Joel Osteen Podcast - Don't Lose Your Song | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

No matter what is happening around you, you have access to God’s supernatural joy. If you’ll keep a song of praise in your heart, God will fill you with His peace and surround you with His favor!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 refresh how you experience time in His Word! In this brand-new book, you’ll find 12 powerful lenses that will transform the way you read your Bible. Let our November offer show you How to Read Your Bible & Enjoy It https://bit.ly/4f5GjAY. 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's a joy to come into your homes. We thank you for letting us spend this next half hour or so with you. And if you're ever in the Houston area, stop by and see us. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I tell you often, but these are the finest people in all of Houston. right here at Lakewood. So come out whenever you can, but God bless you. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this kindergarten teacher. She was walking around

her classroom as her students drew pictures. She noticed this one little girl drawing so intently. She asked her what she was drawing. The little girl said she was drawing a picture of God. The teacher kind of laughed. She said, oh, honey, nobody really knows what God looks like. The little girl without missing a beat said, they will in a minute. All right, hold your Bibles up. Say it like you mean it today. 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. I am. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. God, I'll never be the same. Never, never, never, never, I'll never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about staying full of joy and learning how to keep the song that God's put in your heart. If there's one thing our society needs more of, it's joy. Too many people

go around negative and discouraged. They allow their problems and their circumstances to weigh them down. they end up living stressed out, dragging through the day, not really excited about their life. I've had people tell me, Joel, I've got too many problems to enjoy life. Or the reason I'm not happy, the reason I'm discouraged is because I have all these things coming against me. But the fact is, God has put a well of joy on the inside of each one of us. And our circumstances may be negative. Things may not be going our way.

but if we can just learn how to tap into this joy, we're going to be happy. We're going to live with enthusiasm in spite of what comes against us. And one of the keys is found in Ephesians 518. It says, be ever filled with the spirit. Notice, you don't just get filled one time and then you're done. It says be ever filled. This means on a continual basis, we have to keep filling ourselves up. How do we do this? The next verse tells us, by speaking to yourself in psalms, in hymns, by making melody in your heart, and by being grateful. In other words, the way to stay full, the way to overcome the pressures of life is by keeping a song of praise in your heart. And all through the day, on the inside, we should be singing. It may just be a grateful attitude. In our thoughts we're thinking about God's goodness. Or maybe we go around humming a tune to a song.

Maybe it's something as simple as you whistle while you work. But throughout the day, you're making melody in your heart. Under your breath, you're saying, Lord, thank you for this day. God, thank you that I'm alive. Thank you that I'm healthy. When you do that, you're filling yourself up. On the inside, something is happening. God is replenishing your strength. He's replenishing your joy, replenishing your peace. All these things that the day is trying to take out of us, the stress, the pressures, the disappointments. Because we have that song of praise, we're filling up faster than what's going out. That's how we stay full of the spirit. But here's where we miss it. You don't just do it one time. Joel, I went to church on Sunday. I got filled up.

I read my Bible before I went to work. No, this is an ongoing. process. To be ever filled means we have to get in a habit of doing this throughout the day. It's kind of like a balloon. If your child has ever gotten one for their birthday, the first couple of days it's bright

and beautiful, flies high at the end of that string. If you let it go, it'd take off into the air. But in a couple of days, it starts to sink down. It's a little smaller, a little weaker. Day after day sinks lower and lower. Finally, a week or two, it's lying on the floor.

totally deflated, lost all of its life, all of its energy. And really, all you'd have to do to give that balloon a fresh new start is to fill it back full of helium, fill it back full of air. If you do that on a regular basis, it lasts month after month. It just needed to be replenished. It's the same way with us. All through the day, the fact is we leak. In other words, life happens. You get stuck in traffic, a little air goes out. You find out you didn't get the contract you're hoping for a little more. Get home. Your child's not feeling well. Got to deal with that. Dog got into the trash. Got to clean that out. Little more air. The only way to stay full. The only way to keep your joy and keep your peace is to have this song of praise in your heart.

And I'm not saying that you have to burst out in singing. I'm talking about in your thoughts, you're grateful. Under your breath throughout the day, you're thanking God for all he's done. when you're mowing the lawn instead of complaining, you're whistling a tune. Doing the dishes, you've got some good praise music on in the background, you're humming along with it. What's happening?

You're making melody in your heart. When you do that, you're keeping yourself filled up. I think about my father. Everywhere he went, he was either under his breath singing or praying or whistling. When he would whistle, it'd get on my mother's nerves.

She'd say, John, would you quit whistling? can we have some peace around here? He'd say, oh, Doty, I'm just happy. I'm just giving God praise. She'd say, John, you were whistling the tune to the Andy Griffith Show. You are not giving God praise. But really, this is an attitude.

My father was joyful. When he was whistling, even though many times it was the tune to the Andy Griffith show, in his mind, he was saying, God, I'm happy. God, I love you. God, I'm grateful to be alive. He had this song of praise in his heart.

doing the dishes. You can stand there at the sink and complain. Nobody appreciates me. All I do is work around here. Or you can be humming the tune to I am a friend of God. It's up to you. Well, you say, Joel, I'm not really musically inclined. I can't sing very well. Neither can I. This is an attitude. Talking about in our thoughts, we're grateful. Humbing along with the song. Any of us can do that. Singing in the shower, singing driving to work. When you do this, you're making melody. your heart. No, the other day, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I could hear myself singing a song that I've known since I was a little boy. You, O Lord, are a shield under me, the glory and the lifter of my head. Over and over, not out loud, but right down in here,

a song of praise was coming out. That was God filling me up. When you're driving to work tomorrow, put on a good praise CD. Make use of that time. At your house, put on some good music. pay attention to what's going into you. Be aware of what you're feeding yourself. Last week, I was driving and flipping through the radio dial at the same time, and I came across this station that plays oldies. When I turned it on, the first thing I heard was, you're no good, you're no good, you're no good. Baby, you're no good.

I thought, I got enough things to deal with without putting that junk into me. You're talking about leaking. You listen to junk like that. and you'll be totally deflated. But that's what a lot of people do today. In their thoughts, they have no song. They dwell on the negative and who hurt them and how much work they have to do and how unfair it is. And then they wonder why they don't have any energy and why they don't enjoy raising their children, why they dread going to work. It's because they've lost their song. They're not replenishing what's being taken out of them. And you know as well as I do,

Life will drag you down if you allow it. You've got to stay on the offensive and make sure you have more positive coming out than negative going in. It's interesting how little children, even toddlers, you put on some good music and they come alive. They start rocking, dancing, clapping. It energizes them. And it's funny, you don't have to teach them to do that. You don't have to say, hey, I'm about to turn on the music, get ready to move. No, it comes naturally to them.

it's because God has put a song in their heart. And in the same way, God has put rhythm in every one of us. The problem is, many times we allow the stress of life to steal our song. We need to get it back. And I realize some people have more natural rhythm than others. We've all heard that saying that white men can't jump. You might as well add white men can't dance. Some of you African American, brothers and sisters, you got more than your share.

of rhythm. One of my good friends is Johnny. I've known him for over 30 years and we travel together. He's African American. He used to be able to jump before he got this extra tire around his waist. I'm just kidding him.

But listen, when my little son, our son, Jonathan, was about a year old. We'd turn the music on. He'd rock and clap a little bit. Johnny and Donna's son, year old, we'd turn the music on. He'd start moonwalking. But seriously, God has put a song in each one of our hearts.

But here's the key today. It's up to us to keep it stirred up. We have to stay full of praise. Too often we allow the pressures of life to weigh us down. We had the song when we were children. We were happy, carefree, excited about life.

But over time, we've developed these new habits, being sour, dragging through the day, not really excited about our life. Now, don't ever lose the child on the inside. The other day, our little daughter, Alexandra, came in early in the morning. She's seven years old. She was dressed and ready to go to school, so happy, so enthusiastic. Now, I'll never forget it. She smiled real big and said, Daddy, guess what? I've already sung two songs and I've already done two cartwheels.

And I've looked there in the eyes. I said, sweetheart, I love your enthusiasm. No matter what comes your way, keep singing those songs, keep turning those cartwells. And I thought how we never ask her to sing, she just sings. I can hear all through the day. It's because God has put a song in every one of our hearts. And it'd do us good like her to start the day off, making melody in our hearts unto God. Start the day off singing that song of praise. That's what I do. In the shower, man, I sound good in there. I don't know what happens when I come out here, but start that day off with a song of praise. Even if you don't do it out loud, it's least do it on the inside. Some of you do you good to do a couple cartwheels as well.

Check your insurance before you do. But you got to get your song back. You need to change some of these habits. Quit dwelling on the negative. Things may not be perfect in your life. And I say this respectfully, but it could be a whole lot worse. Why don't you quit dwelling on what's wrong and start being grateful for what's right? All through the day, why don't you start thanking God for his goodness. Why don't you start meditating on his promises? If you'll get your song back, if you'll start making melody in your

heart unto God, you'll not only enjoy life more, but you'll see things change in your favor. I think about my grandmother, she did this, this. Growing up, we used to go over to their house a lot, and every time I saw her, she was humming a tune. I mean, under her breath,

you couldn't hear her unless you were right next to her, but iron in the clothes. She was at peace. She had a smile her face, just humming along. And everything she did, doing the dishes, cooking dinner, traveling with my grandfather, she was constantly making melody in her heart. And I cannot remember one time that I ever saw my grandmother upset, frustrated, stressed out, worried.

She was one of the most peaceful, joyful persons that I've ever known. Even when things didn't go her way, she'd just kind of laugh at all. Her attitude was, I'm not going to worry about it. I know that everything is going to be all right. One time my grandparents came over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner, and my grandmother forgot the turkey, the main dish. But do you know, it did not ruin her day. It did mine, not hers.

She stayed in peace. She just laughed, can you believe I did that? Nothing took her song. No wonder she was so happy. No wonder she lived so long, so healthy. She was always making melody. in her heart unto God. And I wonder how much more you and I would enjoy our lives if we'd be a little bit more like her and not take everything so seriously. Not let every setback depress us

for two weeks. Not let every disappointment cause us to go around in self-pity for a month. No, we just shake that all. We keep the song of praise in our heart. Some of you today, you don't smile as much as you should. You don't laugh much anymore. You've gotten solemn and serious. All that is, is you've allowed the burdens of life to weigh you down. You're just enduring your life not really enjoying it. You don't have the fire and enthusiasm you once had. This can all change, but it's a decision you have to make. You have to start developing some new habits. Number one, develop a habit of smiling on purpose. Well, Joel, I don't feel like smiling. I got a lot of problems, a lot of things coming against me. Now, here's what you've got to do. You've got to smile by faith.

I heard somebody say, fake it until you can make it. In other words, if you'll smile by faith, then the joy will come. See, smiling sends a message to your whole body that everything's okay. When you smile, chemicals are released throughout your system that makes you feel better. Not only that, when you smile, you'll have more of God's favor. It'll help you in your career. It'll help you in dealing with people. There have been all kinds of studies that show people that smile, people that are

friendly, people that have a pleasant demeanor, they get breaks that other people that are solemn and unfriendly don't get. Something as simple as smiling. I read with the Holiday Inn Corporation was going to hire 500 new employees. They interviewed 5,000 people. They automatically disqualified any candidate that smiled less than four times during the interview. Learned to smile. Somebody has said, your smile is a million dollar asset. If you're not using, it, you're doing yourself a disservice. Well, Joel, I don't think it matters whether I smile or not. Listen, God is concerned about your countenance. Fifty-three times in the scripture, he mentions it. When you smile, it's not only good for yourself, but it's a good witness to others.

And we're supposed to make people want what we have. But if we're dragging around all sour, discouraged, depressed, that's just going to drive people away. And it's one thing to talk about our faith, but it's a better thing to live it out. One of the best witnesses we could ever have is to just be happy, to have a smile, to be friendly, to be pleasant, to be around. Some people, it's always like they've lost their last friend. They come to church.

You'd think they'll come into God's funeral. How you doing, brother? Oh, I'm just trying to hold on until he comes. No, we're not supposed to be holding on. We're not supposed to be dragging through life. Get your song back. quit allowing the burdens of life to weigh you down. And I know sometimes you think, man, Joel, I got a lot coming against me, but the truth is, we all do. Don't allow your problems and your

circumstances and especially other people to steal your joy. I see too many people being dragged down because somebody in their life is negative. Somebody else won't do right. Maybe you work around people that always complain, or you even live with somebody that's always having a pity party. But let me challenge you, don't get into the pit with them. Keep your song. A couple of years ago, I was walking through this big field, acres and acres. All I could see were these brown weeds. Everywhere I looked, there were these old dried up, dead, unattractive-looking weeds. But as I came to a certain point on the path, I noticed something interesting. There was this one beautiful flower, color.

colorful, radiant. It had bloomed right there in the midst of all those weeds. I immediately thought, that's the way we're supposed to be. You may have a lot of problems. You may have a lot of negative people around you. Don't sink down to their level. Just bloom right where you are. You may be married to an old weed. You can still bloom. You may work around a bunch of weeds. People that complain, gossip, badmouth the company, bad mouth the boss. Don't go there. Let your light shine. Bloom right where you are. In other words, be happy anyway.

Have a smile on your face. Have a grateful attitude. Don't let them drag you down. Pull them up. Make them want what you have. Too often we allow other people to steal our joy. But I'm asking us today to draw the line in the sand and say, you know what?

That's it. I'm not allowing another problem, another circumstance, nor another person to keep me from giving God praise. I'm going to bless the Lord at all, times. I'm going to get my song back. If we don't learn this simple principle of not allowing things to steal our joy, then we'll go our whole lifetime without the victory God wants us to have. And I'm not making light of anybody's problems. I realize they're real and at times it's difficult. But the truth is,

most likely, after you get through this problem, after you overcome this challenge, there'll be another challenge to overcome. There'll be something else to deal with. And if you're waiting, for all of your problems to go away before you decide to get your song back, unfortunately, you're going to wait around your whole lifetime. I love what the Apostle Paul said. He had all kinds of difficulties, all kinds of challenges,

but he said, in all these things, we are more than conquers. Notice he didn't say, when they're all done, I'm going to be happy. No, he said, in the middle of this adversity, I'm going to enjoy my life anyway. In other words, even if there are negative things around you, you don't have to allow that to steal your song. And really any of us can be happy

when we're on the mountain top. We can all have a good attitude when everything's going our way. But David said, I'm going to bless the Lord at all times. That means in the good times and in the tough times. And our attitude should be, I know this problem didn't come to stay. It came to pass. So I'm just going to relax and enjoy my life in the meantime. But some of you today, you need to develop new habits. Number one, get in a habit. of smiling on purpose. Number two, very important, check your posture. Make sure you stand up tall. Put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high. You are a child of the most high God. You are not supposed to go around slumped over, feeling sloppy, feeling weak, feeling

inferior, thinking that you're unattractive. No, the scripture says you are an ambassador of Christ. That means you represent Almighty God. Learn to walk. tall. I see too many people, they've gotten into a bad habit of slumping, you know, their shoulders and their head. They have very poor posture. When you do that, subconsciously you are communicating a lack of confidence, a lack of self-esteem. You need to put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high, just like somebody's pulling you from a string right here. When you do that, you're communicating strength, determination, confidence. Subconsciously, you're saying, I'm proud of who I am. I know I'm made in the image of Almighty God. I know I am the apple of God's eye.

We don't realize how much of communication is nonverbal. I know when I first started ministering, it's been a little over seven years. When I really wanted to make a point, I'd stick my neck out and lean over. I really wanted you to get it. I was trying to be real effective. But a friend of mine, she deals in communication. She said, Joy, you're doing just the opposite. When you stick your head out and you all bend over, that's a sign of weakness. You would communicate much more effectively if you'd put your shoulders back, hold your head up high. That's a position of strength and confidence, and people will receive more of what you have to say.

And so I've tried to make some of those changes. But again, we don't realize many times our body language is communicating exactly opposite of what we're trying to say. That's why our countenance, our smile, our personality. posture, how we carry ourselves, is so very important. I remember a friend of ours, an older gentleman growing up. He did just this. He looked like a statesman. His posture was impeccable. He dressed nice. He was always kind, compassionate, considerate. I saw him the other day. He's in his 80s, and he carries himself exactly the same way. When I see him, I think of a prince or a king. He looks like

royalty. And that's the way you and I should be. Not in arrogance. I'm not saying to go around proud and puffed up. I'm talking about in a quiet confidence. We have our shoulders back. We hold our head up high. We know we are representing Almighty God.

Let's learn to walk tall. And I realize we all have different personalities. Some people naturally are more confident. Some people naturally smile more often. I think I probably smile in my sleep. I smile all the time. You may be just the opposite, but don't use that as an excuse to stay that way.

Don't go through life sour and unfriendly. I've had to make changes where I naturally smile a lot. I'm naturally very quiet and reserved. I had to train myself to get up here to be more confident. You may have a lot of confidence, but you're kind of serious, unfriendly. You don't smile much. Well, you're going to have to train yourself to smile more often. In fact, the scripture says that our joy,

should overflow. That means we should have so much joy that when other people get around us, it rubs off on them. When they leave, they should be happier, encouraged, inspired better off than they were before. And a good way to know if we've lost our song. A good way to know if we need to make improvements is if when you get around people, you're always taking and never giving. You're always counting on them to cheer you up. No, it should be, just the opposite. You've got to develop some new habits. You've got to start making melody in your own heart. When you go to work tomorrow, put on a good praise CD. You get stuck in traffic instead of complaining, you're grooving to the music. No, this is going to be a good day. When you do that,

you're filling yourself up. At the office, somebody offends you. Instead of dwelling on it, you shake it off and move on. Nope, not going to let that ruin my day. Maybe you even get a bad report from the doctor, and it just kind of takes the wind out of your cell. You're very tempted to get discouraged. But that's when we have to dig our heels in and say, no, God, I know you're still in control. I'm going to keep a smile on my face and I'm going to give you praise anyway. See, the scripture tells us to offer unto God the sacrifice of praise. That means it's not always going to be easy. Sometimes in the natural we don't have any reason to do what I'm talking about.

But our attitude should be, God, I know, when I'm going to be, God, I know when I'm I keep my song. I know when I give you praise, it not only activates your power, but it replenishes me. It fills me up. So I'm going to dig my heels in and choose to give you praise anyway. Friends, you can choose what kind of song you're going to have. Don't be lazy in your thought life. Our original scripture, speaking to yourself in songs and hymns. Notice every one of us talks to ourselves throughout the day. When you have to clean the house, You're tempted to have a pity party. Nobody appreciates me. The problem is you're talking to yourself the wrong way. You need to start declaring this is going to be a good day. Thank you, Lord, for your strength. Thank you, Lord, for my health. You've got to get your song back. You're not going to enjoy life very much if you're always talking negative on the inside. And making melody in our hearts means when we're vacuuming,

we're singing a song of praise. When we're doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, we're whistling a tune. When we get stuck in traffic under our breath, Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you that I'm alive. Every time we do that, God is filling us with his joy, his peace, his strength, his victory, his favor. We're being ever filled. So let me challenge you again. Get in a habit of making melody in your heart. Don't go around complaining, thinking negative thoughts. Get your song back. Learn to smile on purpose. Stand up tall. Have a grateful attitude. Start off every morning with a song of praise and then keep that in your heart throughout the day. If you do this, God promises you're going to be ever filled.

When you're full, you're going to have joy, you're going to have peace, and you'll live the life of victory. God has in store. Amen. Do you receive it today? I know you do. We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins.

Come into my heart, I make you my Lord and Savior. 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 gonna take your places that you've never dreamed out. This is my Bible.

I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do. This is the first Bible that my parents gave me. I was six years old. They taught me the importance of believe in what God says about you. and letting that determine your self-image.

Now, how through the scripture you can learn to handle challenges and pursue your dreams. Some people tell me that the Bible's not practical for them and how they don't understand it. We've created a new resource called How to Read Your Bible and Enjoy it. It provides 12 distinct lenses that will help you see the Bible with fresh eyes so you can discover the hidden treasures that increase your faith, practical truths that will help you in your everyday life. When you tap into the power of God's word, there's no limit to where he'll take you. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any size to the ministry this month,

Joel would like to send you this inspiring new resource. Sometimes reading the Bible can feel confusing, out of touch, or even produce more fear than faith. But now, with this new resource, how to read your Bible and enjoy it, it will make the Word of God come alive in new ways. You'll discover fresh inspiration on every page of your Bible. The 12 lenses give you the power to see the scripture in a whole new light. When you experience the right way to approach God's Word, it will ignite renewed passion in your life. When you get God's Word down in you, it brings life and victory.

This has a great Bible reading plan, plus introductions to each book. It'll help you enjoy reading the Bible. Thanks so much for being a part of the ministry. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day, and we appreciate your prayers and support. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube, or we have a new Joel Osteen Television Network 24 hours a day,

and of course, Syriaxm as well. Until we see you next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of How to Read Your Bible and enjoy it. Today, visit Joel Osteen.com. or call 888-567 Joel. Call or click anytime, 24 hours a day.