Joel Osteen Podcast - Don't Look Back, Press Forward | Victoria Osteen

Episode Date: July 19, 2025

You can’t move forward if you stay focused on your past. Let go of past regrets and press forward to the amazing future God has for you! 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.Your life is marked for distinction. Our July offer will help you silence doubt, shake off rejection, and reach the destiny God has already prepared for you. Request the new Chosen devotional and step forward with confidence—you’ve been chosen for more, https://bit.ly/4dVacnV! 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.

Victoria and I believe in you're going to have a blessed summer praying for you guys every day. And thanks for being with us today. Hey, I'm excited. Victoria's got a new book out. It's called Grace to Go. And I know it's going to bless you. I'm excited because in this book, you will see how you are strengthened, that you are prepared, and you are ready for anything that's in front of you.

You are Grace to Go. Enjoy today's message. Man, it is so good to have you in church today. You may be seated. Praise God. You know, I find it so interesting to hear people give the secret to their success. You know, people will say there's that one thing that I did or you pick up a magazine and you see, what is the secrets to their success and they'll list them?

But you always want to know, what's that first thing? What's that one thing? I always like to just kind of learn from people. I like to know what they're doing. The Bible says iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another. the Apostle Paul, who wrote three quarters of the New Testament, shared his secret. He said, there's one thing that I do. You can find it in Philippians 312.

He says, the one thing I do is forgetting the things that are behind and pressing towards what is in front of me. See, the Apostle Paul knew when he was looking back, he couldn't press forward. He said, I let the things go that are behind me. I don't look back. What he was saying was, I don't go back to my old mistakes. I don't relive my failures. He said, the most important thing, the thing that has helped me the very most, is to not

look back. Don't look back would be his number one statement. Joel and I used to play racquetball all the time. We love that game so much. It's a fast game. And many of you know the game of racquetball. The court, it's like a room with four walls around it and a ceiling. It's a great game, fast game.

You play it with a shorter racket and a really bouncy ball. But there's one safety rule to this game that you must adhere to. And that is, don't look back at the ball. You cannot look back at the ball because that ball comes with such furious speed from the back wall that it can literally smack you in the face and cause you injury. A player was playing racquetball and they looked back and that ball smacked them right in the eye and they lost their eyesight. I was like freaked out.

Like every time I got in the court, I was like, give me some goggles. I remember thinking, Victoria, look forward. Don't look back. Play the ball that's in front of you. If it goes behind you, don't worry. You'll always get another chance to hit the ball. See, racquetball is a forward-facing game. No matter where you are on the court, you just keep looking forward.

You just keep playing the ball at hand. You see, life is a little bit like a racquetball game. You can't look back at your past failures, your past mistakes. You can't live and I wish I was. I wish it could have been. Because those past mistakes will hit you in the face. just like that racquetball can cause you injury and damage, when you look back and live in the past,

those past mistakes can cause damage. They can ruin your relationships. They lower your self-esteem. They knock the confidence right out of you. They will smack you in the face and cause you to have distress on your job. That past will not help you move forward in the future. See, I don't want my past smacking me in the face. See, that sounds funny, but that's the truth.

You cannot move forward if you're looking backwards. You cannot do anything about your past. No one can, but we can do something about our future. We can play the ball that's in front of us, but the ball that's in back of us is not going to help us any. So I want to encourage you with what the Apostle Paul said, don't look back. It's very simple. We cannot look back because it's going to gain us. Nothing. The Bible says that God will turn your ashes into beauty. He says that he will make up what the

enemy meant for evil, and he'll turn it around and use it to your advantage. God has a plan for your past, but he can't work in your past because God works in the now. He works. He works. He works right now. So I encourage each and every one of us to train ourselves in this game of life. Don't be taken out by your past. Don't be taken out by the things that are behind you. Don't allow them to cause you injury and defeat. Don't look back at who you can blame. Why this happened to you? Because that really doesn't matter. There's a ball in front of you right now. And if you'll hit it and you'll swing at it, you're going to make it. You're going to make it.

I was talking to a man the other day, and he was telling me his story. That was a pretty sad story. It was his story, though. He told me how he had a horrible upbringing. He saw his own brother be murdered. His girlfriend at the prime of her life died. He said, I was a young man that had faced so many things. I was bitter.

He said, I had suicidal tendencies. He said, I was in a bad place because I couldn't leave what had happened to me. I couldn't get past the past. I could not move forward. He said, but somehow one day I woke up and I began to cry out to Almighty God. I begin to say, God, help me move past where I am right now. And he said, something on the inside of him just gave him this desire to begin running. He began to run.

So he would get up, put on his tennis shoes, put on his jogging clothes, and he would go out, and he'd begin to run. And he said, when I would run, I would imagine myself shutting the door to the past and running towards my future. He said, it was every day with every run. He said, I saw God in front of me helping me. Now, that was his story. That was his way. That's how he practiced closing the door to his past.

He said, as I would reach and press, he said, I was able to accomplish things in my life that I never thought possible. Then he began to tell me I went back to school. He said, I finished college. I went on to medical school. He says, now I practice medicine. And through it all, I have 35 employees at my clinic. See, he was able to press past his upbringing,

the challenges that he faced. But he called out to God. And you too can press past anything that's trying to hold you captive. anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, if there's anything that keeps causing you trouble, I want to tell you today, figure out how you too can get past it because your dreams can come true. You can accomplish everything God's called you to accomplish, but you've got to call out to God and say, God, train me, help me move past it. You know, maybe you just need to quit talking about it.

Maybe you need to get away from a few people that keep bringing it up. Maybe there is something that God can lead you to do that have caused you to break through and shut the door to that past. See, today, I think that's an incredible number one secret to any success and to maintaining success. And that is what the Apostle Paul told us in Philippians, to don't look back, but press forward. And you too can gain the victory. Amen. Amen.

He's an awesome God. Sometimes in life, people don't choose us. We've all felt overlooked and like we're not good enough. It's easy to live inferior thinking we don't measure up. People may have left you out. The good news is God has chosen you. He's the one that matters. And in my new book, Chosen, Your Life is Marked for Distinction.

You'll discover before you were born, God not only knew you, but he handpicked you and placed a calling on your life. You are equipped and empowered to fulfill your destiny. When you understand that you're chosen, fear and doubt can't stay, you'll live with a boldness to step into the greatness God put in you. I'd love to send you my new book, Chosen, plus the Chosen T-shirt from our friends at Copperfield. 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 book, Chosen.

Your life is marked for distinction. In the scriptures, Jesus encouraged us by saying, You didn't choose me, I chose you. This powerful guide will help you discover the abundant life you were designed to live. As a child of God, you have a calling, a purpose, a destiny still to be fulfilled. When you request your copy, we also want to send you our exclusive chosen t-shirt from CopperFit that will remind you that you've been chosen by Almighty God every time. you wear it. Please request these gifts today and discover that God is moving on your behalf. Your next

days are going to be your best days. You're not average. You're not ordinary. You've been chosen by Almighty God. Victoria and I want you to know how much we love you. We pray for you and your family every day. Thanks so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity is helping people all over the world. A special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for your monthly gifts. If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. Remember, you can watch the services online, live every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube, the new Joel Osteen Network, social media, listen on SiriusXM. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired. Until we see you next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of

Chosen. Your life is marked for distinction, plus our exclusive chosen t-shirt from CopperFit. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567 Joel. For an additional donation this month, we are also offering the NLT Large Print Thinline Reference Bible. This Bible also enables you to connect through your smartphone or tablet to a vast, power-packed array of study notes, devotionals, interactive maps, videos, and worship music. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567, Joel, or logging on to joelosteen.com today. Call or click anytime, 24 hours a day. Yes, God has chosen you for a reason, for a purpose. Request your copies today.