Joel Osteen Podcast - Seeing Yourself The Way You Want To Be | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: May 2, 2024

How you see yourself can determine the kind of life you're going to live. If you want to be successful, start by picturing yourself as a victor. 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 visitJoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.Three minutes. Every day. Before your feet hit the floor, set your mind on things above with Joel’s new devotional, 3-Minute Mornings. Our May offer contains 365 days of favor and freedom. Put God first place, and you’ll see breakthroughs you couldn’t make happen. Request your copy today, https://bit.ly/4di5pMO.   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 so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024, healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It is always a joy to come into your homes. We love you. 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 for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out today. And I'd like to start with something funny each week. And I heard about this man. He was at the airline ticket counter, hollering and screaming at the agent.

Being so rude, as he continued to rant and rave, the agent remained just as calm and polite as can be. She treated him respectfully as if he didn't even bother her. He left and the next man in line stepped up, said to the agent, wow, I am so impressed. you must be a Christian, how could you possibly treat him so nice? She smiled and said, oh, it wasn't hard. See, he's going to Detroit, but his bags are going to Bangkok.

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 reception,

I will never be the same. In Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about seeing yourself the way you want to be. God created us as visual beings. Every one of us has a mental picture of ourselves, our family, and our future.

How you see yourself will determine what kind of life you live. You will move toward the picture you have in your mind. If you have an image of success, victory, health, happiness, abundance, you will naturally gravitate toward that. But if you have an image of lack, defeat, mediocrity, that will keep you from God's best. If you're going to be successful, you have to first see yourself successful. You will produce what you keep in front of you. When you close your eyes, in your imagination, you need to see yourself the way you want to be.

You've got to look out through your eyes of faith and see yourself rising higher, overcoming obstacles, fulfilling your destiny. The image has to take root on the inside before it will happen on the outside. I call it having a vision of victory. Somebody said, sight has to do with what we can see, but vision has to do with what we can be. The reason some people are stuck at the same level is because their vision is. limited. They don't see themselves growing, increasing, being promoted, getting healthier. All they see is more the same, more lack, more struggle, more defeat, more sickness. They're producing what they're

seeing. When I close my eyes, I don't see myself at this same level next year as I am right now. I see myself stronger, healthier, wiser. I see our ministry touching more people, having greater influence, going where no ministry's gone before. I see my children, my family, healthy, victorious, happy, whole, prosperous. Those are the images I keep in front of me. Naturally, I'm gravitating toward that. That's the way God created us. One way to change your life is to change the pictures in your own imagination.

I have a friend that was on vacation in Hawaii. One day this guide was driving him and his wife around the island, showing him the different sites. They came to this one place, and the guide pointed to the top of a hill. There was a beautiful house overlooking the ocean. Palm trees, green grass, big windows. It looked like a postcard, so magnificent, so peaceful. My friend, just in passing, said to the guide, I can't even imagine living in a place like that.

All the sudden, he heard a voice on the inside saying, don't worry, you never will. Startled at his own thoughts. He said, God, is that you? God said, yes, son. And as long as you can't imagine it, it will not happen for you. Friends, God wants to do amazing things in our lives,

but we have to get in agreement with him. I'm asking you today to create some new pictures. Get rid of every image of lack, defeat, mediocrity, sickness, and start seeing yourself the way God created you to be as the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, a victor and not a victim. I hear people say, I can't imagine having a good year with the economy like it is. I can't imagine getting well after what the doctors told me. I can't imagine my relationship ever working out. Well, God is saying to you what he said to my friend, don't worry, it won't work out. You will move toward that image you have in your

mind. Why don't you paint some new pictures? Our attitude should be, it may seem unlikely, but you know what? I can imagine me paying my house off. I can imagine me getting out of debt. I can imagine me being promoted. I can imagine my business taking off. The economy may be low, but I can imagine me having my best year so far. You may be struggling with the sickness. The medical report doesn't look good. But instead of going around discouraged, with an image of defeat in the forefront of

your mind, change the picture. I can imagine me healthy and whole. I can imagine me out running again. I can imagine me free from this pain. I can imagine my youth being renewed like the Eagles. Perhaps a child is off course

making poor decisions. I'm not worried about it. I can imagine him turning around. I can imagine him making great decisions. I can imagine him fulfilling his destiny. Whenever you see someone that God's blessed in a great way, something that looks far out of reach for you, don't ever say, I can't imagine that. Your imagination has incredible power. When you think that, it creates a negative image that will limit you. It may be unattainable in the natural, but instead of speaking defeat, make a declaration of faith. I can imagine living.

in a house like that. I can imagine me being that healthy. I can imagine my family being that successful. Keep the right pictures in front of you. Instead of being intimidated, when we see something like my friend saw, that should inspire us. We should say, God, if you did it for them, I believe you can do it for me. When Moses sent the 12 men in to spy out the promised land, I believe one reason God wanted them to go in is so they could get a picture of it. God wanted them to see the beautiful land, the flowing rivers, the luscious gardens, the abundant crops. He wanted that image to take root. Unfortunately, only two of the 12 men saw the right things. Ten of the men focused on their problems, their obstacles, their giants, how impossible it was. They said like my friend, we can't imagine ever living in that place. We don't have a chance. The giants are too big. They allowed those negative, images to dominate their imagination. And they ended up seeing themselves weak, defeated, not able to. Here, God was trying to paint some new pictures on the canvas of their hearts,

but they kept erasing them and putting up the old pictures they had grown up with. Could it be that God's trying to paint some new pictures in your imagination, but you keep erasing them by saying, oh, that's too great for me? I could never live in a house like that. Nobody in my family has. I'll never be successful. I've got too many obstacles. I'll never be happy. I've been through too many disappointments.

Now, you need to change the picture. Start seeing yourself the way you want to be. It may seem unlikely, but all God has to do is breathe in your direction. One touch of God's favor can thrust you to a whole new level. This is what happened to Abraham. He faced an unlikely situation. God gave him the promise that he was going,

going to have a child. In the natural, he was much too old. It was impossible. But when God told him, he didn't just say, you're going to have a baby. God gave him a picture to look at. Abraham was in his tent, no doubt getting ready for bed. God said, Abraham, I have something to tell you. Abraham said, go ahead, God. God said, no, Abraham, you've got to come outside your tent. Once he got outside, God said, now Abraham, look up to the sky for as many stars as you can see. That's how many descendants you're going to have. Why was it important that he have a picture? Because God knows over time it's easy to get discouraged.

It's easy to lose your vision. I can imagine a year went by and there's no baby. And those thoughts came to him saying, you heard God wrong. It's never going to happen. It's impossible. You're too old. But instead of giving up, Abraham would just walk outside at night and look up to the sky and say, no, they're still there.

I can still see it. Those stars represent how many descendants I'm going to have. Year after year, every time he was tempted to get discouraged, he would just go out to the night sky. Those stars reminded him of what God promised. That promise was being ingrained in his heart a little bit deeper. 20 years later, the image he saw on the end of the image. inside became a reality on the outside. He and his wife had that baby. The promise came to

pass. Well, maybe God has put promises in your heart today that seem very unlikely. It looks unlikely for you to get out of debt or unlikely for your family to be restored or for you to ever be healthy again. But every day in your imagination, you need to see that promise come into fulfillment. You need to see your whole family in here serving God with you. You need to see yourself living in a beautiful debt-free home. You need to see yourself healthy,

whole, successful, accomplishing what God's put in your heart. When those thoughts come, telling you that, hey, it's not going to happen, you're too old, you're too young, it's impossible, you've made too many mistakes. No, just close your eyes and replay that picture that you created in your imagination. As you see it over and over again, God's promise is being ingrained in your heart

deeper and deeper. And one day like Abraham, it won't just be a picture on the inside. It'll be a reality on the outside. God will bring that promise to pass. Years ago, Victoria and I were driving through a nice neighborhood here in town. I saw one of the Rockets basketball coaches out walking through the subdivision. He was a very popular coach, very well known. The subdivision was just a mile or two from this place where the rockets used to play basketball. When I saw that, something was birthed on the inside. Didn't really know what it was, but it inspired me. It enlarged my vision. I told Victoria, that's amazing. Here he lives so close to the compact center, doesn't even have to get on the freeway. Can be there in less than five minutes. At that time,

Victoria and I were a young couple just recently married, and we were living in a townhome, and in the natural, we couldn't see anyway something like that would happen for us. But that day, for a few minutes, parked in that neighborhood, I just sat there and dreamed. I didn't realize it, but I was allowing a seed to take root. God was painting a new picture on the canvas of my heart. Just like a woman has to conceive before she could give birth, That day, I conceived something on the inside. I said to Victoria, I believe one day we will live in a nice home like this,

very close to the place that we work. I never thought much more about it. It didn't consume me. I didn't have to have it. It was simply a desire of my heart. Over the years, every time I saw that coach, that image would come up. I just pondered it. It seemed unlikely, but I didn't abort it by saying,

I can't imagine that happening to us. After all, he's a professional coach. We could never be that successful. No, I just left the door open by saying, God, you did it for him. I believe you can do it for me. God, you said, when we delight ourselves in you, you will give us the desires of our heart. I kept that image in front of me. Little did I know, 21 years later, we would not only have the same building where he used to play basketball, but now Victoria and I live in that same name. neighborhood where we saw him walking. Friends, God is an amazing God. He wants to take you places that you've never dreamed up. What kind of seeds are you allowing to take root? Do you have a vision of increase, success, prosperity, health, happiness, or have you talked yourself out of it? Well, Joel,

that never happened for me. I come from the wrong family. I've made too many mistakes. I've already reached my limits. I've got too many problems, too many obstacles. No, get rid of those excuses. God wants to do more than you can ask, think, or imagine. One place talks about how God will supply all of our needs, not according to our name or our upbringing or our talent or our ability. It's according to his riches, his favor, his goodness. God owns it all. He's called Jehovah Jira, the Lord our provider. When you live a lot, life of excellence. I've learned that God will not only do what he said, but he will do more than he promised. He'll do more than you can even imagine. I met a young lady at a book signing a while back.

Her name was Tara Holland from the time she was a little girl. She had a dream of becoming Miss America. 1994, she entered the Miss Florida contest. She won the title of First Runner Up. The next year she entered and the same thing, First Runner Up. She could have easily given up and gotten discouraged, but instead she moved to Kansas. In 1997, she entered that contest and won the Miss Kansas. A little later that year, she ended up becoming Miss America. Someone asked her the secret of her success, how she could stay so focused and determined even after those two major losses.

And she told how she went out and rented every video she could find of beauty pageants, local pageants, regional pageants, Ms. America, Ms. Universe. She watched those pageants over and over again, hundreds and hundreds of times. Every time she saw them crowning the young lady the winner, she pictured herself in that situation. She imagined them putting the crown on her head. She imagined herself walking down the runway, holding the flowers while the announcer was singing. Here she is, Ms. America. She had that image of victory ingrained in her thinking.

That night after she won Miss America at the press conference, a reporter asked her if she was nervous walking down the runway with millions of people watching by television. She said, no, I wasn't nervous at all. You see, I had walked down that runway thousands of times before. Let me ask you, have you ever walked down the runway? Have you ever seen yourself? accomplishing your dreams? Do you see yourself rising higher, becoming all God's created you

to be, living happy, healthy, debt-free, victorious, successful? Well, you say, Joe, I don't know. I got a lot of problems. I'm in debt, or I'm lonely, or I've got this health issue. No, you've got to quit seeing yourself just the way you are and start seeing yourself the way you want to be. 2 Corinthians 418 says the things that are seeing are temporary. One translation says, subject to change, but the things that are unseen are eternal. This is saying the things we see with our physical eyes are only temporary, but the things we see through our eyes of faith are eternal. But too often we allow temporary things to cause us to get discouraged and give up on our dreams. But anything that doesn't line up with the vision God's placed in your heart, you need to see that not as permanent, but as subject to change.

For instance, you may be facing a sickness, but your attitude should be, God, you said, by the stripes of your son, Jesus, I've been made well. So the picture I have of myself is strong, healthy, whole. That tells me this sickness is only temporary. It's subject to change. It does not like. line up with your vision. Or I may be in debt right now, but God, you said, I would lend and not borrow. So the picture I have of myself is successful, victorious,

prosperous, being generous with others. That lets me know this debt is only temporary. It's subject to change. Doesn't line up with God's vision. Or my child may be running with the wrong crowd today, making poor choices. But God, the picture you painted

on the canvas of my heart says, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The seed of the righteous will be mighty in the land. So I realize where he is is only temporary he is subject to change. Here's what I've learned. The recession is subject to change. Being lonely is subject to change. Debt is subject to change.

People pushing you down is subject to change. Now, you've got to do your part and don't let what you see with your natural eyes cause you to lose your joy and give a place. on your dreams, it's only temporary. See it as subject to change. This is exactly what Joseph did. He had a big dream in his heart. As a young man, God promised that he would be a great leader and even help rule a nation. But on the way to that dream coming to pass, Joseph had many adversities. His brothers were jealous of him. They threw him into a deep pit. They were going to leave him there to die. But Joseph understood this principle. In that pit, he realized, he realized,

where he was, did not line up with the vision that God had painted on the canvas of his heart. He saw himself as a great leader. So he didn't get discouraged. He didn't start complaining. He knew deep down that pit was only temporary. It did not line up with what he saw through his eyes of faith. In little while, a caravan came by and they got him out. The people took him to Egypt.

And Joseph worked as a slave for years in Egypt. But once again, he didn't get discouraged. He just checked the picture and said, no, this is not who I am. A slave does not match up with the promise God put in me, this too shall pass. Year after year, disappointments, setbacks, unfair situations. He just kept checking the painting that God had put on his heart. One day the right doors did open up. They put him in charge over all of Egypt.

this time he could finally say, now this is permanent. This is what I've seen in my imagination all these years. In life, we all face disappointments, setbacks, unfair situations. At times, it can even feel like we're in the pit. But instead of being discouraged and letting that cloud your vision, if you'll just look inside, you will see that does not match up with the vision God put in your heart. You'll be able to do just like Joseph and say,

No big deal. I am not going to get depressed. This is not permanent. This is just another stop on the way to my divine destiny. And some of you, maybe even now, you're a little discouraged, maybe something didn't turn out the way you would hope. But God is still on the throne. He still has a way to get you to where you're supposed to be. Now, you've got to get your fire back. It is not over until God says it's over. God is a faithful God. He will do what he promised. You may be in the, pit, but the good news is, a caravan is coming your way to help take you to your divine destiny. I think about Jeremiah, God had a great plan for his life. He called him to be a prophet to the nations, and God spoke all these great things over him. But then God turned around and asked him,

Jeremiah, what do you see? Even though God had just spoken favor and increase into his future, God knew none of it would come to pass if Jeremiah didn't get in agreement and see the right things. Jeremiah was young and timid. He didn't know if he could do it. At first, he started making all these excuses, telling God all the reasons why he was not the best choice.

Finally, he shook it off and said, you know what? I'm going to see myself the way God sees me. He answered back something very intriguing. He said, God, I see the branch of an almond tree starting to bud. It is the emblem of alertness and activity blossoming in late winter.

He was saying, God, I see new growth. I see new opportunity, new life, new seasons, new levels. He compared what he saw to a plant coming out of winter, going into spring, starting to blossom. You may feel like you're in winter in life right now. winter is when nothing exciting is happening. You're not making much progress. Business is slow.

A relationship is still. A child is acting up. Here's the key. You've got to do like Jeremiah and start seeing spring even while you're still in winter. You've got to look out to your eyes of faith and see new growth

even when everything's dead around you. You've got to see yourself prospering even when business is slow. You've got to see yourself prospering. self with friends, even when you're very lonely. You're in winter, but the way not to stay is to do like Jeremiah and start seeing spring, start seeing new growth, new opportunities, new life. One time Abraham was in winter, he'd just gone through a major setback, a major disappointment. He had a dispute with his nephew lot. In order to keep the peace, he took the high road and moved to a

different location. Now Abraham had to start all over. Here he had to be. Here he, he was a lot. He took the high road. He took the high road. He took the high road. He took the high road. He took to start all over. Here he had worked years so hard developing his other land, trying to provide a great place for his family. But this new land, it was dry and barren. Nothing beautiful about it. I'm sure Abraham was discouraged, very disappointed. But God said something to him there in Genesis Chapter 13 that changed his perspective. God said, Abraham, look up from where you are. For all the land that you can see, I will give it to you. Notice this principle. Look up from where you are. You may not be in a good place in life right now. Maybe like Abraham, you've had a disappointment. Somebody did you wrong. You feel like you're having to start all over. You lost a job or relationship,

your health. Seems like everything you've worked for has gone down the drain. That's when it's easy to stay looking down, focused on your problems, letting that disembate. Just disappointment consume you. This is when so many people get stuck. Their vision becomes limited. They quit dreaming. They quit believing. But God is saying to you what he said to Abraham, look up from where you are. Get a new vision. God still has a great plan for your life. He's got you in the palm of his hand. He is called the glory and the lifter of our heads. You may have lost a job, but look up from where you and get a vision of a better job. A relationship may have ended, but your life didn't end just because somebody walked away. Lift up your head.

God has something better in store. If you'll shake off that disappointment, that self-pity, and start seeing spring in winter, then God says everything you see, I will give it to you. Friends, you are called to be an eagle. One thing about an eagle

is it has incredible vision. it can see ten times better than humans. An eagle always has its sights set far down the road. The opposite of an eagle would have to be a chicken. A chicken is always looking down. Got its head toward the ground, pecking here, pecking there. All it can see is more the same. But let me remind you, you are not a chicken, you are an eagle.

You were created to soar, lift up your head. God has given you incredible vision. It may be winter, it may be difficult, but through your eyes of faith, you've got the ability to see spring. I'm asking you today to keep the right picture in front of you. You're going to move toward that image in your mind. Some of you, your picture is too small. You need to enlarge your vision. You need to start seeing yourself rising higher, living the abundant life.

You've got to make room for the great things God has in store. Remember, when you see somebody that, you see somebody. that God's blessed in a great way. Don't you dare ever say, I can't imagine that happening to me. No, you make a declaration of faith. I can imagine me being that blessed. I can imagine me being promoted. I can imagine my family that healthy.

You've got to let it take root on the inside before it'll happen on the outside. If you will see yourself the way you want to be and keep that vision of increase, abundance, health happiness in front of you, then God will do amazing things in your life. You will rise higher. He'll pour out his blessings and faith.

Aver. Like Abraham, it won't just be a vision on the inside. It'll become a reality on the outside. Like Joseph, you won't just be dreaming your dreams. You'll look up one day and find yourself living your dreams. 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. Three minutes. Can such a small amount of time make a big difference to your day? To turn worry into confidence, frustration to hope. Defeat to victory. Maybe you just need a boost of faith. When we put God first place and get our thinking in line with

his, even a small seat of time can make a huge difference. We have a new resource called Three Minute Mornings. Start your day the blessed way. My challenge is when you wake up, before you leave the house, take three minutes to speak blessings over your life and to declare God's favor. Get your mind going in the right direction. When you do that, you're setting yourself up for a blessed, victorious day. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any size to the ministry this month. Joel and Victoria would like to send you this just-released, life-giving new daily devotional. Before your feet hit the ground or go out the door, have your heart experience a bit of heaven. Set your mind on the things above with our new three-minute mornings devotional.

With this new 365-day devotional three-minute mornings, you'll experience God showering down his favor like never before. You'll focus on the better that is coming and fully read the realize the freedom of not worrying about tomorrow. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. You're making a difference all over the world. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, listen on SiriusXM.

But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of Three Minute Mornings today. Visit joelosteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.