Joel Osteen Podcast - God Works All Things For Your Good | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: October 19, 2023

Sometimes we get so focused on what didn't work out that we forget God is still in control. You have to remember, that setback is not permanent. One day you'll look back and see everything come together in God's plan for your life. 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.

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. God bless you. It's always our joy to come into your homes.

We love you and we know God has great things in store. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you it will make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out today. day. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this husband

and wife. They'd been arguing and now they were giving each other the silent treatment. The man had to catch a flight early the next day, and he needed his wife to wake him up at 5 in the morning. Not wanting to break the silence, he wrote a note and put it on her side of the bed

that said, please wake me up at 5. The next morning, he got up at 8. He missed his flight. He was so upset. He went and to ask why she didn't wake him up. And he noticed a piece of paper on his side of the bed. He opened it up. It said, get up.

It's five. 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. you. I want to talk to you today about how God works all things for our good. And every person goes through disappointments and things that don't seem to make sense. It's easy to get discouraged and think, why did this happen to me? Why did my loved one not make it? Why did this person treat me wrong? Why did I get laid off? Had a man recently tell me how he lost his job after so

many years and he just didn't understand it. He said, Joel, I gave that company my best, was always there on time, I was loyal, it's just not right. We have to understand, even though life is not always fair, God is fair. And he promises in Romans 828 that all things work together for our good. I believe the key word is together. In other words, you cannot isolate one part of your life and say, well, this is not good. It's not good that I got laid off. It's not good that my child got sick. It's not good that my relationship didn't work out. Yes, that's true, but that's just one part of your life. God can see the big picture. That disappointment is not the end. Your life doesn't stop because of one setback. That's simply one piece of your puzzle. There's another piece coming that's going to connect

it all. It's going to work together for your good. My children and I used to love to make chocolate chip cookies, and we'd been doing it so long since they were two or three years old, we didn't even have to look at the directions anymore. We knew exactly what they took. So Jonathan

would go get the brown sugar and the eggs, and Alexander would grab the flour, the bacon soda, the vanilla. I'd get the bowls and the mixer. We were very precise to put in the exact right amount and the exact order it was called for.

You had to have separate bowls, and at one point you mix the contents of the smaller bowl into the larger ball. You beat one egg in at a time, and if you really want it to taste good, it's very important how much goes in and when it goes in. I remember one time we forgot to put the bacon soda in.

I thought, no big deal, just a little teaspoonful. How could that matter in such a large bowl? But when we got those cookies out, They were as flat as could be. They didn't rise one bit. They were tasteless. Nobody would eat them.

It was like something Victoria had cooked. I know I got to go out to eat today. Victoria's a great cook. She is a master of the microwave. What was the problem with our cookies? An ingredient was left out. A small amount made a huge difference. And some people are bitter on.

life because they haven't waited for all their pieces to come together. God has promised a great plan for you. He has predestined you to live in victory. When things happen that you don't understand, things that don't make sense, don't get stuck there. God has some more ingredients coming your way. You may feel like your life is kind of flat today, flatten your finances, flatten your career, flatten your marriage. But all God has to do is add some of his bacon, that'll cause you to rise to a new level. You've probably seen that chef on television, Chef Emerald.

When he adds an ingredient, he always says, bam. Just imagine God puts a little bit of favor, bam, a healing, bam, a good break, bam. Some of you are lonely. All God has to do is bam, a divine connection. Maybe you're at odds with a child, bam, supernatural restoration. I don't know about you, but I'm expecting some bams in my life.

I'm expecting God to add the right ingredients. That means the right people, the right opportunities, the right breaks at just the right time. You may have had some disappointments. Life may not have treated you fair, but you wouldn't be alive if God didn't have another victory in your future. That setback was not the end. That breakup you went through years ago, it may not have made sense, but there's another piece coming that's going to pull it all together. Don't be impatient. It's not over until God says it's over. The fact is, we all have things that if we isolate

them, we don't understand. But if you will just keep pressing forward, one day you will look back and see how it all played into a master plan that God had designed for your life. But the problem is when we isolate these negative experiences and we wonder why something has happened to us, it causes us to get better. And I know people, right now that are mad at God, they're soured on life, no joy, no enthusiasm. It's because they went through a disappointment, went through something unfair. And instead of believing that God was still in

control, believing that it was going to lead to a new beginning, they isolate that incident, and they think, well, why did God let this happen to me? But everything is not going to make sense on its own. We have to have a deep inner trust, a confidence down in here, that says, I know God has a great plan for my life. I know he is directing my steps. And even though I may not understand this, I know it's not a surprise to God. And somehow, some way, he's going to work it out to my advantage.

Imagine one day we decided we don't have time to make the chocolate chip cookies. Let's just get the ingredients out and eat them separately. Jonathan, go ahead. You start. Here's a cup of brown sugar. Here's a teaspoon of vanilla to wash it down with. Here's a raw egg.

Here's your two cups of flour. Now, Jonathan, you officially have chocolate chip cookies on the inside. Somehow, it's just not the same. The key is it all works together. It's got to be just the right mix put in just at the right time if it's really going to taste good. In the same way, you can't isolate one part of your life and think, oh, this doesn't taste good.

My life is sour, Joel. I went through a divorce. or I lost a loved one that was so close to me. I started a business that didn't make it. I've been through so much. No, that's just one ingredient. It's not supposed to taste good by itself. It's got to be

mixed together. When you go through disappointments, when you're in slow seasons, don't get discouraged. All your ingredients are not in yet. Remember, a little bit of bacon soda can make a huge difference. That means just a little break.

Just meeting one new person. Just getting one new idea, just one touch of God's favor, can turn the sour into sweet, the sorrow into joy, the morning into dancing. I read about a young man, he wasn't wanted

by his parents. He was given up for adoption at six weeks of age. When he turned two, he developed a mysterious illness that kept him from growing properly. First, they thought it was something like cystic fibrosis. They ruled that out. For six years he was in, and

and out of the hospitals, trying to find what was wrong. Eventually, he got a little better, started growing, but he was still very small. His dream in school was to play sports, baseball, basketball, football, but he was way too small. Now, make matters worse, some of the kids bullied him, made fun of him, called him names. Didn't look like God had a plan. Didn't seem to make sense. But remember, it's not over until God says it's over. All he needed was a few more ingredients. All he needed was a few more ingredients, being left by his parents, being rejected. That isolated on its own is very distasteful. Spending years in and out of the hospital, that alone can be very discouraging. But that's not the end of the process. When God begins to add some of his ingredients, when he mixes in a spoonful of

his favor and a cup of his goodness, and he sprinkles a few of his supernatural breaks, then all the sudden, what was very distasteful by itself, mixed together with the right ingredients, becomes very tasteful. And even though he couldn't play those kind of sports, he knew that wasn't the end of his story. He knew God didn't make any mistakes. He started going to ice skating lessons with his sister. It wasn't long before the coach noticed he was an extremely gifted skater. Long story short, he started training for the Olympics. All the experts told him he was too small. You don't have a chance.

You're just wasting your time. But listen, you are not who people say you are. You are who God says you are. Scott Hamilton went on to win every national and international skating championship for four straight years, including the 1984 Olympic gold medal. And in the natural, you may not see how you could

accomplish your goals. You don't see how you could fulfill what God's put in your heart. But know today, all of your ingredients are not in. When we're making those cookies, our favorite thing is to put the chocolate chips in. That's what gives them the flavor and makes them look so tasty. Some of you today, you haven't had your chocolate chips put in yet. Why are you soured on life? You don't know what God has in your future.

Get your joy back, your vision back. Quit dwelling on all your disappointments and why you're soured. went through what you went through. I'll shake that off and have the attitude. I've had my flour put in. I've been through the mixing process. Now I know I'm close to those chocolate chips. I know just a few more ingredients

and God's going to bring it all together and cause it to work out for my good. One time when Moses was leading the people of Israel, they'd been traveling through the wilderness day after day without any water. They were so thirsty. They didn't know if they could make it. They finally came to this river.

They were so excited. Their dream had come true. They rushed over there to drink it, but when they tasted the water, it was bitter. They couldn't drink it. It was too sour. Have you ever come to a place in life where you thought it would be your dream come true? You thought you would have finally accomplished a goal, but all of a sudden something didn't work out. You spent years building a business, maybe even working there.

You're ready to retire only to find. that it's not going to happen, it's not going to last. I talked to a young lady. She was so excited about having a baby. It was her first child, and she and her husband were getting the nursery, already, everything prepared. But unfortunately, she wasn't able to carry the child full term. She had a miscarriage. Those waters were bitter. In 1981, our family was looking forward to having a big Christmas together. It was going to be a fun time, a family, and friends. But on December, the 11th, we got the news that my mother had terminal cancer and given just a few weeks to live. What we thought would be a season of celebration ended up being a very bitter season.

That's what happened to these people. There was no water to drink. They were so thirsty and they began to complain to Moses. They got so discouraged. They thought it was all over. But no, God still had a plan. God told Moses to put a certain kind of tree in the water. And when he did, those bitter waters were turned into sweet. Now the people could freely drink as much as they wanted. What is God saying? When life turns out bitter, when things seem unfair, I'm not at a loss. I still have an ingredient that I can put in that can turn your bitter waters into sweet.

You may not understand why you went through, what you went through, but don't try to figure it all out. Faith is all about trusting God when you're not. don't understand things. Some people get so caught up on why God didn't answer their prayers. Things like God, you could have healed my loved one. God, you could have restored my marriage. God, you could have

kept me from getting laid off. Listen, here's what I've learned. Don't ever put a question mark where God has put a period. When something is over and done, let it go and move on to the next chapter in your life. It may be bitter, but God has another ingredient.

there's something in your future that's going to turn the sour into sweet. I know a gentleman that worked for many years for a major newspaper. He was getting close to retiring, but at the last minute, they had to let him go. Those waters were bitter. He understood this principle. He didn't get

soured on life, go around complaining. He stayed in faith, believing that God would open up another door. His dream was always to write books. And he had done a few here and there on the side, while he was working as a reporter, but he never had the courage to really step out and do it full time.

But not long after he was laid off, he got a call from a publishing agent asking if he was available to work on a major book with a well-known author. He took that opportunity, and today he's living his dream. He's doing what he always wanted to do.

He told how if he had not been laid off, he wouldn't have been available. That agent would have never called him. What am I saying? God has another ingredient. When one door closes, God's going to open up another door. If you will stay in faith, it'll be a bigger and a better door. And I've found sometimes, like this gentleman, if we don't have the courage to take a step of faith, God will give us a push to get us out of our comfort zone.

Those bitter waters may be a blessing in disguise. No, it's not good that you lost your job, but it could be good if it causes you to stretch. the next level, or if it causes you to go back to school, go back to college. It's not good that you get a bad report about your health, but it can be good if it causes you to get back in shape. It wasn't good when my father went to be with the Lord. We prayed, we believed, the waters were bitter. But really, it was those bitter waters that forced me out of my comfort zone. That's when I really stepped into my divine destiny. The symbol for the word, the symbol for the word crisis in Chinese is made up of two words, danger and opportunity. In every crisis, in every loss,

and every disappointment, there's both danger to get bitter, to stay sour, to settle where we are, and there's opportunity. We can grow. We can step out in faith. We can stretch to the new things that God has in store. I've talked to a lot of people that went through Hurricane Katrina. They lost everything. And I told them, you can accept the hand that you've been dealt, seeing this as an opportunity to meet new friends, to live in a new city, to have a new job, or you can fight it. You can resist it, get bitter, live with a chip on your shoulder.

The choice is up to you. There's both danger and opportunity in every crisis. There's a couple that's here every weekend. Find people, faithful people. they lost their teenage daughter to cancer. We prayed and believed with them for many, many years. She made it a lot longer than she was supposed to, but one day she went home to be with the Lord.

As you can imagine, that was some bitter waters. They didn't understand it. Even though it was difficult, they committed it into God's hands. Today, that couple is a shining example of how God can turn the sour into sweet. Every time I see them, they radiate God's goodness. Whenever I meet someone that's lost a young person, they're the first people I think of. I always ask them to call. They went through a major crisis. I can't think of anything bigger.

They face danger. They could easily be negative, bitter, angry people. Blaming God, why did this happen? But no, in that crisis, they saw the opportunity. They saw a chance to receive God's grace. and today they're helping others to make it through. God wants to show His grace through you. When you go through a crisis and instead of getting bitter, you believe that God is still in control. You stay hopeful and believe that he's going to open up a new door. Then you too will become a face of grace.

You will not only see God's goodness in a greater way, but you will inspire others to keep moving forward into the good things God has in store. I love the way Job put it. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him? The reason Job had this unwavering trust was because he knew God was still on the throne. When we go through things that don't make sense,

things that we don't really understand, we've got to be able to say with Job, I'm not worried about it. I know God is still in complete control of my life. I know he's got me in the palm of his hand. This may look like the end, but I know God has a new beginning. These waters may be bitter right now,

but I know God has another ingredient that's going to turn them into sweet. Weeping may endure for a night, but I know a secret, joy is coming in the morning. The scripture talks about how all of our days have been written in God's book. He's already recorded every part of your life from the beginning to the end.

God knows every disappointment, every loss, every challenge. The good news is your story ends in victory. Your final chapter concludes with you fulfilling your God-given destiny. Here's the key. When you go through a disappointment, when you go through a loss, don't stop on that page. You've got to keep moving forward. There's another chapter in front of you, but you've got to be willing to walk into it. sometimes we get so focused on what didn't work out, why I went through that divorce and why I didn't get that promotion that I worked so hard for. Listen, you've been on that page long enough. You've reread that chapter 450 times. Let it go and move into the new chapter God has in store.

You may not understand everything you went through, but if you just keep pressing forward, not letting the bitterness take root, you will come to a chapter in your future that will pull it all together, a chapter that'll cause it to make sense. I was talking to this couple not long ago. They have a son, and they've always had a good relationship with him. In fact, they used to work together, but somehow they got crossways, and now this son won't speak to them. He moved to another city.

They don't even have a phone number. They don't know how to get in touch with him. You can imagine, they're just very concerned, very discouraged. I told them what I'm telling you, that is not your final chapter. There's another chapter coming. Somewhere in your future is a restoration chapter. It may be a month or a year or 10 years, but don't get stuck on that page. Keep praying.

Keep believing. That chapter will come to an end. The bitter waters will be turned into sweet, and you'll see that relationship restored. You've got to get a vision for it. You've got to let the seed take root. Some of you are ready to go to a new chapter, but you've got to be willing to let go of the old. What's behind you is not near as important as what's in front of you. And everything you've been through was to get you prepared for where you are right now.

Those disappointments, those challenges were never meant to destroy you. They were meant to strengthen you, to build your character, to give you the fortitude you need to accomplish your God-given destiny. You may have had unfair things happen, things that you don't understand, but let me tell you, you have come too far, to stop now. You need to dig your heels in and say, I may not understand it. It may not have been fair, but I am not getting stuck on this page. I know God has another chapter with my name on it, and that chapter is full of blessing, full of favor, full of victory. Our little daughter, Alexandra,

used to love to put puzzles together. And when she was about five years old, every couple weeks, we'd go buy a puzzle and sit down and work on it. And sometimes it would take us two or three days. And invariably, we would find a piece of that puzzle that didn't look like it was going to fit anywhere. We would try every option that we could see here and there, but still nothing. Finally, I would always think the manufacturer must have messed up and left a piece out. Or somebody came by at night and took it off the table, or the dog got a hold of it. But this piece is a mistake. It does not fit anywhere.

But what's interesting, every time when we got the puzzle closer to being finished, more the pieces came together, all the sudden that piece would fit perfectly into place. What was the problem earlier? All the other pieces weren't together yet. Some of you today you have issues that you don't understand and you're wondering, Joel, if God is so good, why did my life turn out like this? Or why did I go through that divorce? Why didn't I get that promotion? Just doesn't seem to make sense. Yes, that's true on its own, but it's because you have pieces to your puzzle that have not yet come together. If you will stay in faith before long, you will see how every setback, every disappointment, even a loss, that was simply another

piece of your puzzle. If it had not happened, it would not have connected you to the great things that God had in your future. He heard about this young lady. Her dad had had a heart transplant and he seemed to be doing well. Everything was going good, but several months later, she got got an unexpected call saying that her father suddenly had died. He didn't make it. She was in another city working on her master's degree. She immediately went to the airport, so upset, so heartbroken. And as she was sitting there at the gate area with her head down, just sobbing and sobbing,

she felt these loving arms put around her. And a young man said, ma'am, what's wrong? She immediately recognized the voice. She looked up and it was Kevin Costner, the movie actor. she told what was wrong and how her father had passed away. He stayed there the whole time comforting her, letting her know that everything was going to be all right. In fact, several times some of his people came and tried to get him to go catch his own flight,

but he wouldn't go. He stayed with her until she was ready to board. Just as they were leaving, he mentioned that he was going to be back in that city a couple of months later filming a movie. He asked her to stop by and let him know how she was doing. Several months later, she was driving across town, running in Erin. She had some papers to deliver for her company. Traffic was all backed up.

When she got up, she noticed they were filming a movie over on the park area over there. She wondered if it was the one with Kevin Costner. She didn't have time to stop. She was in a hurry and didn't want to bother him. When she was coming back from that errand, she gotten some more traffic, looked over. It was another part of a movie. This time she stopped. Indeed, it was the movie with Kevin Costner.

She told the security guard to tell Kevin that the lady that was sobbing in the airport was here. Sure enough, they brought her right over to Kevin and he was just as kind and warm as he was before and offered her a place to sit and watch the scene take place. In a few minutes, an executive in charge of the production came and sat by the young lady,

just being friendly and explaining what the scene was all about and how it all worked. Those two just hit it off, like they were old friends. That night, The lady called her mother and said, mom, today I met the man of my dreams. I met the man I'm going to marry. Sure enough, they started dating, fell in love. One year later, they got married.

Who would have ever thought sitting in an airport, grieving the loss of her father, would be a significant piece of her puzzle that God would use to connect her with somebody she'd spend the rest of her life with? What am I saying? God has the right pieces to make your puzzle fit together. That puzzle may not make sense right now, but don't get discouraged. There's another piece coming that's going to pull it all together. Don't get stuck on that page.

God has some more ingredients for your life. Ingredients that will turn the sour into sweet. Ingredients that will turn morning into dancing. Even ingredients that will lift you out of mediocrity into a life of abundance. And sometimes by faith you just need to hear it. Hear God saying it, bam, another divine connection. Bam, another breakthrough. Bam, another supernatural opportunity.

Bam, another wall coming down. Get ready for some bams in your life. You have not seen your best days. They are still in your future. If you will learn to shake off the bitterness and not dwell on unanswered questions, but really believe that God is in complete control, then God is going to show up and show out in unusual ways.

He'll take your scars and turn them into stars. He'll take the mess and make it into your, a message. When you come to the end, you'll be able to say, I finish my course. I fulfilled my destiny. God worked all things together for my good. 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? 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's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 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. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time.