Joel Osteen Podcast - God is Preparing the Way for Victory

Episode Date: July 8, 2020

We all face situations that seem impossible, but the scripture says God is going before us making crooked places straight. That means God is arranging the right connections and opportunities to help us accomplish our dreams.Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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See you. Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll leave inspired. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages every week. We appreciate your support. It helps keep the ministry going. Enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you. And we know God has great things in store for each one of you. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. I'll probably. promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in today. And thanks again for coming out. I'd like to start with something funny each week. And of course, you know, these are not doctrinally correct. They're just to make us laugh. But I heard about this man that was walking on the beach. God said, son, you've been so faithful. I'm going to grant you one

special wish. He said, God, I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I'm afraid to fly. So my wish is that you would build me a bridge across the ocean. God said, son, that's totally impossible. Think of the logistics of that. Now, take some time and wish again. He said, okay, God, I've been divorced four times, and all my ex-wives say that I'm so insensitive. So my wish is that I would be able to understand a woman. I want to know why she thinks like she thinks and why she feels like she feels. There was a long pause and God said, do you want two lanes or four lanes on that bridge? 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 bless you. I want to talk to you today about how God is going before you preparing the way for victory. We all face situations. We all face situations.

that seem impossible. It's easy to get discouraged, think that it's never going to work out. But the scripture talks about how God is going before us making our crooked places straight. That means you may not have the connections right now to accomplish your dreams. But you don't have to worry, God is going before you lining up the right people. He's arranging the right breaks, the right opportunities. You may have lost a job, had your hours cut back. It's easy to get negative and think nothing is ever going to change. But you have to realize that loss is not a surprise to God.

He's not up in the heaven scratching his head, thinking, oh, no, now what am I going to do? No, God has already written every day of your life in his book. He knew exactly when that setback would occur. And the good news is he's already arranged a comeback. Before you had the problem, God already had the solution. He is going before you right now, preparing the next chapter of your life. If you will stay in faith and keep the right attitude, it's going to be a better chapter, a chapter with greater victories and greater fulfillment.

At the office, people may be trying to push you down, play in politics. They may have more seniority than you. They may be, quote, more powerful. But when you understand this principle, you won't get upset. You won't go in there and try to play their games and prove to them who you are. No, you'll stay in peace knowing that the most high God, the creator of the universe, the one that controls it all, is going before you. And he promised he will fight your battles.

He will be your vindicator. He will make your wrongs right. If you will stay on the high road and just keep being your best, you will see the hand of God at work in amazing ways. It may not happen overnight, but at the right time. In your due season, God will not only move the wrong people out of the way, but he will pay you back for every injustice. He will make up for lost time and get you to where you're supposed to be. But some of you today are discouraged, thinking that your situation is never going to change.

You don't see anything happening. but if the curtain were pulled back to where you could see into the unseen realm, you would see how right now God is at work arranging things in your favor. He's planning to open this door and bring a certain person across your path. He's getting you lined up in position for the exact right opportunities. He's even looking years down the road and arranging solutions to problems that you haven't even had. As we enter into this new decade, I want us to get this down in our spirit like never before. God is going before me making my crooked places straight.

That means you may have gone through a disappointment, an unfair situation. But don't settle there. Don't sink down into self-pity. In your future, God is already lined up a new beginning, new friendships, new opportunities. It's right up ahead of you. Maybe last year in your finances, in your career, it was a rough year. You had some setbacks, but don't make the mistake of expecting this year to be the same. Get a new vision.

This is a new day. You may have taken a couple of steps backwards in 2009, but let me declare it over you. In 2010, God is going to thrust you forward. He has explosive growth in your future. He's already lined up new sales, new clients, new business, new partnerships. Our attitude should be, yes, the economy. is down, but I'm not worried. I know God is going before me, and he's promised he will make rivers in the desert. He will prosper me even in the midst of a recession. Or the medical report may not look good.

It says that I just have to live with this sickness, but I have another report, and it says that God is restoring health unto me. And I believe in my future, God has already released healing, health, and victory. Or you may have a child that looks like they'll never get back on the right course. In the natural, it seems impossible. But our report should be, I know God can do the impossible. I may not see a way, but I know God has a way. And I believe right now God is going before my child, lining up the right people to come across his path, taking away the wrong people, breaking every force of darkness, opening his eyes to every deception, and giving him the wisdom to make good choices to fulfill his destiny.

One time in the scripture, the people of Israel faced an impossible situation. They could have easily settled where they were. In fact, their parents, the original ones that God brought out of Egypt, they did just that. They thought their enemies were too big. Their obstacles were too great. And this thinking kept them from God's best. Now, many years later, their children and grandchildren were, standing at the Jordan River about to cross over and go into the promised land.

But this land was occupied by incredibly strong, powerful people called the Anokites. They were actually descendants of giants. In the natural, the people of Israel didn't have a chance. You can imagine how intimidated they must have felt, knowing that they had to face these huge warriors. As they stood there at the Jordan, no doubt contemplating whether or not they should go through with it. God gave them a promise that helped push them over. It says in Deuteronomy chapter 9, today you are about to face people much stronger and much more powerful. You've heard the

saying, who can stand up against the Anokites? Here's the promise, but the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you like a devouring fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you can quickly conquer. Some of you today are facing a situation that seems impossible like them. Maybe the people you're up against are much more powerful or the health issue, the financial difficulty, the legal situation looks like you don't have a chance. But God is saying to us what he said to them, the Lord your God will go before you and take care of your enemies so that you can quickly conquer them. You need to get that down in your spirit. You need to get that down in your spirit. you're going to come out of that trouble quicker than you think. God is fighting your battles for you.

You're going to get well quicker than you think. It's going to amaze the doctors. You're going to accomplish your dreams much quicker than you think. Supernatural breaks are coming your way. How could this be? The Lord your God is crossing over ahead of you. I remember when we were trying to acquire this facility, the former compact center, a company filed a loss of to try to keep us from moving in. This had been going on for a little over two years. Now, our attorneys told us it could drag on for another eight to ten years. Even if we were to win the initial lawsuit because of the appeals process, it could go on

for many more years to where we couldn't use the facility. And the people that filed the lawsuit were the biggest taxpayers in Texas, a huge real estate company. It was like David versus Goliath. And we knew that God had given us the facility, but it just seemed like they were so much bigger and stronger, and they had so many more resources. But one thing I've learned from my parents is to find a scripture from God's word, a promise that you could stand on.

And I found this passage, and every day I would say, Father, I want to thank you that even though our opponents are bigger and stronger, I know you are going before us and no person, no company can stand up against you. So I want to thank you that you will defeat them and give us the victory quicker than we think. One day out of the blue, the CEO of the company called, the man that ran the whole business and asked to have a meeting with us.

Our attorneys told us it was just a ploy to try to bring more confusion. But I believed it was the hand of God at work. He flew in from another city. When I met him, the first thing he said was Joel, my wife and I watch you on television each week. My son-in-law is a youth pastor, and I really want to get this situation resolved. Two days later, we had an agreement and the lawsuit was dropped. What could have dragged on for eight or ten years happened in a fraction of the time.

What was that? God going before us, preparing the victory, fighting our battles. That wasn't a coincidence that the CEO watches us on television. television each week. That was God lining up the right people. It wasn't a lucky break that his son-in-law just so happened to be a youth pastor. That was God arranging things in our favor. The scripture says, you've heard the saying, who can stand up against the anarchites? They're big, they're strong, their descendants of giants. In modern day terms, it would be, you've heard the news, the economy is down. The stock market is low. You can't be blessed. You can't be successful this year. You or you've heard what the medical report said, you're never going to get well.

Or you remember what that coach said about you growing up. You're not talented. You don't have what it takes. No, the next time someone says something discouraging about you, or the next time your own thoughts try to convince you how impossible it is, just answer back what God said here. Yes, it may look impossible. Yes, they may be bigger.

All the odds are against me. I'm not denying the facts. But the truth is, I'm not worried about it. I know God has the final say, and he's promised he will cross over ahead of me and defeat them for me. So my declaration is, I will quickly conquer them. See, switch over into faith. Get in agreement with God. Those obstacles that are trying to hold you back, they don't have a chance.

Nothing can stand against our God. When those thoughts come saying, well, you're never going to get well. You're never going to accomplish your dreams. or man, you're never going to overcome that addiction. No, turn it around and make a declaration of faith. I'm going to overcome this addiction quicker than I think. I'm going to get well quicker than I think. I'm going to accomplish my dreams much quicker than I think.

Friends, it's not by our own strength or by our own power. It's because Almighty God, the one who holds our future in his hands, he is going before us, fighting our battles, making crooked places straight. even causing our enemies to want to be good to us. Had a friend tell me not long ago how he was at this government building, taking care of a legal situation. And the man in charge, the man helping him, told him it would take two years for his transaction to go through.

My friend asked very kindly and politely, is there any way that it could happen sooner? The man answered back very gruffly, I said it would be two years, and I mean it's going to be two years. The system is all backed up. I've got so much work in front of you. It'll be a long time before I get to your paperwork. My friend said, well, that's fine. But I'm going to pray and believe that somehow God will cause it to happen sooner. That made him even more aggravated.

And he said back sarcastically, pray all you want, but I'm in charge. And I'm telling you, it's going to take two years. Six weeks later, the man called him back and said, come on in. Your paperwork is ready. My friend thought it was a mistake. He said, are you sure it's mine? He said, yes, I'm sure. He got there as quickly as he could.

He said to the man, thank you so much. But I thought you said it would take at least two years. The man said, I did. But ever since I met you, I can't get you off my mind. I wake up in the morning thinking about you. I eat lunch thinking about you. I go to bed thinking about you. And I am so sick and tired of thinking about you.

Take your paperwork and go. Proverbs 167 says, when you live a life pleasing to the Lord, God will cause even your enemies to want to be good to you. Had a man tell me one time, Joel, I never used to like you, but I couldn't turn you off. I couldn't quit watching you, and now I'm your biggest supporter. That's God crossing over ahead of us, causing our enemies to even want to be at peace with us. Now, I love to think about the fact that before we have the problem, God already has the solution. God has people in your life right now, most likely, that are not necessarily there just for today. But he has them there because in your future, they will be very instrumental.

I met a man one time years ago from another state. He was down at the office for a couple of days installing some equipment. And in that short period of time, we became good friends. We just really hit it off. Over the years, I would only see him once or twice, but just like a little. old times. Twelve years later, Victoria and I came into a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity, and it just so happened that this man was an expert in that field. The first thing I did was call him. He came down, and over a period of a couple of months, he negotiated a very complicated

contract, put it all together, and the business became a huge success. But I thought about how I would not even have pursued that opportunity had I not known that man. I realize now, God brought him into our lives many years earlier, not just for the friendship, but even for that specific purpose. See, friends, God knows what's in your future. He knows every opportunity ahead of you. That's why he's crossing over in front of you to make sure the right people will be there when you need them. And you may think that you just met them by accident. It was just a coincidence. But one day, you'll look back most likely. like I did and see how God used that person in an instrumental way to help you get further

toward your divine destiny. I love this story my brother Paul told not long ago. He and a group of surgeons were in Haiti right after the big earthquake. They were operating on many of the injured people. But one day the main monitor that they were using during surgery to monitor the patient's oxygen levels and blood pressure pulse, things like that, that monitor went out. That monitor went out. And without the monitor, they really couldn't do any more surgeries. It was just too dangerous not to know what was going on with the patient's vital signs. So they told all the help around there and asked the people that worked at the hospital, see if they could find another monitor, but they couldn't find anything. They made phone calls and did everything they could do

still with no monitor. They begin to pray and ask God for favor to somehow bring a monitor so they could continue helping the injured people. Long after that, the administrator of a hospital, a local Haitian man came walking up. His name was Mr. Angus. He was beaming from ear to ear. He was carrying a brand new monitor still in the box, never been used before. And it was the exact monitor that they needed. Paul and the other professionals were so amazed.

And Paul said, Mr. Angus, where in the world did you find this monitor? He said, I was at a hospital administrator. convention in America two years ago, and everyone that attended got automatically entered in for a door prize, and it just so happened, I won this monitor. Two years before the problem, two years before the big earthquake, God had already arranged a solution. And right now, God is crossing over ahead of you lining up the right people, the right supplies, the right circumstances. quit worrying about how it's all going to work out and dare to trust him. Dare to believe that he's in control.

Dare to believe that he's fighting your battles, that he's preparing your way for victory. I heard a story about this college professor that took a group of students to China for a field trip. Several days into the journey, he began to experience incredible pain in his stomach. It got so bad he couldn't stand it. In the middle of the night, he had a friend call an ambulance. and they rushed him to the emergency room. They were way back in a small town with no big hospitals. The medical professional in charge noticed that his appendix had ruptured and it was spreading poison throughout his whole system. There were no surgeons around, really nothing he could do.

He said to the friend, I can give him some pain medication, maybe some sleeping pills, but my advice is that he should make peace with his family. The professor began to have convulsions. and go in and out of consciousness. Back at home in the States, the professor's father is a pastor. And at the exact time this was happening, this father was in a service at his own church, and he began to feel an incredible burden for his son. He tried to ignore it, but it just wouldn't go away. Finally, he stopped the service, and he said to the congregation,

we've got to pray for my son. Something is wrong. They got down on their knees and began to pray. Back at the small hospital, two o'clock in the morning, in walked, one of the most well-known surgeons in all of China. In fact, it's the same surgeon that travels with the U.S. president when he visits China. The hospital was so amazed to see him. He said, I'm here to take care of the American. They rushed him into surgery.

He ended up saving his life. The next day, the surgeon said to the professor, who were those two men that you sent in? into my office yesterday. The professor said, I didn't send anybody in. I don't know anybody here in China. I've just been here for a couple of days. The surgeon said, that's odd, because two men came in, dressed in nice suits. They looked like they were government officials. And they said you were a very important person. And I needed to be here in the middle of the night to operate on you. Friends, that's God crossing over ahead of us, making our crooked places straight. God knows how to make it all work out. Even 7,000 miles away, God had people praying.

And that's why we can live life in peace, not upset, not worried, not trying to figure it all out. We know that God is in complete control. He knows the end from the beginning. God knows what you're going to need a week from now, a month from now, even 10 years from now. And the good news is he's already got it taken care of. But some of you today are so worried about your future, worried about your finances, worried about a child. You just don't see how it could work out. But let me encourage you, God already has a way. He has already lined up the right people to help you fulfill your destiny.

He's already arranged the right breaks to get you to where you're supposed to be. The obstacles in your path may look insurmountable. You don't see how you could ever get out. but God is saying to you what he said to Joshua, be strong and of good courage. You have someone fighting for you. The creator of the universe is breathing in your direction. His hand of favor is upon your life. Right now he is crossing over ahead of you, making your crooked places straight.

As long as you live a life to honor him, God has promised nothing will be able to stand up against you. I think about the airplane that Captain Sullenberger safely landed on the Hudson River in New York. You remember how the plane hit those large birds and both engines lost power. And now they were several thousand feet in the air, 150 or so people on board. The plane had no power. I was reading about Captain Sullenberger's background. He is an incredibly experienced pilot. As a young man, he served in the U.S. Air Force,

flying fighter jets. He received the outstanding airmanship award. He served as a safety consultant for NASA and is considered one of the leading experts in flight safety in all the world. Not only that, Captain Sully is a certified glider pilot. For 36 years, he's been flying planes with no power. There's no one that has more experience and more expertise in flying a plane without any engines than Captain Sully. Isn't it interesting of the tens of thousands of flights that take off and land safely every year without any problem? The one flight that would lose power in all the engines would be piloted by the one man that you would choose to be at the controls if you had planned it 10 years in advance. Friends, God knows what he's doing. He can see the big picture. God knows what's in

your future, every setback, every disappointment, every danger. And God is going to make sure that you're not only at the right place at the right time, but he's going to make sure the people you need will be at the right place at the right time. He is crossing over ahead of you. And if it's not your time to go, don't worry about it. You're not going to go. Nothing can snatch you out of God's hands. Well, you say, Joel, if God's in control, then why didn't he stop the bird? And he's from hitting the engines in the first place. No, God is not going to stop every adversity. He's not going to prevent every challenge. But if we will stay in faith, God promises he will bring us through every challenge and get us to where we're supposed to be. You've heard that saying, God never

promised us smooth sailing, but he did promise us a safe landing. I've discovered that sometimes God will allow things just to display his. goodness in a greater way. Do you know what a testimony that was to see an airplane safely landed in the Hudson River? More people acknowledged God and his goodness that day than just about anything I've ever seen in my lifetime. News reports all over the world led their newscast with that saying miracle on the Hudson. People that don't even believe in God were scratching their head saying that had to be divine intervention. They wouldn't say God, but they got close.

I know people that only use God when it's followed by a curse word. Even they were saying, man, that was God looking after those people. I want you to go out of here today with a new confidence, a new sense of trust, knowing that as a believer, you have an advantage. The creator of the universe is not only fighting your battles, but he is lining up the right people, the right breaks, and the right operations. opportunities. You may be facing a situation that looks like that it's never going to turn around, but let me declare this over you. You're going to see it turn around quicker than you think.

You're going to come out of debt quicker than you think. You're going to accomplish your destiny and your goals much quicker than you think. It's because the most high God is going before you right now preparing the way for victory. Just like with Joshua, God is crossing over ahead of you. just like with Captain Sully, God's going to have the right people in your path. Just like with Paul and the monitor, God has the solution before you had the problem. Just like with me and the lawsuit with the compact center, God is going to cause even your enemies to want to be good to you. Friends, we are entering into a decade where you're going to see God going before you like you've never seen before.

He is going to open up doors that no man can shut. He is going to turn impossible situations around. God is going to take you places that you've never even dreamed of. Why don't you get ready for more of God's favor? Start expecting God to show up an unusual way. If you'll get in agreement with God and release your faith in this area, you will see God do amazing things. You will not only overcome every obstacle and defeat every enemy,

but I believe and declare you will see an Ephesians 320 decade, and exceedingly abundantly above and beyond decade of God's goodness, His favor, His blessing. Amen. Do you receive that today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He'll take your places you've never dreamed up.

Thank you for listening to the Joel Osteen podcast. Help us continue to share the message of hope with those all over the world. Visit Joelosteen.com slash give hope to give a gift today. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. best is still ahead. We'll see you next time. More than ever before, people are turning to the church for their mental health struggles.

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