Joel Osteen Podcast - The Danger of Dry Places

Episode Date: January 13, 2019

In this message, Joel offers hope and practical advice to those who feel like they are experiencing a dry place in life. We all have seasons when we experience heartache and loss, when we feel like we are just going through the motions of life. The key is not to allow those times to become permanent. If you are in a wilderness, make the decision to worship God when you don’t feel like it, to fix your eyes on His promises. In dry seasons, it can be easy to stay in self-pity, to get stuck in a negative mentality, but you don’t have to let the dryness get in you. Outwardly, you can be experiencing a drought, but inwardly you can tap into the endless supply that God has for you. Get your hopes up and begin to expect that rain is coming and the drought is ending. 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. Thanks so much for downloading the podcast. I believe you'll be inspired and challenged. I hope you enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by, be a part of one of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. I like to start with something funny. And I heard about this elderly couple. They were sitting in a swing celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Feeling Romantic, the husband said to his wife, honey, our love is tried and true. She had difficulty hearing it and asked him to repeat it. He said it louder. I said, our love is tried and true. She still couldn't hear him. Said, what? Would you please speak up? Frustrated, he shouted,

I said, our love is tried and true. She said, well, fine. I'm sick of you too. 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 the danger of dry places. It's easy to lose our passion for life. At one time, we were excited. We look forward to each we were believing for our dreams. We love to laugh. But over time, if we're not careful and things haven't turned out the way we thought, we'll become dry. When you're dry, life has lost its flavor.

You smile, but there's no real joy behind it. You laugh with your friends, but it's not genuine. You act normal in front of people, but alone you're discouraged. You wonder what's wrong. sometimes we're dry because we're tired. The battles have taken longer than we thought. We can be dry because we've been hurt. Somebody did us wrong. Instead of letting it go, we've held on to it. Some people are dry because they have the wrong perspective.

They think their challenges are too big that they'll never work out. But there's a problem with being dry. It doesn't just steal our joy. It doesn't just affect our attitude. It's deeper than that. The scripture says, when an unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places seeking rest. When we're dry, we've stepped into the enemy's territory. That's where he lives.

And sometimes he doesn't have to come to us, we go to him. And when you feel the blas, no passion, thoughts tell you, nothing good is in your future. You'll never meet the right person. You'll never get out of debt. recognize that's the enemy trying to get you into his territory. When you're positive, hopeful, full of praise, that's God's territory. The enemy can't touch you. He can't cross that line. That's why he works overtime in our thought life. His goal is to get us down and discouraged. He knows when we're dry, we're giving him access. We're coming onto his field. That's where he has the right to control

and manipulate. And maybe you have a good reason to be dry. Life has thrown you some curves. You don't see anything good up ahead. That's when you have to dig down deep and say, no, I am not going to live discouraged, dragging through the day, focused on what's wrong. I know God is on the throne. I know he's bigger than these problems. I know his plans for me are for good. So I'm going to live this day in faith, expecting his favor. You have to take control of your thought life. That's where the battle's taking place. And thoughts will tell you things like, you're a victim. Life hasn't treated you fairly. Your spouse doesn't love you like he should. That company doesn't appreciate you. If you let those thoughts play long enough, they'll keep you from your destiny. Paul said in the book I acts,

I think myself happy. You can think yourself out of a dry place. You got into discouragement by thinking about how wrong something was, thinking about who hurt you, thinking about how things aren't going to improve. You've thought yourself into defeat. Now turn it around and start thinking yourself into victory. What God started in my life, he's going to finish. No good thing will he withhold because I walk up rightly. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

What was meant for my harm, Lord, I want to thank you right now. now, you're turning to my advantage. Get your mind going in the right direction. Think yourself into joy. Think yourself into a good mood. Think yourself into a positive, faith-filled attitude. You cannot live on autopilot and just think whatever comes your way. If you do, negative thoughts will dominate. You have to be proactive. Don't wait for thoughts of faith and hope to come. Think them on purpose. If you'll fill your mind with the right thoughts, there won't be any room for the wrong thoughts. When you feel the blas, you need to get into an environment that's uplifting. Don't come home from work and sit in a dark room and watch sad movies, listen to sad songs,

and think sad thoughts and eat sad foods and hang around with sad people. Sad times five equals real sad. Open up the windows. Let some light in the room. put on some inspiring music. Maybe go outside and take a walk, exercise. Get your endorphins kicking in. God has put certain hormones in us.

When we activate them, they give us a boost and make us more passionate. They help to take away the negativity. But it's easy to live a very sedentary lifestyle. But you can't override natural laws and expect to feel good. You need to exercise. You need proper sleep. You need to eat healthy. Practical things can keep us from being passionate

and having the vision and energy that we should. When you're dry, it's important who you spend time with. You can't afford to hang around other dry people. Misery loves company. Find some friends that are happy, positive, energetic. You need people around you that brighten your day that lift your spirits. People that are fun, people that make you laugh. Many times we gravitate to people that are like us. If we're discouraged, we find discouraged people. If we have addictions,

we find others that have addictions. You need to spend time with people that have what you want, not that struggle in the same area. If you have difficulties in your marriage, don't find someone in that same situation and sit around and talk about how bad you're going to be. You know, your spouses are, how unfair life is. Talking about the problems, reliving the hurts is only going to pull you down. It's not going to make things improve. The situation may not change, but you can change how you're responding. Isaiah said, arise from the depression in which the circumstances have kept you, rise to a new life. Sometimes we're waiting for God to change how we feel. God may make me happy. God cheer me up. The truth is, God is waiting on us. You walked into that dry place.

The good news is you can walk out of it. Arise from the depression. Shake off the blas. Shake off what didn't work out. This day is a gift from God. You may have some difficulties, but most likely there's a lot more right in your life than there is wrong. And some people would love to trade places with you. They would gladly take your life. Come out of that dry place. That's giving the enemy access. When you arise, what will happen is

God will arise. When you come over to his side, you'll get your joy back, your passion back. You weren't made to drag through the day, discouraged, enduring life. You were made to enjoy life. In the scripture, David had

seen God do amazing things. Take him from a shepherd boy, no experience, no training, chosen to be the king. He defeated Goliath and became an overnight hero. He outlasted King Saul and took the throne. He led Israel from one victory to another. No greater leader than David. You would think he would live on the mountaintop. Never have a down day. That's not the case. We're all tempted to get dry. Psalm 42, David was so discouraged. He was so discouraged. He was didn't want to go on. Thoughts told him that he had seen his best days, that the opposition was too big. He made the mistake of believe in those lies. He ended up in a dry place. He could have stayed there,

live defeated. Instead, he said to himself, why are you cast down, oh my soul, hope in the Lord? He was saying, I may feel discouraged, but I'm not going to let feelings rule my life. I'm not going to let these negative thoughts keep playing. He talked to himself, David, get your hopes up. He understood when we're dry, we've stepped into the enemy's territory. We're giving him rights that he shouldn't have. It's not that God has abandoned us. Not that God stepped off the throne. It's the fact that we've walked over to the other side. I'm asking you to stay out of dry places. Don't let your mind think of all the negative, relive everything wrong in your life. It may be true, but don't go there. The flesh loves to feel sorry for itself. Think about what you didn't get, how you weren't raised

right, just another day. I got to drag through it. As long as you think that way, you're going to live defeated. You have to do like David and make the decision, I'm coming out of the dry place. it starts by changing your thinking. God's plans for you are for good. There are opportunities in your future bigger than you can imagine. That sickness is not permanent. That financial difficulty is not how your story ends. That addiction is not going to hinder you your whole life. God has the final say. Now while you're waiting for him to change things, why don't you thank him that it's on the way? Why don't you be grateful for what's right in your life? We have to guard our mind.

It's easy to step over into a dry place. I'm not saying that you're dry because you haven't had any victories. You haven't been successful. Like David, you may have seen God do amazing things. Protect you, promote you, bring great people across your path. You can testify of the goodness of God, but that doesn't exempt us from becoming dry. The discouragement test

comes to every person. Times when we're tired. We've won some victories. We've been our best, but we don't know if we can keep standing strong. If you'll get your fire back, God is going to renew your strength. He's going to give you passion, energy,

vitality like you've never seen. Your second wind is on its way. God is about to breathe on your life in a new way. The victories you've seen in the past are going to pale in comparison to what God is about to do. Psalm 68 says, you sent an abundant rain, O Lord, to refresh the weary land. You may be weary. You fought hard, but doesn't seem like that discouragement will go away. God knows how you feel. He knows what you're up against. You may not be able to walk out of the dry place on your own. Don't worry, God is about to send an abundant reign to refresh you. He's going to make things

happen that you couldn't make happen. You're going to see an abundance of joy, an abundance of strength, an abundance of health, an abundance of resources. The forces that have held you back are being broken right now. The enemies you see today, you will see no more. Now, when you're tempted to be discouraged, turn it around. Father, thank you for the rain that's coming. Thank you for the healing, the favor, the breakthroughs, the right people. Get your hopes up. Start expecting the abundant rain. That's the way our God is. He could have just said, I'm going to send rain to refresh the weary land. That would be good. We'd be grateful. But notice the heart of God. He said, in effect, I'm going to make the enemy pay for bringing the tree.

trouble. I'm going to make him pay for making you dry. I'm going to send an abundant rain. I'm going to send more than enough, exceedingly, abundantly abundantly above and beyond. Get ready for overflow. Get ready. God is about to exceed your expectations. You are coming out of that dry place into more than enough. But sometimes we want to be passionate, but the feeling is gone. We don't have the same drive and emotion like we used to have. We think something is wrong. But psychologists have discovered what they call the happiness curve. Research shows most people are their happiest at 20 years old.

From there, it goes down till you're 50. At 50, it starts coming back up. At 70, you're as happy as you were at 20. But it doesn't stop there. It continues to rise after 70. indeed, you're the happiest and most fulfilled than you've ever been. That's what God said, your latter days will be better than your former days. But we see people that are going through a midlife crisis. They have no passion. They have burned out. They don't feel like going on.

That's that 50-year low. It's not unusual. You're not the only one that feels that way. Don't give up on your dreams. Don't go over to a dry place. Some of what you're you're facing is just the natural rhythms of life. But the people that stay happy, the people that don't go down and get discouraged are the people that rule their thoughts, the people that stay full of hope, the people that know that God is still on the throne. Don't believe those lies that you've seen your best days. You wouldn't be alive if God didn't have something amazing in front of you. I have a friend. He was raised in a low-income family here in Houston. His father, worked as a yard man, mowing people's lawns for 31 years. He died when the young man was 13. His mother

raised nine children by herself. She worked as a maid at the Rice Hotel downtown. She'd never learned how to drive. She'd get up early in the morning, make her kids breakfast, get them off to school, then she would take the bus to work. She didn't have a lot of money, but she had a lot of faith. When times got tough and didn't look like they were going to make it, she would tell her children, don't worry, tomorrow will be better than today. They heard that over and over. She kept speaking faith into them. She knew God would make a way where they didn't see any way. Against the odds, the young man was able to attend college. He excelled in school. He went on to Harvard University and earned his law degree. He served 27 years.

in the Texas House of Representatives. Today, our friend Sylvester Turner is the mayor of Houston. Mayor Turner's mother was in a dry place. She couldn't help it. It was the hand she had been dealt, but she didn't let the dryness get in her. If she would have lived defeated, complaining about how unfair life was,

going to work with a sour attitude, he wouldn't be the mayor. When the odds are against you, You don't see how it can work out. Instead of being discouraged, do like she did. Keep reminding yourself, tomorrow will be better than today. That's not just being positive. That's what the scripture says.

The path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. You haven't seen your best days. God has good breaks already lined up in your future. If he showed you right now, you couldn't fathom it. If somebody would have told Mayor Turner at 13 in a single parent home, no father, mother raising nine children, working as a maid, that one day you'll go to Harvard, one day you'll lead the fourth largest city in America, one day you'll stand before kings and presidents, he probably wouldn't have believed it. He could have thought not me. That's impossible. I'm in a dry place. I'm in a limited environment. My obstacles are in surmounting. accountable. God is not limited by what you don't have. He's not limited by how you were raised. He's not limited by the opposition. Mayor Turner kept that phrase playing over and over. Tomorrow will be better than today. That was fuel for his faith, fuel for his dreams. But sometimes we don't go to the dry place.

The dry place comes to us. The key is don't let the dryness get in you. stay full of hope. Keep thanking God that the abundant rain is on the way. Keep expecting things to change. Have that attitude? I know breakthroughs are coming. I know healing is on the way. I know doors are going to open that I could not open.

That's how you stay out of the dry place. You don't focus on how big the problem is. You focus on how big your God is. First Kings chapter 19, the prophet Elijah had just seen one of the greatest victories of his life. 450 false prophets that worshiped the God Bell had come against him. Elijah called down fire from heaven and they were all killed.

When the king's wife, Jezebel, heard what happened. She was furious. She sent word to Elijah saying, if I don't kill you by this time tomorrow, then I'll kill myself. Elijah took off running for his life. It's funny, he wasn't a afraid of 450 men, but he is scared to death of one woman. He ran as fast and as far away as he could. He dropped his assistant off at the city, traveled another day out into the desert, sat down under a tree. He was so discouraged, so depressed, he didn't want to live. He said,

God, I'm done. Take me on home. Here he had just seen the greatest miracle of his life. 24 hours later, he was at his lowest moment. Just because you have great victories doesn't mean you're not going to have to fight discouragement. You may have a great testimony, but there will be other tests. Elijah was in the desert, in a dry place, so tired, he fell asleep, hoping he wouldn't wait back up. You would think God would say, Elijah, what's wrong with you?

Of all people, why are you discouraged? You've seen my power again and again. I'm done with you. God never gives up on us. While he was sleeping, an angel came, woke him up and said Elijah, get up and eat. There was a jar of water by his side and hot bread baking over some calls. God is so good, he didn't just bring him food. He cooked him a meal. Elijah ate that meal, fell back asleep. He was tired, exhausted. That's one reason he felt like giving up. You don't make good decisions when you're worn out.

The angel woke him up a second time. Tell Elijah, eat some more. There's a long journey up ahead. The first meal was for where he had been. The second meal was for where he was going. God never just brings you out. He always gives you provision for what's ahead. you may have had your meal for where you've been, but get ready, a meal is coming for where you're going.

New levels of talent, increase, favor, vision. Elijah ran for 40 days, ended up hiding in a cave on Mount Sinai. He was still afraid, discouraged, thinking his life was over. Verse 9 says, the Lord came to him in the cave and said, Elijah, what are you doing here? And I don't believe God was just talking about the location. He was saying, what are you doing here in your mind? Why are you looking at this situation from the wrong perspective? Why do you think this lady is more powerful than me?

Like Elijah, you may not see how your situation could work out. In your health, your finances, a relationship, you're worried, discouraged, losing sleep. God is saying, what are you doing here? don't you know I am still on the throne. I control the universe. I've brought you out in the past. I'm going to bring you out in the future. Elijah said, God, I'm discouraged because I'm the only prophet alive. I'm the only one that hasn't bowed down to Bell, and now they're trying to kill me too. When you're discouraged, when you're in a dry place, it's easy to have an exaggerated view of your problem. I'm the only one that has all these bad breaks. I'm the only one. I'm the only one. I'm the only

one that has a boss that treats me like this. God said, Elijah, you're not the only one. I have 7,000 prophets that have not bowed down. Take the pressure off. You're not the only one facing what you're up against. People have been where you are. God brought them out. He's going to bring you out too. God told Elijah to come out of the cave, come out of hiding, and stand on the side of the mountain. there was a huge windstorm, like a tornado, so strong that rocks were flying through the air, dust so thick you couldn't see anything. That passed, then there was a great earthquake. The ground shook, rocks came tumbling down. That passed, there was a huge fire, burned everything around him. That passed, then there was the sound of a gentle whisper, a still small voice. After all those huge

signs, God had his attention. Elijah leaned in to listen closely. The voice whispered, what are you doing here? God asked him a second time. Why are you depressed over a problem that's only temporary? Elijah thought his life was over when in fact in just a few days he met Elisha, a young man that he mentored. Elijah did twice as many miracles as Elijah. Elijah's life wasn't over. He was about to come in to double the impact. Those thoughts that are telling you it's all downhill, you have too many problems, the

obstacles are too big. God is going to do for you what he did for Elijah. You're coming in to double. That's why the enemy is trying to stop you so hard. The windstorm Elijah faced, the earthquake, the fire, that was the enemy bringing his biggest challenges. But when it was all said and done, Elijah was still standing strong. We see this principle with Jesus. He was in the desert, in a dry place. He was tempted three times by Satan. The final temptation was the biggest. Satan said, if you'll bow down

before me, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. That was his last attempt. to try to deceive him. Jesus wouldn't give in. Immediately an angel came to strengthen Jesus. You may feel like you're in a desert, a dry place. The storms, the winds, the challenges. They've done all they could to stop you, but you're still standing. Jezebel didn't get you. The windstorm didn't harm you. The earthquake didn't take you out. You stood strong. You passed the test. Now like with Jesus and Elijah, the angel is coming. and to strengthen you. Things are about to change in your favor. Negative situations are about to turn around. What you're praying about is on the way. Now do your part. Stay out of the dry places.

Don't go over into the enemy's territory. In your mind, quit thinking about what's not going to work out. All those challenges you face, that was the enemy doing his best, but his best was not enough. Now you may be tired from fighting, but get ready. God is about to send an abundant reign to refresh you. I believe and declare breakthroughs are coming. Healing is coming. Promotion is coming. New levels are coming. The fullness of your destiny in Jesus name. If you receive it, can you say amen today? I'd like to give 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. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based

church. Keep God first place. Victoria, and I'll be right back to speak a blessing over you. Thank you for listening to the Joel O's Dean 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.

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