Joel Osteen Podcast - Living An Overcoming Life Of Victory | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: October 3, 2025

God never created us to be overcome; He created us to be overcomers. When you keep Him in first place, His favor, mercy and protection will surround you. No matter how long it’s been or how impossible it seems,God can still turn your story around.This October, we’re offering a powerful devotional to help you renew your hope, rise in strength, and believe for more. RequestTurnaroundtoday andget ready for your comeback!https://bit.ly/3IoICUP 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. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes.

We love you and we believe you're going to have a blessed, prosperous year. God honors the people that honor him. 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 we'll make you feel, right at home. But thanks for tuning in. Thanks for coming out today. I like to start with something funny. And one day up in heaven, God told the men, I want you to form two lines. One line for the men who were the head of the house and the other line for the men who let the women be the head of the

house. The line where the woman ran the house was a hundred miles long. There was only one man in the other line. God said, men, I'm ashamed to you. I created you to be the head. But you let your wife dominate you, only one man stood up to make me proud. He turned to him and said, son, tell him how you managed to be the only one in this line. The man looked confused and said, I don't know. My wife told me to stand here.

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 living and overcoming life of victory. Every person has challenges and setbacks. We all have things that come against us, but God never created us to be overcome. He created us to be the overcomer. And our attitude toward our problems is what's really important. What do we do when a situation is not working out? It's going on month after month. It's tempting to get sour, to start expecting the worst. Or what if we get a negative medical

report or our child gets into trouble and our mind starts going 90 to nothing playing out all the terrible scenarios? It's easy to get down and discouraged. If we go around thinking it's never going to work out, it's never going to get better, that limits what God can do. But when we face difficulties and we dig our heels in, knowing that God is bigger than our problems and that he already has a way out and we fight the good fight of faith, that's what allows God to show up and turn negative situations around. And the scripture says here in Isaiah 5417, no weapon formed against you will prosper. This is your heritage as children of the Lord.

Notice you have a heritage. You have rights and privileges because you belong to Christ. When you chose him, God put a bloodline around you that the enemy cannot cross. As long as you're keeping him first place, you have a hedge of protection, a hedge of favor, a hedge of mercy. It's surrounding you like a shield. When difficulties come and at times it looks like it's never going to get better, God is saying, because you're his child, because you honor him, even though that problem has formed, in the end, it is not going to prosper. When it's all said and done, it's not going to harm you.

God is going to turn it around and use it to your advantage. But it doesn't say that if we stay in faith and we do our best, we'll never have a problem. No, life is full of difficulties. The promise God is making us here is when things do come against us. If our child gets into trouble, if we get a negative medical report, if people are talking behind our back, God says the problem may form. You can't stop it from happening, but because you're in covenant relationship with him, you can stay in peace knowing that it is not going to prosper. This is a part of your heritage. The mistake we make so often is we don't know who we are. We don't know what really belongs to us. And so when a problem arises, we get down, we go around complaining, expecting the worst.

All that does is stop God from working. You have to be in faith in order to activate God's promises. When difficulties come and you're tempted to get upset, you need to remind yourself, this is not going to prosper. They may be talking about me. It may look bad, but I know God is my vindicator. He'll take care of them. My child may be on the wrong path.

He's running with the wrong crowd, but let me tell you, As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. Or the medical report about me may look kind of discouraging, but I'm not worried. I know God has me in the palm of his hand. I know God created my body, and he said with long life, he would satisfy me. You have to keep reminding yourself,

this problem didn't come to stay. It came to pass. It may have formed. I can't stop it from coming, but I don't have to get worried. I know God is still on the throne, and he's promised it is not going to prosper. I love to think about how God is in control of everything.

He's even in control of our enemies. You remember the story of Job. He had all kinds of adversity, all kinds of tough times. But those difficulties were not a surprise to God. That didn't catch God off guard. The scripture says the enemy had to ask permission before he could touch Job. He couldn't bring one thing against him.

without God allowing him to. And so when we face problems, there's a real peace when we understand God is in complete control, not just of me and my circumstances, but God is even in control of my enemies. That means there's no person that can keep you down, no sickness too great, no trouble, no calamity that can keep you from ultimately living in victory. We are in a fixed fight. the outcome has already been determined. God always causes us to triumph. He had the solution before we ever had the problem. God had a way out before we even encountered the difficulty. He has it all arranged. I may not understand the theology of it all.

Sometimes it may not seem fair and we wonder why something has happened. But bottom line is this. God is still on the throne and he is promised if we will stay in faith, no weapon formed against us is ever going to prosper. And some of you right now, you're in difficult times and you've just about convinced yourself that it's never going to get better. It's never going to work out. But if you could only see right up ahead, God has great things in front of you. Instead of dragging around thinking, I'll never get out of this mess, you need to have the attitude. This is my heritage. I'm a child of the most high God. This problem may have formed, but it is not going to prosper. If God be for me, who does? even be against me. We have to have this attitude of faith. We got to know deep down in here that ultimately is going to work out for our advantage. It may take a month or a year or 20 years,

but when it's all said and done, God has promised you're going to come out of it better off than you were before. And sometimes we're having problems because we're doing something wrong. We're making poor choices. But other times we're having difficulties because we're doing something right. When you're determined to fulfill your God-given destiny, you're taking steps to improve your life and make a difference in your family, in your community. Don't be surprised if you face opposition. The enemy is not going to just roll out the red carpet and let you fulfill your God-given destiny. When you face difficulties, don't automatically assume, I must be doing something wrong, get all down and discouraged. No, it could be very well that you're doing something

right. The Apostle Paul said this. A wide door of opportunity is open for me, and there are many adversaries. I found any time we try to go forward in life, anytime you try to make progress, there will be opposition. I remember when we signed the lease for this place, the former compact center. After working on it for over three years, it was a great day of victory. But immediately, at that same time, a large company filed a lawsuit against the city to try to keep us for moving in. This company is the largest taxpayer in Texas. They're a huge organization, and they wanted to build big office towers here. And in the natural, it didn't look like we had a chance. We were tempted to think, maybe this isn't the right move for us. I mean, everything's coming against us. We couldn't

celebrate the victory 24 hours before we had another major obstacle in our path. We had to do just what I'm asking you to do. We had to shake that off and say, no, this is our heritage. God, you promised, even though this problem has formed, it is not going to prosper. We stayed in faith month after month. When it looked impossible, we just kept believing. When we didn't see anything happening, we kept reminding ourselves that God was working behind the scenes. When it looked like they had the upper hand, we'd say, Father, we thank you that you're in control, even of our enemies.

A year and a half later, we got a phone call out of the blue from the other side saying they wanted to talk. Long story short, God supernaturally turned it around, worked it out in our favor. Here we are today. But what am I saying? Don't get discouraged by opposition. Don't give up on your dreams because things are coming against you and it's taken a long time. Stay in faith. It's not over until God says it's over. And the good news is God is still on the throne. and even when it looks impossible, God can still make a way. And the fact is, the difficult times are times of testing. That's when we're showing God what we're made of. That's when our character is being developed.

Anybody can get discouraged. Anybody can give up and quit believing. But if you're going to become everything that God's created you to be, you've got to have a deep resolve. You can't be moved by every criticism, every disappointment, every unfair situation, you've got to make up your mind, you are in it for the long haul. If it takes a year or five years or 30 years, you're going to stick with it and see your dreams come to pass. And even when we make mistakes, even when we bring trouble on ourselves,

God is so merciful, he'll still bring us out. I think about Jonah. God told him to go to a certain city, but he didn't want to go. And he went in just the opposite direction. He totally disobeyed. He got on a big ship and they got into a storm. They ended up throwing Jonah overboard. He should have drowned. He should have been killed. It would have been his own fault, his own poor choices, but God is so good he had a well sitting there waiting for him. Jonah was swallowed by that well. He spent three days in the belly of the fish. The problem had definitely formed. But thank God, it still was not going to prosper. The scripture says in the New Testament, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, so will the son of God be in the

heart of the earth for three days. God not only turned that around for Jonah and gave him another chance, but God used Jonah as an example to show how prophecy would be fulfilled. In other words, even when Jonah went wrong, God turned it around. and still made it right. You may have made poor choices. You don't feel like you deserve God's goodness. You think you're supposed to suffer through life and just endure that problem

and just kind of barely make it through. But friends, this is what mercy is all about. We've all made mistakes. We've all made choices like Jonah. But that doesn't change our heritage. God doesn't kick us out of the kingdom because we're not perfect. You are still the apple of God's eye.

You are still his most prized possession. You know how you activate God's promises by believing. You need to shake off the guilt and condemnation, put your shoulders back and say, I refuse to live below my privileges. I may not be perfect, but I am forgiven. I may have made mistakes, but God knows my heart is to please him.

Even though I may have brought this trouble on myself, I will stay in faith and expect God to turn it around. You say, Joel, you don't know the mistakes. I've made. You don't know the things that are coming against me. You don't know how in debt I am. I may not know any of that, but I do know our God. And he's bigger than anything that you're facing. He can turn any situation around. One angel in the Old Testament destroyed 180,000 of the enemies of God. And right now, there's a whole army of the most powerful forces in the universe that are backing you up. when you release your faith by believing, by expecting, by calling on the name of the Lord,

all the forces of heaven come to attention. Not because of how perfect we've lived. It's not because of who we are. It's because of whose we are children of the most high God. I read a story about a little bear, little baby cub. He was out in the woods playing one day, just having a great time. all of a sudden this huge lion approach from a distance and started slowly walking toward him. The little cub was terrified. He couldn't even move. He just stood there staring at the lion. When that line got about 20 feet away, just when he was about to attack, suddenly the lion froze in his tracks. He started backing up and eventually he turned around and ran away. The little cub thought to himself, I must be pretty powerful. I must look pretty impressive to scare away a big lion like.

that. What the cub didn't realize was Mama Bear had walked up behind the cub. The lion wasn't afraid of the cub. It was afraid of who was backing him up. We all know don't miss with Mama. But we need to realize who's backing us up. The creator of the universe is on our side. The God who spoke the worlds into existence. He's called the Great I Am. He's saying today, I am everything you need. I am your strength. I am your wisdom. I am your protection. I am your provider. I am your waymaker. I am your problem solver. I am your dream giver. I am your victory. David put it this way in Psalm 138. Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through. Your fist is clenced against my enemies. Your power will save me. Some of you feel like David.

you're surrounded by all kinds of difficulties. You're tempted to just settle right where you are. But you need to get your fire back, get your enthusiasm back. Even though that problem may have formed, even though it looks impossible, you need to start declaring all through the day, this problem is not going to prosper. God is bringing me safely through.

His fists are clenced against my enemies. You've got to have an attitude of faith. Now, I've learned to not get discouraged by opposition. Don't get discouraged when you have difficulties. When everything comes against you, very often, that's because God has something great in store. You think about the three Hebrew teenagers, Chadrach, Mijiac, and Abednego. They refused to bow down to the king's golden idol. He got so furious, he had them heat up the furnace seven times hotter than normal.

That's what happens when you're close to a great victory. The fire gets turned up. People start talking about you. Unfair situations come. You get past one obstacle and something else pops up. Why is that? The enemy knows you're close to your victory. This is when many people give up and get sour,

quit coming to church, go around complaining. Why is that? They don't know who they are. They don't know their heritage. The scripture says, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of God will be there to raise up a barrier. And part of our privileges as children of the most high is when problems come.

When life feels overwhelming, God has promised he will always be right there to show up and to safely bring us through. Now, I love the fact about these three teenage boys, they weren't panicked, they weren't full of anxiety, they were in peace. It's because they understood this principle. They knew God was still on the throne. they knew he was still in control and nothing was going to happen to them that was not a part of God's plan. Those officials tied them up

and threw them into the furnace seven times hotter than normal. In a few minutes, the king came to check on him. He was confused. He said, didn't we throw three men in here bound? I see four men loosed and one looks like the son of the living God. The scripture says

God brought them through the fire without even having the smell of smoke. You may feel like you're in the fire today. The heat's being turned up. Everything's coming against you. Let me encourage you. It's because there's something great in store. When the heat gets turned up, it means you're very close to your breakthrough. If you will stay in faith, God will do for you what he did for them.

He'll bring you through the fire without even having the smell of smoke. and this can sound kind of odd, but you can get to the point where when opposition comes and difficulties arise, instead of being discouraged by it, you're encouraged by it. You just turn it around and say, God's taking me to new levels. I know favor, increased promotion must be on their way. I like the way the message translation puts this passage in Isaiah. If anyone attacks you, nothing will come of it. I create the blacksmith that fires a, up his forge and nothing that can harm you has ever been forged. What's God saying? He's in complete control and there's nothing that's ever been created that he's not bigger than. No problem too

large, no sickness too great, no enemy too powerful. So when difficulties come your way, don't get discouraged. Don't go around complaining, expecting the worst. God has you in the palm of his hand. and some of you right now are so concerned about a situation. But if you will come back to that place of peace, if you'll get back to that place of faith, God is saying nothing is going to come of that. He always causes you to triumph. When I look back over my own life,

I can see how every obstacle, every adversity, God has always brought me safely through. Even with the death of my father, probably the most difficult thing that I'd ever faced, God gave me a peace that only He could give. I felt a strength and a resolve like I'd never had before. What is that? It's a part of our heritage. It's what belongs to us as children of Almighty God. God goes on to say, I will see to it that everything will work out for the best. This is what you can expect as my children. Notice what are we supposed to be expecting in times of difficulty? Oh man, this is never going to work out.

my family's never going to be restored. I don't think I'm going to have a very good year this year, Joel. No, get in agreement with God. Start expecting God to change things in your favor. Start expecting him to show up and fight your battles for you. When difficulties come my way, I like to quote the Psalms. God, you said, you oppose those that oppose me. You said the trap the enemy set for me, they would fall in themselves. You said, touch not you're anointed. And God, I know you've an anointed me. And even though this problem has formed, I believe it is not going to prosper. Even though it looks impossible, I know you can do the impossible. So I'm not going to sit around worried, in defeat. I'm going to stay in faith and keep believing that my best days are still

out in front of me. We have to have an attitude of an overcomer. It says in Psalm 91, if we dwell in the secret place of the most high, we will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Then it goes on the list all these promises, all these benefits we can expect if we stay in the secret place. No harm will come near your dwelling. God will command his angels to watch after you. It says God will guard you. He will protect you. He will rescue you. He will show you his favor on and on. But the whole key is to stay in the secret place. What does that mean? Stay close to God. Keep in first place in your life. All through the day, acknowledge him. When you get up in the morning, think him that you're alive and healthy.

Driving to work, meditate on his promises. When you have an important decision to make, take time to get quiet and ask God for his help. Learn to be still and listen to that still small voice. When you live a life of excellence and integrity that honors God, you're in the secret place. That's when you can expect God's favor, his blessing, his protection, his victory. As long as we're in the secret place, we're connected to a supply line that will never run dry. When we're under the shadow of the Almighty, we have a hedge of protection, a hedge of favor that's constantly surrounding us. It'll give you a tremendous advantage. David understood what it meant to stay in the secret place. When he went out to face Goliath,

it's interesting, he never called Goliath a giant. Every one around him did. His brothers, King Saul. They were all talking about his size and how powerful he was. But David didn't acknowledge any of that. He didn't want to give him any extra credit. He said, who is this uncircumcised Philistine? He was saying, this man is not in covenant relationship with our God. He's not living in the secret place. He doesn't have the advantages that we have. David's attitude was, I know who I am, a child of the most high. I've got a hedge of protection or surrounding me. I know when I call on the name of the Lord, all the forces of heaven are backing me up. David knew it wasn't the size of the enemy that matters. It's the size of our

God, and he's all powerful. And in our times of difficulty, it's extremely important what we're saying. when we're in the secret place, it goes on to say, I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my fortress, my God, in him will I trust? Notice it doesn't say we should say of our problems. Don't go around saying, oh, my arthritis is really acting up. No, it's not your arthritis. Don't take ownership of it.

All my child, he's really doing bad. No, don't talk about the size of your problem. Talk about the size of your God. David looked at Goliath and said, This day, I will defeat you and feed you ahead to the birds of the air. He was saying, you may be big, but I know my God is bigger.

David reached down and picked up five smooth stones. Somebody said, if he was so confident, if he had so much faith, why didn't he just get one stone? No, David was smart. He knew Goliath had four brothers. He came prepared. I want us to have the right attitude

concerning the things that come against us. It may be difficult, but God never promised us a problem-free life. The key is in the tough times. When difficulties arise, don't expect it to defeat you. Don't expect the worst. Keep reminding yourself, this problem may have formed, but it is not going to prosper. I read an article about scientists that were researching Alzheimer's disease.

They took these older people that had died, both people that had the disease, and people that didn't have it. And they carefully studied their brains. And they found that many people had lesions on their brains that technically qualified them as having Alzheimer's. But the interesting thing is when these people were alive, they didn't show any signs of the disease. In other words, medically and scientifically, they had Alzheimer's, but the symptoms never showed up. Their minds were sharp, their memory was clear, their reasoning was excellent. The common denominator, they found in these people was that they were positive, they were hopeful, and they stayed productive.

Really, that's what I'm talking about. Just because a problem forms doesn't mean it has to prosper. I don't know about you, but I'm going to believe that no matter what happens to my physical body, God can override it. After all, he's the one that created us. We may have things. We may have things that form because of our natural genetics, our natural heritage, but if we'll stay in faith, we can tap into our spiritual heritage, and the spiritual always overrides the natural. Psalm 91 goes on to say, if you will stay in the secret place,

God will honor you. He will set you on high and give you a long, satisfied life. That's my prayer for each one of you, that you will overcome every obstacle, that you will defeat every enemy, and that you will live a long, satisfied life. Now, I know some of you have had more than your share

of difficulties. But you need to get a fresh vision for your life. You need to start seeing yourself set on high. The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. Because you're living in the secret place, you have an advantage. Almighty God is on your side. Right now, he's protecting you. Right now, he's going before you making crooked places straight. His favor is surrounding you like a shield. That problem may have formed, But I declare it by faith, it is not going to prosper. In the end, you're going to come out better off than you were before. You need to start saying of the Lord, he is my provider, he is my protector, he is my wisdom, he is my strength, he is my victory.

Let me speak it over each one of you. I declare it by faith, you will overcome every obstacle. You will defeat every enemy, every dream, every desire that God's placed in your heart. It will come to pass. You walk in divine health. You have the favor of God. Whatever you touch will prosper. As for you and your family, you will serve the Lord.

I declare in the name of Jesus, you will see God honor you. He will set you on high, and you will live a long, satisfied life. 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. 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. God's healing isn't earned. It's received, and you can discover how in the next 31 days.

a way of wearing us down physically, mentally, emotionally. But God didn't create us to just survive, but to thrive. I'm excited about our new devotional, happy, healthy, and free. For 31 days, I'll take you on a wellness journey for your spirit, body, and soul. It's filled with daily declarations, scriptures, encouragement. As you get your mind in tune with what God says, you'll experience a refreshing, a revitalization. You are created to be strong, to be passionate, to live happy, healthy, and free. When you contact us today, we'll send you happy, healthy, and free, a 31-day wellness journey as our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount.

This devotional will help you strengthen your faith, declare God's promises, and receive the healing he's already made available to you. Spirit, soul, and body. God wants you whole, and this resource will help you experience his peace from the inside out. Please request your copy today. Begin a life-receiving, life-giving journey that will transform your spirit, mind, and body in just 31 days. God is going to restore what the enemy tried to steal, your joy, your peace, your hell. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day.

Thanks so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity is bringing hope to people around the world. 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. Download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube, the new Joel Osteen Network, social media. You can listen on Sirius XM 24 hours a day. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired.

Until we see you next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of happy, healthy, and free. A 31-day wellness journey. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567, Joel. For an additional gift this month, we are also offering the Wholeness and Promise bundle, which includes the Happy, Healthy, and Free Book,

plus the Words of Promise Journal, a beautifully designed journal where you can reflect, record prayers, and speak life over your future. You can also request the happy, healthy, and free collection, featuring the devotional, the journal, and a beautifully crafted set of three desktop encouragement blocks. Each whitewashed wooden block displays one powerful word, happy, healthy, and free,

along with a carefully chosen scripture. Place them in your home or workspace as daily reminders of God's promises for your life. You can request these life-changing resources by calling 888-567, Joel, or logging on to Joel Osteen.com today. Call or click anytime, 24 hours a day. This is your season to rise stronger, live lighter, and walk daily in God's healing and peace. Request your copies today.

If you're a pastor, we'd like to invite you to our pastor's gathering. We'd be honored to spend the day with you here at Lakewood. We'll share some of the things we've learned, insights, and behind the scenes. Be a time of inspiration and encouragement. We'd love to meet you.