Joel Osteen Podcast - Don't Give Away Your Power | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: August 24, 2023

We may not be able to control all our circumstances, but we can control our reactions. Don’t let the inconveniences of life steal your joy. When you stay hopeful and at peace, you’re in a position of power. 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 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.

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See terms and conditions at UNES.com. Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy 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 is always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we're praying that you're going to have a blessed, prosperous year. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and see us. I promise you it will make you feel right at home. Thanks for tuning in. And again, thanks for coming out today. I'd like to start with something funny each week. And you know, these are just jokes. Please don't be offended by them. I heard about this man. He was in a dark restaurant. He leaned over to the woman next to him and said, hey, would you like to hear a blonde joke? She said, well, before you tell me, you should know that I am blonde, six feet tall, and a professional bodybuilder. And the lady next to me is blonde, six foot two, and a professional wrestler. and the lady next to her is blonde, six foot five, and the kickboxing champion of the world.

Now, do you still want to tell me the blonde joke? He thought about it a moment. He said, no, not if I'm going to have to explain it three times. All right. I may need a ride home today. 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 way. 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 not giving away your power. Every day we have opportunities to get upset, to be frustrated, to go around offended. Maybe our plans didn't work out.

Or somebody was rude to us at the office. Or what should have taken an hour, ended up taking three hours. hours. Life is full of inconveniences. There will always be interruptions, people that are hard to get along with. We can't control all of our circumstances, but we can control our reaction. Now, I heard somebody say, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond. And we should go out each day, positive, hopeful, expecting God's favor. But at the same time, we should be realistic, knowing that most days are not going to go exactly as we had it planned. And if you get stressed because you got off scheduled, we're upset because your child wouldn't

eat his breakfast, frustrated because somebody offended you, what you're doing is giving away your power. We were created to be in peace. When you have this calmness on the inside, a joy in your spirit, a smile on your face, that's a position, a person. A position of power. That's when you're at your very best. But too many people these days have the wrong approach to life. They think they can't be happy unless they control all their circumstances, make sure everything goes their way. But that's not realistic. We have to come to the place where we can say, I don't have to have my way in order to have a good day. My plans don't have to work out for me to be happy. Everybody doesn't have to treat me right for me to enjoy my life.

I have already made up my mind. No matter what does or doesn't happen, I'm going to stay in peace and enjoy this day. And it helped me when I realized that no person can take my joy. No circumstance can take our peace. No interruption can take our enthusiasm. We have to give it away. The next time you're tempted to get upset, frustrated, ask yourself, is this worth giving my power away? This man that's rude to me on the phone that I don't even know, is it worth giving him my joy? Or this coworker that left me out of a meeting, is it worth giving away my peace? And some of you today, you don't have the victory that you should. Not because you can't, but because you keep giving it away.

life is too short to live upset and offended. If you allow your circumstances to control your joy, then there's always going to be some reason to be discouraged. Well, Joel, it's the economy. It's the stock market. That's why I'm so down. No, quit giving away your power. God is still on the throne.

The economy in heaven is doing just fine. As long as you're connected to him, everything's going to be all right. Well, I had to cancel my vacation this year. Or my boss is sure hard to get along with. This neighbor, he really gets on my nerves. I've been praying, asking God to change him. One thing I've learned is never pray for God to change somebody else

without first saying, God change me. Even if that neighbor were to move away, if you don't learn this principle to not allow other people to steal your joy, two more people just like him will move away. back in. We have to change. Jesus put it this way. John 1427, stop allowing yourself to be upset and disturbed. Notice it's a choice that we have to make. He didn't say, I'm going to make sure your circumstances are perfect. That way you can be happy. He said in effect, the things that are upsetting you right now, they don't have to. The people that are aggravating you, even if they don't

change, they don't have to. If you'll make adjustments and change your approach to life, you can be happy in spite of those circumstances. I'm asking you today to stop allowing people and traffic and disappointments and

inconveniences to steal your joy. You have to put your foot down and say this child that gets on my nerves, I love him, but I'm going to rise above it. I'm not going to let this control me. Or this grumpy boss that jumps down, my throat for no reason, I'm not letting him ruin any more of my days. That's what it means to not

give away your power. You've got to be determined that you're going to enjoy your life. I heard this lady tell how one of her husband's relatives was very opinionated. He was always making these cutting, demeaning remarks toward her. This couple hadn't been married that long. And every time they were at family get-togethers, invariably, he would say something that offended her. She would get all upset and it ruined the whole trip. She got to where she didn't want to even go on these family events.

Finally, she told her husband, you've got to do something about that man. He's your relative. She was expecting the husband to say, you're right, honey. He shouldn't talk to you like that. I'm going to go in there and set him straight. But the husband did just the opposite.

He said, honey, I love you, but I cannot control him. He has every right to have his opinion. He can say what he wants to, but you have every right to not get offended. At first, she couldn't understand why her husband wouldn't really stick up for her. Time and time again, she would get upset. If he was in one room, she would go to another room. If that man was outside, she would make sure she stayed inside. Her whole focus was centered on avoiding this man. one day it was like a light turned on.

She realized she was giving away her power. She was allowing one person that had issues of his own to keep her from becoming who she was meant to be. When you allow what someone says or does to upset you, you're allowing them to control you. When you say, you make me so mad, what you're really doing is admitting that you're giving away your power.

as long as that person knows they can push this button and you'll respond this way and they can make this remark and you'll get upset and they know if they go outside you'll go inside as long as you keep responding the same way you are giving them exactly what they want people have a right to say what they want to do what they want as long as it's legal but we have a right to not get offended we have a right to overlook it but when we get upset and go around angry We change. Somebody walks in a room. We get all tense.

What's happening is we're putting too much importance on what they think about us. What they say about you does not define who you are. Their opinion of you does not determine your self-worth. Let that bounce off of you like water off of a duck's back. They have every right to have their opinion and you have every right to ignore it. I found that some people, they feel like it's their calling in life to point out what we're doing wrong and where we're missing it. They're constantly critical, always finding fault. There's nothing they'd love anymore than to keep you upset and arguing and always trying to prove why you're okay.

You have got to rise above that. You don't need them to agree with you. You don't have to have their approval. Let that go and just be who God made you to be. One time, even with Moses, his relatives didn't like who he chose to marry. They didn't like the fact that they weren't from the same nationality. And they criticized Moses. They even did it publicly. They said, we don't agree with this. We don't give him our approval. But down deep, Moses knew he was making the right decision. He didn't argue with them. He didn't get upset. He didn't criticize them back. He just kept his peace. Long story short, the person that was given him the most trouble, his most vocal critic, they came down with leprosy, couldn't even stay around. What am I saying? You don't have to respond to every critic and try to prove to people who you are. Just stay on the high road and let God fight your battles

for you. Now, I've learned some people that come across our path don't want to be at peace with us. No matter what we say or do, it's not going to convince them to agree. or like or even accept us. Even if you were to change who you are, even if you were to meet all their demands, they would still find some reason to be critical. You have to accept the fact that no matter what you do, some people are never going to be at peace with you.

When Jesus sent his disciples out, when they went into certain homes, he told them to speak peace over that home. And he said in effect, if they don't receive it, then the peace that you're offering them will come back to you. That tells me if you will do your best to be at peace with people, even if they won't take your peace, the good news is,

then that peace will just come back to you. You'll not only get your peace, but you'll get that other share as well. When you do the right thing, when the wrong thing's happening, God sees it and he rewards it. I heard this man tell how he was walking down the street with his friend. They were going to buy a newspaper. They came to the little store on the corner, and the clerk inside was very rude, very inconsiderate. The man bought his paper, when he got finished, he smiled real big and just said, as friendly as can be, I hope you have a great day today.

As they were leaving, his friend said, is that clerk always that rude? The man said every single day. He said, well, are you always that nice? He said every single day. His friend was kind of puzzled. He said, why? The man said, I've made up my mind. I'm not going to let one person ruin my day. What he was saying was, I'm not going to give him my power. He has every right to be obnoxious, rude, inconsiderate, but I have every right to be happy, kind, and friendly. When you encounter people that have that poison on the inside,

it's so important that you don't let that poison rub off on you. If you sink down to their level and you're cold, rude back to them, what's happened is you've let them contaminate you. You've got to rise above that. Be a part of the solution, not the problem. You overcome evil with good. If somebody's rude to you, just bless them,

smile, and keep moving forward. Jesus put it this way. Blessed are the meek, they will inherit the kingdom of God. When we hear that word meek, many times we think of weak, shy, reserved, just like a little fearful person.

We can't stand up for ourselves. We let everybody run over us. That's not meek at all. Meekness is not weakness. It's strength under control. Meekness is like a wild horse that's been tamed. He's just as strong, just as powerful, has just as much speed as before he was tamed.

The only difference is now that strength is under control. You can walk up to him, pet him, lead the horse around, probably get on him and ride him, but don't be fooled. He has the same power, the same tenacity. Now he's just learned how to control it. When you're a meek person, you don't go around trying to straighten everybody out. You don't respond to every critic. People may be talking about you, but you don't let it bother you. You may have the power to do something about it, but you realize your time is too valuable.

That's just a distraction. It's not even worth putting your energy toward. When you're meek, you don't try to prove to people who you are. Somebody insults you, makes those cunning, demeaning remarks. You realize that's their problem, not yours. Read

between the lines, they must be pretty impressed with you, or they wouldn't be trying to pull you down. Keep your strength under control. It's not how loud we get or how many people we straighten out or let me show you what I'm made of. If you get in there and argue with somebody and try to prove your point, all you're doing is sinking down to their level. Don't fall into that trap. You are an eagle and an eagle doesn't waste his time fighting with crows.

He just rises to an altitude where the crows cannot fly. And in life, we're all going to have some crows and some chickens. and probably a few turkeys. That's okay. They can't go where you're going. You may have the power to straighten them out. You may feel like giving them a piece of your mind. Your emotions will tell you, get in there, pay them back, get even.

Listen to what Paul told Timothy, stay calm, cool, and collected. He was saying, don't give away your power. Keep your strength under control. It's like this guy I heard about. He was in a little country diner. eating a burger by himself. This motorcycle game came in.

These guys were big and tough and mean. One biker, just to show who was in charge, he went over to his table and knocked his hamburger on the floor, picked up his water and poured it on top of his head. Said very sarcastically, oh, I'm sorry, it was an accident, just trying to pick a fight. The guy sitting there calmly got his napkin, wiped off the water, got up out of his chair,

and just walked out of the restaurant. The biker shook his head said to the waiter, not much of a man, is he? The waiter said, no, and not much of a driver either. He just ran over 12 choppers driving out of here. That strength

under control. One time when I was dating Victoria, I was in my early 20s, and I was driving home from her house alone about midnight. I had a real nice sports car. I kept it spotless. Didn't have one scratch on it.

And as I was driving, I came to a light at an intersection. And there was a car already stopped in the left-hand lane going the same direction, and I was still coming up. And the light changed before I got there, so I never had to stop. But the man in this lane, he decided to turn right from the left lane. And I came up, I had nowhere to go. And so he hit the back of my car and spun me around.

In a few moments when it calmed down, I got out of my car knowing that it wasn't my fault. and I'm naturally easygoing. There's not much that upsets me. I looked at the back of my car and it was just totally destroyed. About that time, the man got out of his car. It was very dark, but I could see he was probably in his 50s. He started ranting and raving, cursing, saying, kids, you need to learn how to drive. I am so mad at you. I thought to myself, I'm the one that should be upset. He just turned from the wrong lane. He was about 30 yards away. He got. himself so worked up and so angry, he started running toward me like he wanted to fight. My first thought was, do you want some of this?

Y'all know that's not true. My second thought, the real thought, was how big is he? He got about 15 yards away, and I saw his about twice my size. Right then and there, I had a revelation. This was a battle not worth fighting. I went around on the other side of my car. You said, Joe, you mean you were a chicken? No, I mean I wanted to live.

You got to accept the fact some people are never going to be at peace with you. They are never going to see your point of view. You might as well let it go and move on. And even if you can win, you have to ask yourself, is it worth it? What is this going to accomplish? I mean, what if I would have stood up to him?

Show him what I made up? big deal. I don't even know the man. Hadn't seen him 10 minutes my whole life. It's not worth it. I made a decision, I'm not going to give him my power, my joy, my peace. There are enough battles in life that are worth

fighting without getting involved in the ones that don't really matter. Some of you today, you get upset too easily. You allow too many things to steal your joy. The traffic, the weather, a grumpy salesman, an inconsiderate receptionist. Don't year after year that way, draw the line in the sand and say, you know what, that's it. I'm not

giving away my power anymore. I'm going to stay calm, cool, and collected. Heard this man tell how he was in a taxi cab driving to a meeting. They were on the feeder road, and this car pulled out of a side street, and the cab had to slam on his brakes, swerve into the other lane, and missed the car by inches. The driver of that car that pulled out, he rolled down his window, started honking, screaming, shaking his fist. He was so upset, so angry. The cab driver just smiled real big, waved at him, and kept on moving. The man in the back seat, the customer there in that cab, he was so impressed. He said to the driver, that man almost totaled your car, almost sent us to the hospital. I can't believe you didn't

yell back at him. How were you able to keep your cool? The taxi cab driver said, I've learned something called the Law of Garbage Trucks. He went on to explain how many people are like these big garbage trucks. They go around all day full of frustration, full of disappointment, full of anger. And as their garbage piles up, they need somewhere to dump it, and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. It doesn't have anything to do with you. Just smile, wave at them, and wish them well. Successful people. don't allow garbage trucks to overtake their day. If somebody dumps a load on you, don't get upset, don't get angry, don't get offended. If you make that mistake, you'll end up

carrying their load around and eventually you'll dump it on somebody else. Now, keep your lid on. Sometimes these days we need to have a steel lid. People are dumping out so much poison and criticism, bad news, anger. Keep that lid tight. We can't stop people from dumping their garbage, but if we'll keep our lid on, we can stop it from affecting us. Right after 9-11, I was invited to come to a local television station and be a part of a news program. I had to be there early Monday morning, around 6.30. I was already kind of tired after Sunday, and it was cold and raining, still dark. Didn't really feel like going, but I'd made the commitment.

I was on my way. They told me to park right up front in this special reserve lot for the people that were on the program. And so I pulled in there, but when I got out of my car, this lady came running over. She was a security guard. She came like I just committed a major crime. She was not friendly at all. In fact, she was downright rude. She said, sir, what do you think you're doing?

You cannot park here. This is reserved for our special guest. I wanted to say, lady, you can't get any more. special than me. I had to bite my tongue. I said, well, ma'am, I'm on the program today, and they told me I could park here. She said, oh, they don't know what they're talking about. I'll run this lot. You're going to have to go outside the gate. I got back in my car. I couldn't find anywhere to park. I had to go in a little neighborhood way away, and it was still raining. I didn't have an umbrella. And as I ran to the station with every step, I thought this is not right. I'm going to get in there

and tell somebody on that lady. I'm going to get her straightened out. I was about to give away my power. I got in there and forgot all about it. A couple hours later, I came out after it was over. Now it was light and it was cleared up. I was wearing my suit. As I walked out, the same lady, the same security guard, she was like a different person.

She said, oh, Pastor Osteen, if I had known that was you, I would have let you park there. I was so glad I bit my tongue. She went on to say, do you think you'd have time to pray for me? I wanted to say, I would if I didn't have to walk so far. We have to make up our mind. We are not going to take other people's garbage. They may dump it, but we don't have to receive it.

Keep your lid on. I heard somebody say, a small pot boils the quickest. You can tell a lot about how big a person is by what it takes to get them upset. Your emotions will either be controlled. controlled by your circumstances or by your character. Somebody's rude to you. Your emotions will tell you, pay them back, get even. That doesn't take any discipline, just like a wild horse. You let them have it. But when you've got your strength under control, when you've developed your character, you realize, I'm bigger than this. I'm not going to let them pull me down. I've got places to go. Goals to

accomplish, dreams to realize. You don't give away your time and energy on things that don't really matter. Character is only developed during the difficult times. It's developed when we do the right thing when the wrong thing's happening. This is why some people don't have strong character. Because the easy thing is to just do

what you feel. When somebody's rude to us, it's easy to get offended. It's easy to pay them back. That hardly takes any effort. But it takes a mature person to overlook an offense and not let it ruin their day. It takes discipline to

bite our tongue when we feel like telling somebody all. It takes depth of character to say, you know what, they're trying to make me look bad. That's not right. But that's all right. I'm going to stay on the high road knowing that God's fighting my battles for me. And in the meantime, I'm going to

enjoy my life. I've discovered there will always be someone to steal our joy if we allow. If it's not the family member aggravating you, it'll be a neighbor. If it's not a neighbor, it'll be a co-worker. If it's not a co-worker, it'll be a grumpy salesman or a slow driver on the freeway or a child crying at the

movie or a telemarketer calling you during dinner time. People are everywhere. You can't get away from them. And the next time you have an opportunity to be offended, see that as an opportunity to develop your character. Just say, no thanks. I'm going to stay calm, cool, and collected. When you do that, you're passing the test. And as you grow, in character, God will release more of his blessings. That's what it says in 3 John, verse 2. God wishes above all things that we prosper and be in health. Here's the key, even as our soul prospers. Our soul is our mind, our will, and our emotions. This is saying, as we learn to control our emotions and be disciplined in our thoughts and our actions, as we develop

our character, God will release more of his favor. On the flip side, if we don't develop our character, it will limit how how we can go. Promotion comes from God. And God is not going to promote someone and give them recognition. If he knows they're not going to be a good example. They're going to lose their cool every other day, treat people wrong. It will limit what God can do. But if we will focus on developing our character and learn to do the right thing in the tough times

and overlook these offenses, not let daily frustrations get us down, down. If we will rise above that, there's no limit to where God's going to take us. I'm asking us today to not go the next 20 years allowing the same people and the same circumstances to steal your joy. Don't give away your power. Keep your lid on. When somebody tries to dump their garbage on you, just smile, wave at them, and move on. Don't let that poison rub off on you. Be an eagle and rise above it. I want us to go into this new year more determined than ever that we're going to live life to the full.

We are not supposed to drag through the day, frustrated, upset, offended. We're supposed to be full of joy, full of peace, full of victory. If you'll learn this principle to not give away your power and focus on developing your character, you're not only going to enjoy your life more,

but God is going to pour out his blessings in favor. You're going to rise higher and higher, and you'll live that life of victory he has in store. Amen. Do you receive that 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 Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places you've never dreamed of.

Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week. Help us to continue to share the message of hope with those all around the world. Visit Joel Osteen.com or click the link in the description to partner with us today. We hope you'll share this message with a friend and be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead.

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