Joel Osteen Podcast - God Can Restore | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

If you’ll stay in an attitude of faith, God will repair what’s been broken and restore what was lost. He wants to bring you out better than you were before.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.Daily inspiration. Scriptural promises. Get ready for a new year of faith with the Hopes & Dreams 2024 Planner. Our special December offer will let you journal your thoughts, record your prayers, and hold on to the dream God has placed in your heart. Request your copy today! https://bit.ly/3T8xgqS 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 for listening to the podcast, and we want to tell you how much we love you. Trusting you're going to have a blessed Christmas season with you and your family. Know that we pray for you every day. Just speak in God's blessings and favor. We love you. We are praying for you, and we hope you have a very merry Christmas. Enjoy the podcast today.

And God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We come with good news. We know God has good things in store for each one of you. And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. We'd love to have you. I'd love to let you see our new facility. But come on out and I promise you we'll make you feel right at home.

But thank you so much for tuning in today. I'd like to get started with something funny each week. And somebody sent me these funny one-liners about blondes. And of course, you all know, I'm married to a beautiful, smart, intelligent blonde. But I need to tell you that lest I need a ride home today. but listen to some of these. She was so blonde, she tripped over a cordless phone. She was so blonde, it took her two hours to watch 60 minutes.

She was so blonde, she asked for a price check at the dollar store. Last one, she was so blonde, she thinks Taco Bell is the Mexican phone company. All right, hold your Bibles up. Say it with me today. Ready? 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 bless you. We've been talking about the importance of keeping our hopes up. And really life in general has a way of pushing us down.

When we go through disappointments and setbacks, If we're not careful, it's easy to just settle right where we are and not expect anything to get better. Maybe you've had some unfair things happen to you. Somebody cheated you in a business deal or a person walked out of a relationship or maybe a sickness that you've been dealing with for a long time. Sometimes we even bring the trouble on ourselves because of our poor choices. We end up with these broken dreams and we hear that voice telling us again and again, you blew it. You had your chance and never going to get any better than this. But no, I want to encourage you today that our God is a God of restoration.

He wants to restore everything that's been stolen from you. Maybe you've gone through a failed marriage, a failed business, some kind of dream has died. But listen, that is not the end. Don't go through life in self-pity. Don't go around all negative and defeated. God wants to give you a new beginning. He still has a great plan for your life. I know some of you, even right now, you've got a broken heart.

Somebody caused you great pain. Somebody did you a great wrong. But God wants to heal that wound. He wants to repair what's been broken and restore what's been stolen. And the great thing about our God is when he restores, he doesn't bring you out like you were before. He brings you out better off than you were before. His idea of restoration is to increase, to improve, to make you better.

You need to let that sink deep down on the inside, no matter what you've been through, no matter how long it's been that way. If you will stay in an attitude of faith, God will cause that to work out to your advantage. He'll not only bring you out, but he'll bring you out improved and increased, stronger, happier, healthier. And really, we all face disappointments. We all face unfair things. And we can either get bitter or we can get better.

We can either sink down and have that poor old me. mentality, or we can rise up and say, God, I know you're going to cause this to work to my advantage. I had a young man tell me last week how he was raised in such a pitiful environment. He was passed from family to family, had no stability, no fun growing up. Really, he didn't have a chance to be a normal child. But I love what the scripture says in the book of Joel. It says that God will restore the years that the locust has eaten. And some of you just like that young man, because of circumstances beyond your control, you feel like you've lost years of your life. But listen, God wants to make that all up to you.

Some of you have spent years in an abusive relationship, no affection, no joy. You need to take heart. God wants to restore those years. Or maybe you've spent years on a job where you were not treated right. You're overlooked. You don't get the credit you deserve. Friends, God sees all that. He's keeping the records.

and you need to keep your head held high and keep doing your very best knowing that in the end, God is going to pay you back. God's going to make it all up to you. The truth is, life is not always fair, but the good news is, God is fair. He is a God of justice. And if you won't fall into that self-pity trap,

not get bitter, not blame God, God promises he'll not only bring you out, but he'll bring you out better off than you were before. And that's what the scripture is saying here in Isaiah 61, verse 7. It says that God will give us a twofold recompense for our former shame. That simply means that God will take all the unfair and unjust things that have happened, and he'll add them up and not only pay us back even, but God promises he'll pay us back double.

God wants to give you twice the joy, twice the peace, twice the honor, twice the victory. Why don't you start believing him for it? why don't you get your hopes up? You may have been through a lot, but it's not over until God says it's over. May look impossible to you, but with God, all things are possible. He can turn any situation around. But if this is going to happen, you've got to do your part and have this restoration mentality. That means you're expecting things to change. It means when times get tough and unfair things happen, you don't get negative and bitter. You know God is in control and In the end, he's going to use that situation to your advantage.

And this is just what Job did. He had all kinds of unfair things happen to him. And Job was a good man. He loved God. He had a heart to do what's right. But notice, that didn't make him immune to difficulty. And in just a few weeks' time, he lost his business, he lost his health, he lost his family. I mean, things couldn't get any worse.

The whole bottom just fell out. And I'm sure Job could have gotten all negative and bitter. His own wife said, Job, why don't you just curse God and die? It's never going to get any better. It's not worth it. But no, Job didn't do that. He had this restoration mentality. He knew God could turn any situation around.

And his attitude was, even if I die, I'm going to die trusting God. Even if I die, I'm going to die believing for the best, hoping on in faith. When it was all said and done, some nine months later, God not only brought Job out, He brought him out with twice what he had before. He had twice as many cattle, twice as many sheep. He got his health back. God restored back to him double. God wants to do the same thing for every one of you.

I love the scripture in Job 4212. It says the latter part of Job's life was more blessed than the first part. That's God's dream for every one of you. No matter what you've been through, no matter how unfair it was. God is saying he wants the rest of your life to be happy. happier, more blessed, more fulfilled than you can even imagine. One scripture says that God wants to bring us to a flourishing finish. In other words, God is saying the best is yet to come. And her attitude should be, this may be difficult. It may be unfair, but I'm not going to lose my joy.

I know God is a just God. And when it's all said and done, just like Job, he's going to bring me out stronger, happier, and healthier. In fact, one way to look at it is when trouble comes and somebody mistreats us, in a way, they've done us a favor. They've just put us in a position to receive double. Somebody cheat you out of that promotion at work. They lie, they manipulate things. Don't get all upset. Don't lose your joy. Just say, Father, thank you. Now I know I'm going to get a position twice as good as that one. See, God wants to make the enemy pay for bringing that trouble into your life. And some of you don't have a big enough vision. You've been through tough times and you're just kind of hoping to barely get by. You're hoping to barely survive that situation. But no, God does not

call us survivors. He doesn't want us to come through our adversities, all beat up and bedraggled, half dead. No, we are not survivors. We are more than conquers. And you think about this. A conqueror always defeats the enemy. A conquer always wins the battle. But when you are more, we are more, more than a conquer, you not only defeat the enemy, but you gather up the spoils. You come out with an abundance. And I know some of you today, you've had more than your share, just like Job, of unfair things happen to you, because of somebody else's poor choices. They've caused you all this heartache and pain, and you're kind of thinking, Joel, I don't think I could ever really be happy. I don't think I could ever find somebody to love. I don't think I'll ever find somebody I can

trust. You know, God is saying, if you'll put your faith in me and have that restoration mentality, I will make up for every unfair, unjust thing that has happened. And you'll not only get what you deserve, but because of that injustice, God will pay you back with much, much more. I was talking to this man a few years ago, and he was a mechanic at this diesel shop where they worked on these big 18 wheelers. And he told how for years there he wasn't being treated right. It was a very negative environment and people were always kind of making fun of him. They thought he was kind of stiff because he wouldn't go out partying with him after work. And so year after year, he had to put up with this injustice and all this ridicule. And he said that he was one of the best mechanics there

at the shop, one of their top producers. But in seven years, he had never got a raise, never got any kind of promotion, any kind of bonus. And it was all because his supervisor didn't like him. And he could have easily gone around with the chip on his shoulder. He could have gone through life, blaming God, negative and bitter. But no, he didn't do that. He knew he wasn't working under man. He was working under God. He knew what I'm talking about today, that God is a God of justice. And so one day he said out of the clear blue, the owner of that company called him up. Now, he had never met this man. The owner wasn't involved in the day-to-day operations. But for some unknown reason he called this man. He told him how he was wanting to retire, and he was looking for somebody

to take over the company, and he offered to sell it to this man. And this man said, well, I'm very flattered, but I don't have that kind of money. The owner said, no, you don't understand. You don't need any money. I'm going to loan you the money. To make a long story short, he accepted that offer, and today he owns that company free and clear. I was talking to him, and I asked him, I ask him what caused that man to call you? He said, Joel, to this day, I don't know why he chose me. I don't know how he got my name. All I know is I went from being the lowest man on the totem pole to be in the person in charge of the whole company. Friends, that's God bringing justice into his life. That's God paying him back for all those wrongs. He said, you know, Joel, it's funny now people don't make fun of me anymore. Said, if they do, they won't have a job. Now he's calling the shots. Now he's calling the shots. Now, he's in charge, God made his wrongs right. God will do the same thing for every one of you. I was thinking about when the children of Israel were in slavery all those years over in Egypt. They were so mistreated. They were working their fingers to the bone night and day.

They were given quotas that they couldn't possibly meet. They didn't even have that many supplies. But what's interesting is that injustice didn't go unnoticed by Almighty God. He was keeping a very detailed account. God was paying very close attention. God said in the book of Exodus, I have seen the affliction of my people. God was saying, I've seen every time you've been mistreated. I've seen every time you got up early and worked tirelessly with no mercy. I've seen all the abuse. And God went on to say, I am coming down to deliver you.

In other words, God was saying, I have had enough. I'm not going to let anyone get away with mistreating my children like that. I'm coming down and when I show up, things are going to change. You need to know when God comes on the scene in your life, justice will be done. You'll not only get what you deserve, but you'll get back pay. God will make up for the unfair things. And so God begin to send plague after plague on the Egyptian people. And finally, Pharaoh decided to let them go.

And that in itself was a great miracle. I'm sure they were thrilled to just be free. But do you know, God wasn't satisfied to let them walk away empty-handed. He wanted to make the enemy pay. And he told Moses, you tell the people on their way out to ask the Egyptians for all their gold

and all their silver. And the Bible says, God calls the people to have favor with them and they freely gave them everything they asked for. Can you imagine what Pharaoh must have thought? Here he's sitting up on the throne. watching these two million people leave his country, and every one of them is loaded down with gold and silver and precious jewels. What was happening? God was paying them back for 430 years of

working as a slave. God was restoring all the years of abuse and mistreatment. They didn't leave the same way they came in. They arrived in Egypt with nothing, but when they left, they walked out of there with an abundance. That's the way our God is. And our attitude should be, today, it's payback time. I may have suffered in the past. I may have been through some disappointments, but this is a new day. I know God is going to restore. My health may not be good. My finances may not look great, but I'm not moved by what I see. I know God can do what men can't do. Friends, God is in the restoration business. Why don't you start believing to come out of your difficulties better off than you were before? And always remember, just like these people,

the apple of God's eye. You are his most prized possession. He is closely watching you. And he is not going to let anyone or anything get away with continually mistreating you. I think about how as a parent I watch after my children. A few years ago, I had just bought Jonathan and Alexandra an ice cream cone. Alexander must have been about three or four years old. And we walked out of that little ice cream shop and we saw some old friends and we started talking to them. And there were a bunch of kids there on the sidewalk, playing and running and just having a good time as they were eating their ice cream cone. And as I was in this conversation, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, this one little boy was playing very rough. And I thought to myself, now that's my little girl over there.

I don't want anybody to be rough with her. I don't want anybody to mistreat her. And even though I was in this conversation, most of my attention was over there paying attention to my little daughter. Well, all of a sudden, sure enough, that little boy bumped into Alexandra. I don't think he meant to, but he caused her to drop her ice cream cone, and it fell on the ground. And he began to laugh and laugh and laugh. He thought that was so funny that now she didn't have any ice cream. And she came over to me, and she was just about to cry.

I said, Alexandra, don't you worry about it. Daddy's going to go get you another ice cream cone. And usually we just get one scoop because she's very small. But I said, Alexander, this time we're going to get you three scoops. you're going to have more than anybody else. She walked out of there smiling bigger than you can imagine, and she went and found that little boy, and she began to wave that ice cream coming.

It's just like she was saying, look what you did. You caused me to get three times what I had before. See, he meant it for evil, but I meant it for good. And if you're a parent, you know, that's the heart of a father. That's the heart of a mother. You're not going to let anybody mistreat your children. And if they do, you're going to make it up to them.

It's the same way our God is. Don't go around all this courage. Well, Joel, I can't believe this is happening to me. It's just not fair. No, God wants to restore back to you. You need to understand when God restores, he's not going to give you a single scoop. He's going to give you a triple scoop.

Maybe you need a triple scoop of joy today. Triple scoop of health, a triple scoop of God's favor. Why don't you start believing for God's best? Well, you say, Joel, you don't know what I've been through, man. You don't know my health. You don't know what the doctors have said. I just don't think it could happen for me. Well, you know, if you have that kind of attitude, it's not going to happen for you.

If you believe all things are possible. One time in the Old Testament, God was trying to help the people, but they had been through so many disappointments and they had struggled for so long. The scripture says something very sad. It says the people were too discouraged to believe. and that's the way a lot of people are today. They hear this message of hope. They know down in here it's true.

It resonates on the inside, but the enemy works overtime, telling them it's not going to happen for you. You've been through too much. You've made too many mistakes. And if you believe those lies long enough, you too discouraged to believe. But thank God if that's you today,

you don't have to stay that way. God is saying there's hope for any situation. It may look like your dreams have just totally died. The good news is our God has resurrection power. He can resurrect your dead dreams. He can still bring them to pass. Or maybe in your health. It looks like you're never going to get well. You need to know God made your body. He can restore health back into you. There's nothing too difficult for him. When you go through these disappointments and unfair things happen, don't just sit back and accept it. Why don't you dig your heels in and start believing that you're going to come out with

twice what you had before. If the enemy comes against one child, don't just believe for that child, believe for your whole family. Or for some reason you were to lose that job, don't believe to get the same level job. Believe to get a job that's got twice the benefits, twice the vacation time, a job where you'll be twice as fulfilled. God wants to restore doubleback to you. I think about my sister Lisa and her husband, Kevin. For many years, they tried to have a baby, but Lisa just couldn't conceived. And so she went through all the fertility treatments, and she had several surgeries, and just nothing got better. Finally, the doctor looked at Lisa and said, you know, Lisa, I'm very sorry. We've done everything we can, but you're just not going to be able to have a baby.

And Lisa could have easily just given up. She could have easily thought, well, I guess it's just not meant to be. I guess my dreams are not going to come to pass. But no, she and Kevin were prisoners of hope. They had this restoration mentality, and they just kept praying and believing and thanking God that he was going to make a way. And I can tell you, it wasn't easy. They had to fight off getting discouraged. They had to fight off getting negative and better. One day, out of the clear blue, she got a call from an old friend of ours. This lady works with troubled teenagers. She knew nothing about what they were going through. And she said, Lisa, I would normally never do this, but we've got this teenage

girl about to give birth to baby twin girls. We just wanted to know if you and Kevin would be interested in adopting them. And they instantly knew that was the answer to their prayers, and they adopted those baby twin girls. And you notice, God didn't give them one

child, he gave them a double blessing. He paid them back double for all that heartache and pain. A few years later, they adopted another little baby boy. They ended up getting a triple scoop of God's blessings. I like what Lisa said. She says, God is so good, he's given me my children, and I never had to spend one week being pregnant. God wants to do the same for every one of you.

Don't get discouraged. Don't go around all sour. I'll do it's just not fair. I tried to raise my children in church, and now they're getting off course. I tried to eat right and exercise. Now my health has gone downhill. No, life may not be fair, but know this today. God is He is a God of justice. And the great news is he loves you. And he not only wants to restore what's been stolen, he wants to make the enemy pay. But understand, this doesn't happen automatically. You've got to do like Lisa and Kevin and have that restoration mentality. You've got to be prisoners of hope. Some of you are learning to live with things that are far less than God's best. You say, Joel, you don't know. This man walked out of my marriage. I'm sure I'll never be happy. again? Have you ever thought about that God can bring you somebody else? He's God. He created the whole universe. And just because somebody has hurt you in the past doesn't mean you're supposed to go through life, lonely and defeated. God has somebody else. Get your hopes up. Believe for restoration. Believe for good things. Have a good friend of mine. And for many years, he was happily married,

living a good life, good family, good job. But one day out of the blue, his wife, his wife walked in and said she was leaving him for this other man. They were both good Christian people. She had just been swept off her feet by this man. There's nothing he could do to change her mind. And here he had invested over 25 years into this relationship. He was so devastated, so heartbroken. He looked like he had aged 20 years. Once he was the life of the party, now he was quiet and reserved. Once he was full of joy, full of enthusiasm, now there was no smile on his face. Every time I saw him, I did my best to encourage him, and I'd tell him what I'm telling you today, that God is going to restore.

Somehow, some way, God is going to make this up to you. And for several years, he believed for his wife to come back home. But unfortunately, she chose to marry that other man. But see, God saw that injustice. God sees when you're doing the right thing, but somebody else makes a decision to cause you heartache and pain. We have to understand God will not make a person do what's right. We all have our own free will. We can all choose.

You know as well as I do, sometimes a person will make a choice that causes us a lot of pain. And even though God will not force them to do what's right, he has promised that he'll not only pay us back, but he'll pay us back with double. One day this friend called me, I'll never forget it. He was on cloud nine. God had brought someone new into his life, and he had recently gotten married. He said, Joel, I never thought I would feel this way again, but I can honestly tell you, I'm happier today than I've been in all of my life. See, God took that injustice.

He took that adversity and used it to take him to a new level of joy, a new level of victory. Friends, God knows how to restore. You may not see how it could ever happen in your life, but that's okay. That's not your part. your part is to believe. 84 years ago today, my father was born in a small Texas town. Daddy was a great father for us children.

I loved him dearly. I worked with him here at the church for some 17 years. We traveled all over the world together, spent so much time. Daddy and I were best friends. He was my hero. And I used to think, man,

I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to my dad. After all, my whole world was tied up around him. him. But as you know, a little over six years ago, Daddy breathed his last breath and he finished his course here on this earth. And what I thought would be the end for me was really only the beginning. In my darkest hour, God brought me out with more joy, more peace, more victory. See, God said he'd be a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He said he would be the father to the

fatherless. I can tell you today, I am more fulfilled now than I've ever been in all of my life. God has done more than I can even ask her thing. You know, I say that to say, even in your darkest hours, God can still restore. He can still give you a new beginning. We all go through disappointments. We all have unfair things happen. That's just a part of life. But don't get sour.

God is a God of justice. He can still make it up to you. And when the enemy does his very best, our attitude should be, I'm not going to lose my joy. I know he's just put me in position to receive double. somebody is talking about you at work. Somebody's trying to ruin your reputation. No big deal. I know God's going to give me twice the honor.

Somebody walks out of that relationship like they did on my friend. I know that's difficult at first, but eventually your attitude should be good riddance. I know God's going to bring me somebody twice as good. Twice as fun. Friends, God not only wants to restore, he wants to make the enemy pay. And some of you need to have a big,

bigger vision. You've been through tough times, but now you're just sort of accepting mediocrity. But no, God is saying today he wants to restore double joy, double peace, double wisdom, double honor. Why don't you dig your heels in and make a decision from this day forward, you're going to be a prisoner of hope. You're going to start believing for God to restore your dreams, restore your health, restore your family, restore your finances. If you will have this restoration mentality, God promises he will take every set, back and he'll use it to your advantage. And you won't just come out okay. You'll come out improved and increased better off than you were before. Amen. How many of you receive it today?

Well, 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. Friends, if you, 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. Do you have a dream that's waiting to happen? But it often feels like you'll never get there. Is your dream? To start a business? To see a loved one come to the Lord. Are you asking God, will it ever happen? Sometimes it feels like our dream is so far off, but I believe you're closer than you think.

You're on the verge of seeing things change in your favor, new doors opening, the right people showing up. I'd love to send you our new hopes and dreams, 2024 planner. It's not only a calendar, but it has scriptures and inspiration, a place to journal. It'll help you stay focused and encouraged so you can see your dreams come to pass. As you support the ministry this month with a special end of year gift of any amount, we would like to bless you with the hopes and dreams 2024 planner. With the new planner, you will start the new year with fresh ideas, fresh hope, and endless possibilities.

You'll find monthly calendars and plenty of space to plan for a better day ahead. Plus, there are inspiring scriptures and thoughts that will encourage you to believe for your dreams. Thank you so much for your prayer and support, your year-in giving. You're making a difference around 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 every Sunday morning, see all the music and ministry, and you can download our daily podcast.

We hope you and your family have a very blessed Christmas season and a healthy, productive, favor-filled 2024. Be sure to request your copy of the Hopes and Dreams 2024 planner today. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call us toll-free.