Joel Osteen Podcast - Favor Has Been Released Into Your Future | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

When God created you, He lined up everything you need to reach your destiny. There is favor, opportunity and divine connections in your future! 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. God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you. and we're believing that God has great things in store for each one of you. If you're ever in our area, stop by and see us. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services.

But thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started with something funny. And I heard about this group of small children. They were in a cafeteria line at their Catholic elementary school. At the front of the line, there was this large tray of apples. And a nun had written a note that said, Take only one God is watching. At the end of the line, there was this big back.

of chocolate chip cookies. One of the children had written a note that said, Take all you want. God's watching the apples. All right. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. God, God, bless you. I want to talk to you today about how God has already released good things into your future. When God laid out the plan for your life, he lined up the right people, the right circumstances, the right breaks. And in your future, he's already released favor, supernatural opportunities,

divine connections. The breaks you need have already been preordained to come across your path. If you will stay in faith and go out each day and be a person of excellence, you'll have times where it's as if you just stumbled into God's blessings. You look back and you think, how did I get to where I am? I'm not the most qualified, but I got the promotion. I didn't deserve that break, but they went out of their way to help me. Or I missed my turn, and all of a sudden I saw that for sale sign. Things fell into place, and that's how I bought this house.

What happened? You stumbled into God's blessings. They were already lined up. You just walked into it. I talked to a young lady the other day. She started out as a backup to a receptionist at this major film studio. She was part time. She only worked when the other lady was busy. But she was extremely faithful and she got break after break. Somebody left and she moved up. Somebody got promoted. She took their place. Somebody went on mater. eternity leave, another promotion. One day the owner of that company said to his main manager, I really like that young lady. I like her attitude. I like her faithfulness. Make sure you take care of her. Today, six years later, she's a vice president in that company. She oversees all these major motion pictures. She said, Joel, I can't believe it. I don't really know how I got here. Just the other day, I was a receptionist. And now I'm helping to run to come. company. What happened? She's stumbled into God's blessings. Friends, God has great things already arranged for you. He's already released them into your future. You may not be able to see it. You may

not be able to figure it out. That's okay. Just stay in faith and keep being your best and you'll be amazed at what you stumble into. In my own life, when I look back, I think, how did I end up here? I wasn't even planning on being a minister. When I'm at home flipping through the channels and I see myself, I think, what in the world are you doing on television? When I go to these events in different cities and I see the building full,

I think why did all these people come out? How did this happen? I just stumbled into it. I just kept being my best, kept being faithful day in and day out, and I walked into my divine destiny. I walked into the favor and the blessings that God had already released.

Even when I look at Victoria, she's so beautiful, I think, how did I ever end up marrying her? I know I'm good-looking, but not that good-looking. I just stumbled in to her mother's jewelry store, and I'm not talking about being drunk. I'm talking about you just walk into God's favor. You walk into his blessings.

You get breaks that you didn't deserve. You look back and you think, how did I end up going from the back, ground to the forefront. How did I go from being an assistant to being in management? Or like one lady I know, how did I go from being on welfare to being fair and well? I just stepped into the favor that God already had released. A friend of mine comes from a large family. They immigrated from another country. They were extremely poor. Nobody had made much out of their lives. They just couldn't seem to get out of that rut. But this man was very determined. He loved

God and had a heart to help other people. And one day somebody told him about a job opportunity in the medical center cleaning medical equipment. He went and interviewed, had favor, and he got hired. He was working the graveyard shift. And every once in a while, they would do these medical procedures in the evening. He would watch very closely and study how the technicians did it. At one point, one of the technicians took another job. And his boss saw how dedicated he had been, and he gave him that position. He became an assistant technician. A couple of years later, the main technician left, and now they put him in charge. A few years went by. He started thinking, if I could buy this equipment, I could go from hospital to hospital and do this on my own.

Playing basketball one afternoon, he met a man that was in the banking business. He shared his dream with this friend. And he said, I'll tell you what, I'll have my bank loan you the money. The right place, the right time. God had it already arranged. Today, that man has a very successful company. They're one of the leaders in their field. What happened? He just stumbled into God's blessings. I want you to realize in your future, God has already released favor. It's in front of you. He's already released promotion, increase, good breaks. You don't have to worry. You don't have to try to force things to happen. All you have to do is stay faithful. and you too will stumble into God's blessings.

I think about a lady in the Bible by the name of Ruth. She had been through a lot of heartache and pain. Her husband had been killed in a battle. And now her mother-in-law, Naomi, was moving to a different city. And she decided to go with her and help take care of her. And there was a great famine in the land. They hardly had anything to eat. And so Ruth would go out every morning into the fields

and follow behind the reapers that were gleaning the wheat. and she would pick the leftover wheat. That's how they were surviving. One day, the owner of that field, a man by the name of Boaz, traveled from a different city to check on his field. And it just so happened he saw Ruth out there. She got his attention. He said to his workers, who is that new young girl? They said, that's Ruth. She's a widow. She just moved here. She goes behind us and picks up the leftover wheat. And the scripture talks about how God calls Ruth to have favor with Boaz. When you walk into one of your favor moments, people will go out of their way to be good to you. Many times they don't realize why they're doing it. It's simply because you stepped in to a time of

favor that God had already released in your future. Boas said to his workers, here's what I want you to do. Drop handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth. That's my message to you today. God has dropped handful on purpose for each one of you. In your future, God has already dropped favor. He's already dropped promotion. He's dropped health. He's dropped wisdom. He's dropped good breaks. He's dropped divine connections. They're out in front of you just waiting for you to come along. They're called handfuls on purpose. I love the fact that Ruth was just minding her own business, being her best, being faithful. And all the sudden, she starts seeing all this wheat laying in front of her. Think about it. She doesn't have to struggle anymore. She doesn't have to search the field,

trying to find a little here and a little over there. All she's got to do is pick up the wheat. She goes home and she's collected four or five times what she normally does. And Naomi said, Ruth, how in the world? Did you get all that wheat today? I can see Ruth scratching her head. She said, I don't know. I just stumbled into it. Normally I get the the leftovers. Normally I get the scraps. But for some reason, these workers started leaving all this wheat right in my path. Friends, you have no idea the great things God has already dropped in your future. You don't know what all God has orchestrated for you. Don't believe those lies telling you nothing goods in store and you'll never accomplish your dreams. No, if God were to

pull back the curtain and allow you to see what he's already lined up, the brakes, the people, the favor, the things he's already released into your future, you wouldn't worry again. You wouldn't be discouraged. You would be excited about your future. You would live with expectancy knowing that any moment you could come across one of those handfuls on purpose. What's interesting is Ruth got for free what other people had to work for. There were others out in that field just working away. They couldn't take the wheat. They couldn't take the prophets. Not only could Ruth do this, but those others had to glean the wheat for her and leave it in her path. In other words, Ruth started getting unnatural blessings. Extraordinary things begin to happen. That's the way our God is. All

a sudden, you get breaks that you didn't deserve. You got promoted over somebody that had more seniority. You got thrust from the back to the front. What happened? You came across. You came across another handful on purpose. The house Victoria and I live in, it's on a lot a little over a quarter of an acre. As our children were getting older, I really wanted more room so we could go out and run and play ball. I grew up on an acre lot and I like being outdoors. And one day, just in passing, just kind of dreaming, I said to Victoria, it sure would be nice to have that lot next door so we could open it up and make it a part of our yard. It was a corner lot quite a bit bigger than ours, and I really didn't think much more about it. The neighbors had been there long before us, and we didn't know them well.

They were gone a lot. But one day, Victoria was backing out of the driveway to take our children to school, and the man came walking over to the car. He handed her a sheet of paper and said, we're selling our property just in case you know anybody that would like to buy it. I knew that wasn't a coincidence. That wasn't a lucky break. That was another handful on purpose. Things fell into place and we were able to purchase it. Well, Joel, I wish I had two lots. I'm in a little apartment. No, don't get discouraged. Don't get negative and don't be jealous. If God did it for us, he can do it for you. Just keep being faithful, keep being your best and you too are going to stumble into your place of blessing. It's already out there. God's placed it in your future. You just have to do

your part and walk into it. Now, plenty of mornings, I look out at that empty lot, and I think to myself, I don't know how we got here. God, you've been so good to us. I recognize it's just handfuls on purpose. I didn't deserve it necessarily. I didn't earn it. It was just the favor of God. And sometimes, you can almost be tempted to feel guilty for God's blessings. I know when I wrote my first book, I had no idea it would sell so many copies. When I went to do my next one, the offer that came in were more than I could even ask or think. I thought about how my grandmother made 10 cents an hour. My father was raised in extreme poverty during the Great Depression,

and here God bless my family beyond our wildest dreams. I was tempted to think, you know, is this right, tempted to feel a little guilty? But one thing I've learned is don't ever apologize for God's goodness. Don't ever apologize for God's blessings and favor. People are going to criticize. People will judge you. People will be jealous. But you know what? That's their problem. Don't apologize. When we make excuses for God's goodness, when we downplay his blessings and favor,

really that's an insult to our God. The scripture says it is the Lord that gives you the power to get wealth. That means God's the one that's given you the ideas. He's the one that's giving you the creativity. He's given you the strength. He gave you the favor. He gave you the good. breaks. As long as you stay humble and give him all the credit, you have nothing to apologize for. And what I find interesting is Ruth was satisfied with going out each day and picking up her food behind the workers. She was content. Life was good. God was supplying her needs. But do you want to

see the heart of God? God did not want Ruth to go out every day and just pick up left over wheat. He didn't want Ruth to spend her life working in that field. God wanted Ruth to own that field. He wanted to do more than just meet her needs. The scripture goes on to tell how she and Boaz fell in love. They got married. Boaz was one of the wealthiest men in that area. Ruth was no longer working in the field. That was fine for a time. That's where her handfuls on purpose were for a while. But now this next handful, was the owner of the field. God brought Boaz across her path. She just stumbled into it. And some of you, God does not want you to spend your whole life working at that company. God wants you to own your own company. He doesn't want you to spend your life cleaning that office. God wants you to be running

that office. He doesn't want you to live in a small apartment the rest of your life. God wants you to have a nice home. He has made you to be the head and not the tail. He says, you will lend and not borrow. And it's good like Ruth to be content where we are. It's good to appreciate what God has already done, but God is a progressive God. He wants to take you places that you've never dreamed of. Have a big vision for your life. Don't be complacent and don't be too easily satisfied. I know I used to come into this building and watch the Rockets play basketball. I had season tickets right back over there in section 104. But God didn't build this building just for the Rockets to play. He didn't want me to just come in here and watch sports and be entertained.

God wanted us to own this building. God wants to amaze you with his goodness. And I've learned we don't have to seek blessings. We don't have to seek the right people or seek material things. If you will seek God, if you will put him first and honor him with your life, the blessings will seek you. When you live a life of integrity, when you have a spirit of excellence, giving, serving, treating people right, God's blessings will chase you down and overtake you. You cannot outrun the good things of God when you do your best to please him. The scripture says in Psalms, when you delight yourself in the Lord, he will give you the desires of your heart. The fact is,

Victoria and I didn't need that extra lot. We didn't need more room. That was simply a desire just to thought, hey, this would be nice to have. But isn't it interesting? God already had it lined up. He had already put the thought in that man. He caused Victoria to be backing out at the right time.

He brought it all together. All I had to do was stay in faith. And I stumbled into that blessing, another handful on purpose. A few years ago, right after my first book had come out, we were doing an event in Madison Square of Garden there in New York City. And this executive at a major publishing company was leaving his office that night to go catch the train and go home, just his normal routine. But when he got around the garden area where the train station is, the sidewalks were so packed with people waiting to get into our event.

It was much more crowded than normal. He knew there wasn't a ballgame going on. There wasn't a concert. In his curiosity, he went over to ask people what's going on tonight. And they told him how our meeting was coming. They were so excited and so fired up, they couldn't wait for it to start. He said, I've been in New York my whole life, and New Yorkers don't get excited about anything, especially about a minister from Texas. He left there a few minutes later saying to himself, we are going to publish this man's next book.

I'd never met him. He didn't know much about us. My first book had barely even come out, but God caused him to be at the right place, at the right time. The next morning, he called a friend of his. That's a major publishing agent. He said, do you know Joel?

I want his next book. She said, I don't, but I will. Another handful on purpose. And I don't say this bragging in any way, but my next book that's just coming out, that company is going to pre-print more copies than they've ever pre-printed. printed in their history. I could have never made all that happen. I could have never caused that

man to be at the right place and hear all those great comments. That was a moment of favor that God had already released into my future. You people in New York that were there that first night on the sidewalk making all those great comments, I owe you. You helped me get a great book deal. I think about how Ruth started off working in the field. That was her place of blessing for a while. But God wants you to go further. Don't get stagnant. Don't have the attitude. This is all my parents had. I've gone as far as my grandparents. I guess I've reached my limits. No, God wants to take you to a new level. He wants you to be the one to set a new standard. This is what Ruth did. After she married Boaz, the people, she used to follow behind in the fields. The people she used to take instruction from,

now all of a sudden they were her employees. Now she was telling them what to do. She got thrust from the back to the front. God can do the same thing for every one of you. All it takes is one touch of God's favor. One Boaz in your life and you'll go from working in the field to owning the field. You'll go from being a receptionist to being a vice president. You'll go from cleaning the equipment to owning the equipment. Somebody asked you, how'd that happen? How'd you get here? I don't know. I just stumbled into it. It's just God's favor, another handful

on purpose. Why don't you get a bigger vision for your life? Don't go around thinking about all the reasons why this is not going to happen. No, stay in faith. Live with expectancy, knowing that any moment you could come across another handful of favor. You meet somebody that leads to an opportunity. you get an inheritance from a long-lost relative. God gives you an idea that leads to a promotion.

There are handfuls on purpose. God has lined up for every one of you. Some of you, if you'll stay faithful, like Ruth, the next handful on purpose will be the husband, the wife you've been dreaming about. God's already got them picked out. Just like Boaz, he strategically placed them in your future. If you'll just keep being faithful,

you will come across their path. It won't be an accident. It won't be a coincidence. It will be a divine connection. God put them there on purpose. I love this scripture in Deuteronomy 1 verse 11. May the Lord God of your fathers increase you a thousand times more than you are.

That's God's dream for every one of you to increase you, to promote you, to favor you. But sometimes this is so hard for us to imagine. We think a thousand times more, and our mind goes tilt, tilt, tilt, tilt. No way, impossible, never going to happen. That's what happened when they offered me that book deal. At first, I didn't know if I could believe it. At first, I didn't know if I deserved it.

But after about 15 seconds, I got over it. You laugh. It only taken you 10 seconds. I'm not talking about just material things. How about a thousand times more joy, a thousand times more peace, a thousand times more wisdom. It says, the Lord God

of your fathers. That's talking about when we have a godly heritage. If you had parents, grandparents, people somewhere in your family line that honored God, you are entitled to ancestral blessings. That means you're going to come into favor.

You're going to come into good breaks that you're not directly responsible for. You're going to have opportunities that you don't necessarily. necessarily deserve. It's because your parents, your grandparents, somebody in your family honored God. The scripture talks about how you'll live in houses that you didn't build. You'll reap from vineyards that you didn't plant. I know many of you like me, you had people that have gone before you that prayed and believed. They sowed so many good seeds. But the fact is, they didn't see the

increase and the favor that you're seeing today. What happened? they paid the price. They stayed faithful. Now the Lord God of your fathers is increasing you. The Lord God of your fathers is showing you that unusual, extraordinary favor. You should always be grateful

for the parents or grandparents that brought you to church. You may not have wanted to go back then, but they made your life a lot easier. They sowed seeds so God could bring you more of those handfuls on purpose. And I know right now

I'm reaping many of the seeds that my parents have sown. My father wrote many books, but he didn't have any of them published by a major publisher. He didn't see the increase in the favor that I'm seeing today. And that's the way it works. When you honor God with your life, it not only affects you, but it'll benefit your children, your grandchildren, even future generations. Well, you say, Joel, that's great. But when I look back in my family line, I don't see anyone. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles. Nobody honored God. I don't have this godly heritage that you're talking about. But that's okay. Number one, you can be the one to start it. And number two, God still has great things in store. Do you know Ruth came from a long line of idol worshippers? As far back in her family as she could see, generation after generation, no one cared anything about the things of God.

God. But because Ruth had a pure heart, because she had a desire to do what's right, God did incredible things in her life. God can do the same thing for each one of you. And I want you to get this down in your spirit a thousand times more than you are. That's talking about new levels of increase, new levels of promotion, new levels of victory. A new level to a homeless person is getting shelter. to a person in a shelter, a new level is getting an apartment. To a person in an apartment, a new level is getting a nice home. To a person in a nice home, a new level is helping someone else get a nice home. We are blessed to be a blessing, and no matter what level we're at,

we should overflow with the goodness of God. And when you have a thousand times more joy, you're going to have plenty of joy to give away. When you have a thousand times more peace, when people get around you that are upset and stressed, they're going to calm down. They're going to feel that rest. The scripture talks about, when we give, it will be giving back to us, press down, shaking together, and running over. I can sense some of you are about to come into that running over anointing.

That's what Ruth did. She went from having her needs barely supplied to having more than enough. She stepped into the overflow anointing. Many of you have been faithful. You've served others. You've been your best day in and day out. You're about to see a major shift. You're about to come across a handful on purpose

that's going to propel you to a new level. You're going to step into a new dimension, the overflow anointing. That's what the thousand times does. But some of you, you've lost your excitement about the future. You don't think anything good is in store. Let me assure you, if God had not already release good things into your future, you wouldn't be here. He would have taken you on home.

As long as you're breathing, there's another handful on purpose in front of you. Somewhere in your path, there's promotion, increase, good breaks, divine connections. When you really understand this principle, it puts a spring in your step. You'll go out each day excited, thinking, I wonder when that next handful is coming. Could be today, could be tomorrow, could be next week. Friends, when you stay in faith, you will stumble into God's blessings. And understand, he's already released in your future everything you need to fulfill

your destiny. My prayer for each one of you is that the Lord God of your fathers will make you a thousand times more than you are. I speak it over you right now. New seasons of increase. I declare favor over your life. I speak

strength into you. I speak health. I speak wisdom. I speak creativity. I I speak divine connections. I speak supernatural opportunities. They are coming you away. I declare it in the name of Jesus. And if you receive it, can you say amen?

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? 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 that you've never dreamed of. 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 Mark 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 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

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