Over time, one by one, as I stayed in faith, went through the dark valleys with a good attitude, I saw question marks turned into exclamation points. would the church make it?

Yes. And here's a compact center to hold all the people. Exclamation point. Would anybody listen to me? Yes. And here are some number one books. Here are networks that will carry your program. Here's a serious XM radio channel. Exclamation

point. One after another after another. You may be in a dark place right now. You went through a breakup. Somebody broke your heart. You're hurting. You're lonely. wondering if you'll ever be happy again. I can tell you firsthand. I am a living witness. If you will keep honoring God moving forward, God will bring somebody into your life better than you ever imagine.

Somebody kinder, friendlier, that will treat you like a queen, like a king. You won't even miss that person that left you. God has an exclamation point waiting on you. Maybe in your health. It's a dark place. You don't see how you're going to make it. The medical report is not good. Stay in faith. Like my mother, diagnosed with terminal cancer.

33 years later, she is still healthy and strong. And listen, that's great. But here's the exclamation point. Every week, my mother goes up to the medical center to pray for other people that are sick. That's God making the enemy pay. Or perhaps it's in your finances, a dark place. You had a bad break, a disappointment, lost a client. You're wondering, is it ever going to get any better?

Yes, on the other side of the valley is your cup that runs over. Increase, abundance, a new level of your destiny. And you may have been in the valley for a long time, but you need to get ready. This is a new day. You're about to see the breakthrough. You're about to see the overflow. That problem is about to turn around. Don't quit believing. God didn't bring you. this far to leave you. He has an exclamation point coming your way. This is what my friend did, the one that played baseball. One day he was out practicing, minding his own business. What he didn't know was there was a scout from a

professional team up in the stands. This man was there to watch another player, but when he saw how talented my friend was, he called him over and said, I want you to try out for our team. That's God putting you at the right place at the right time. God knows how to get you to your destiny. He tried out, made the team, played a couple years in minor league baseball, then he got bumped up, went to the major leagues, went on to have a long, successful, professional baseball career. If I think about early on, those other guys, they tried to stop him by spreading rumors. But people don't determine your

destiny. God does. A bad break can't stop you. Rumors can't stop you. Injustice can't stop you. God has the final say. If you'll go through the dark places with the right attitude, you'll see exclamation points coming your way, the surpassing greatness of God's favor. In the scripture, when Jesus had the little boy's lunch, five loaves of bread and two fish,

it's about to feed the thousands. He lifted them up and gave thanks. Then it says he broke the bread and it multiplied. Notice the blessing was in the breaking. The more he broke it, the more it multiplied. There are times that we all feel broken. Broken dreams, broken promises, a broken heart. The young lady that lost her baby,

as she told me, big tears ran down her beautiful face. She said, Joel, I wanted this baby more than anything else. When you feel broken, you go through a disappointment, don't get bitter. don't give up on your dreams. The brokenness is not the end. It's a sign that God is about to multiply. That's what David said.

God enlarged me in my distress. In that brokenness, it may have been meant to stop you, but God's going to use it to increase you. The loss, the disappointment, the person that didn't keep their word, they thought they were hindering you, but in fact they were setting you up for God to multiply. You may have gone through more than your share of bad breaks, but take heart.

The more broken you are, the more God's going to increase. The bigger the disappointment, the bigger the blessing. God has beauty for your ashes, joy for the morning. The brokenness is only temporary. Now, don't settle in the valley. Don't get comfortable there. The valley is not your home. The shepherd is leading you through the valley.

On the other side, there are new beginnings, fullness of joy, great relationships, health and wholeness, dreams come into pass. Jesus said in John chapter 12, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will remain alone. But if it dies, it will produce much fruit. He was using an example of a seed. You can have a seed on your desk for a lifetime, won't do any good, until you plant it. As long as it's where it's comfortable, it doesn't have to stretch, deal with adversity, then its potential will remain locked up on the inside. Only after it's planted, it goes through a process of germination, the outer shell breaks off, new growth begins, that's when it will blossom and produce much fruit. The problem with some people is they want

the fruit, but they don't want to go through the process. They don't want to be uncomfortable. They don't want to stretch and have to deal with adversity, betrayal, opposition. But without the dark place, your potential will not be fully released. The seed can't germinate in the light. Now, I'm sure if you were to ask the seed, it would say, I don't want to go in the dirt. It's dark, it's lonely, it's uncomfortable. I don't want people walking on top of me. It looks like it's buried, like it's the end. But what the seed doesn't realize, is it's not buried, it's planted. It has the life of Almighty God on the inside. And those dark places, even though it's uncomfortable, it's a critical part of the process. Over a period of time,

as the seed germinates and grows, instead of just being one seed buried, it can become a beautiful flower, blossoming, producing much fruit. If you were to ask the seed after the process, It would say, I didn't like the dark place, but I realized now it was a blessing. Look what I've become. Look what I've blossomed into. We all go through these dark places and it feels like at times we're buried. Thoughts will tell you, hey, you've seen your best days. That layoff ruined your career.

That divorce, it just tainted your future. That sickness is going to be the end of you. No, have a new perspective. You're not buried. You're planted. if you would have never had the loss, the disappointment, the dark place, you would never discover what's on the inside. Like that seed, your potential is about to be released. You're not only going to come out, you're going to come out bearing much fruit, better, stronger, fully in blossom.

See, when my father went to be with the Lord kind of felt like I was buried, I could feel that pressure. But in that dark place, when something was dying, something was being birthed new on the inside. That's when I discovered gifts and talents that I didn't know I had. I didn't like going through the process, but that's what caused me to blossom. None of us like to be planted. It's lonely, uncomfortable, but in the dark places, you have to remind yourself, new growth is coming my way. even though it feels like something is dying, something else is coming to life. You're not buried, you're planted.

When you come out, you're going to bear much fruit. Now, my challenge to us today is be willing to go through the process. Too many people get bitter, discouraged. Joel, if God was good, how could he let this happen to me? No, dare to trust him. God knows what he's doing. There may be dirt all around you right now. It's uncomfortable.

That dirt is not there to bury you. It's there to bring out the seeds of greatness on the inside. It's just a matter of time before you break out and blossom into who you were created to be. If you will go through these dark places with the right attitude, I believe and declare, God is going to turn your question marks into exclamation points. You will go through every valley to the table prepared for you, to the fresh an to increase where your cup overflows, you will be able to say like David, God enlarged me in my distress. He blessed me even in the dark places. In Jesus' name, if you receive it, can you say amen

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 in. Come in. to 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. When was the last time you asked God to do something that seemed impossible?

If you only pray small, ordinary prayers, you'll live a small, ordinary life. I have a new book called Pray Bold. I'll challenge you to stretch your faith and believe for the big things God puts in your heart. Victoria and I used to have season tickets to watch the Rockets play basketball here. We never dreamed it could be ours. When they moved out, somehow we had the faith to pray a bold prayer. God made things happen that we could never make happen. It's the same for you. Who knows what God will do in your life if you'll dare to pray bold? Ask him for your dreams. Ask for your healing. Ask for your freedom.

when God will show up and do more than you could ever imagine. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount this month, we would like to send you a copy of Joel's brand new book. Pray bold, dare to ask and believe big. Joel shares that when we pray, we can tap into God's creative, awesome power, something bigger than we have ever imagined. God doesn't want us to just pray in our comfort zones. No, God loves when we're living.

pray big, believe big, expect him to do the unexpected. There are inspiring stories from the Bible, from history, and personal testimonies of people who dared to believe God in extraordinary ways. You'll learn how to practically expand your prayers and watch your life move from the common to the extraordinary, from less than to overflowing. Be sure to request your copy of Pray Bold Today. Visit Joel Lohsteen.com or call call us toll free. God has put dreams in your heart and things he's whispered in the night that seem impossible. But as you pray these bold prayers, you're going to see the goodness of God in ways you've never

seen. Victoria and I believe, and you're going to have a great 20-25. We pray for you and your family every day, for God's very best. We want to thank you for your prayer and your support. You're impacting people all over the world. Be sure to request your copy of Pray Bold Today. Visit joelowstein.com or call us toll-free. Finally, elevate your personal time with God

by requesting the My Time with God collection. This beautiful collection contains the Pray Bold New Release, plus the new Living Translation, one-year chronological study Bible, and a beautiful glass mug and throw blanket based around the inspiring scripture from Psalm 4610. Be still and know that I am God. You can learn more about this unique,

new gift collection by calling 888-567, Joel, or logging on to joelosteen.com today. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, listen on Sirius XM, watch on YouTube, and now the new Joel Osteen Network streaming on television 24 hours a day. If you've never been to Lakewood, we have a great opportunity. We call it homecoming weekend. We'd love to meet you and your family. You can see the building and attend one of the services. It's a great time to be a part of the Lakewood family. Looking forward to seeing you homecoming weekend.