Joel Osteen Podcast - The Power Of Encouragement | Victoria Osteen

Episode Date: December 6, 2025

Something powerful happens when you encourage the people in your life. As you lift others up, God will fill you with His supernatural favor!Plan for your faith to succeed! Our 2026 Faith for Today Planner will fill you with hope and keep you grounded in God’s promises. Request our December offer and start each day of the upcoming year with Scripture and encouragement! https://bit.ly/4reqMWn 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. You guys sound good. As usual, I believe that God wants every one of us to be a superhero. See, God wants us to be fearless and courageous. He wants us to be like the ones you see in the movie.

You know how they are? About like the time the enemy gets a hold of them, they fall down, he's got him in the gridlock, that superhero turns around and swirls around. And before you know it, he's defeating the enemy. Or he comes out of nowhere, you know, you don't know what happened to him. He comes out of nowhere and shows up strong on the scene. You see, he may fall, but he shows up strong. And I believe that God wants us to show up strong. He wants us to show up strong. He wants us to show up strong not only for ourselves, but for other people. He wants us to be a superhero. And as we were singing together, that's how we're going to become this superhero powerhouse

for Almighty God. It's only going to come when we do it together. You see, we're not islands among ourselves. We were not intended to be alone. When God created man, he said, you need a helpmate. You need someone who's going to link arms with you. You need someone that can help you move forward, perpetuate my kingdom. You see, we were never designed to be alone.

The scripture says that two are better than one. Because when one falls, the other's there to pick him up. You see, we are going to defeat the enemy. We are going to move forward when we're going to move forward when we're linked arms doing it together. In Hebrews 313, listen to what it says. It says, to encourage one another daily. Now, that sounds great, doesn't it?

Boy, you look good today. Oh, I like that presentation at work. Well, you're so pretty. We should do that, shouldn't we? We should encourage each other daily. That's what God says. Encourage each other daily. You know, God formed us in our mother's womb.

He made us, and he made us. and he knows how we operate. You see, we have instructions on how to operate to our highest potential and performance, and we can find them in the Word of God. So he says, encourage each other daily. Now listen to the rest of that verse, because this is the weighty and meaty part of the verse. You see, if you just encourage, that's great. You'll do it if you want to. If you think about maybe I should go over and see my grandmother today, but I really don't have time. I've got a lot of things to do. We don't take encouragement as seriously. But listen to this part. This is what God was saying would happen when we stand together, link arms, and encourage each other daily. It's said to encourage each

other daily so the deceitfulness of sin doesn't harden our hearts. There's a weighty promise right there. When we stand together, guess what? We stand opposing the enemy's deceit. He wants to deceive us. He wants us isolated. He doesn't want us to have the support that we were designed to have. See, God says, if you will encourage, you will be encouraged. If you will encourage, you can stand against the enemy for someone else. See, sometimes when you need encouragement, it's hard to stand against the enemy. When you're discouraged, it's hard to stand against the enemy.

I've seen people get so discouraged, so down, so defeated. They couldn't even think straight. You know, when you're discouraged and down and defeated, that is the time that the enemy wants to come in and have a heyday in your mind. He wants to tell you that you're not good enough, that you can't do it, that you'll never get well, you guys will quit trying. You see, when you're down and discouraged, that's when the enemy can come in.

But when you have people around you that are willing to take this script seriously and say, I'm not going to let them get down because I have the power to stand against the enemy for them. You see, isn't it interesting that God said, our encouragement, our encouragement can stand against the enemy. Christian Covington was here earlier in the 830 service. I looked over at him and he's huge. He plays for the Texans. Do you all know Christian Covington? All right. Well, he's huge. And I thought, well, that's what we look like on the inside. Big. Kind of like John Boy here. John Gray boy. Big and strong. That's what we look like on the inside. I was thinking about how when Christian Covington and his team, they play on the defense, don't ask. You. Don't ask.

me positions, I just know they play on the defense. I also know that the defensive line is there to stand together so that the other team, the opponent, cannot score on their team. I do know that much about football. You would be proud of me. But the way they do it is they stand together. They know each other is right there, and they're not going to let their opponent score. Do you know when we stand together locked arms?

We don't let the enemy score on each other. He cannot score. See, encouragement means to impart courage. It means to make fearless, make brave, impart courage. That's what God is saying. Impart courage to one another. Because, see, the enemy wants to discourage. He wants to take our courage.

He wants to subtract from what God is doing in our life. See, we have to stand together. We have to be superheroes. When I look at Hebrews 313 in this light, I feel like Wonder Woman. I think, you know what? Every time I encourage somebody, I am slashing at the enemy. I am kicking him. I'm defeating him.

I'm pushing him back. You ever see Wonder Woman? You can be Clark Kent if you're a guy. Step in in the phone booth and come out Superman. But that's the truth. I really believe that. I believe if we understand the power of encouragement, we're going to be empowered to encourage.

Listen, encourage your family. Encourage your children. Encourage that coworker. Encourage your boss. Hey, encouragement doesn't mean there being you encourage them because they're being nice to you, you encourage them because God is impressing on you that if you'll do that, you can stand on that defensive line. And I really believe when he says encourage one another daily that that means there's a great exchange that takes place. See,

if every one of us would encourage someone daily, what would this world look like? How strong would we really be? See, we can think of us. See, we can think a lot of things. We can think a lot of encouragement. We can think about doing a lot of things, but it's not until we stand strong and take action and begin to impart courage to each other that things will change. You see, you can't do anything about someone's situation. I was talking to a staff member the other day. Hurricane Harvey, five feet of water in her home came rushing in. her family had to leave her family or children they had to leave immediately she left with nothing when they got themselves settled into a place of dry ground and the reality started settling in

that they had just lost all their material possessions in their home everything she was devastated she said i was so discouraged i was so overwhelmed i felt numb and i couldn't even move my husband being the head of the house couldn't believe that he had just lost everything how was he going to rebuild his family's life? He looked at her and he said, we've got to get out of this state. We have got to get out of this situation in our mind, this atmosphere of defeat. Let's go to the church and help out. We were people, volunteers all over the place, distributing, doing what they could do. She said, I simply sat there thinking, I can't. I don't even know what to think. I have no makeup. I have not even a hair tie to tie my hair about.

with. She said, I don't want to go. Then she began to put a smile on her face and said, about that time a friend of mine showed up, showed up with a bag full of makeup. She said, not only did God tell her the color foundation that I wore, she brought all the extras, the mascara, the blush, and the lip gloss. See, that's something that only a woman can appreciate. You see, her friend that day was standing in the defensive line for her. See, her friend that day allowed God to breathe life back into her soul. She was discouraged. She was overwhelmed. But that friend used the power of encouragement to get her one step closer to her victory. One step closer to her victory. She said she put that makeup on, went to her husband and said,

I'm ready than ever to go. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. He went to the church and began to help other people. I saw her yesterday. If you looked at her, you wouldn't know that what she'd been through. You wouldn't know that she was fighting the good fight of fate. Because she said every day, God said someone show up to bring me courage and encourage my heart. You see, the enemy wanted to defeat her. He wanted to defeat her. He wanted to. He was. wanted to get her thinking going in the wrong direction. Because see, if he can get your thinking going in the wrong direction, he can get your life going in the wrong direction. And that's what discouragement does. It gets your life going in the wrong direction. Hey, as far as it's up to us, we can't let those around us see discouragement or be discouraged because we're the church

of the living God. We are the superheroes for God Almighty. You see, we could not do a thing about her five foot of water in her home, right? I mean, we couldn't change that situation. I heard it said like this. It's not what happens to you. It's what happens in you that makes the difference. And because she had a friend that day, encourage her and impart courage, the thing that the enemy wanted to do did not happen in her.

It didn't happen in her. You see, her friend gave her that courage to keep her hearts soft, to believe that God had possibilities, that it could be better than ever, that she could get up again and move forward. That's what encouragement does to us. The Israelites in Exodus 6, it says they were too discouraged to believe. They couldn't even hear the words of Moses. when God was trying to tell them what he wanted to do for them because they were so deep and buried under discouragement. They could not even hear about the God of the impossible.

Don't allow anyone around you to be discouraged because we are here to tell people about the God of the possible. They don't have to lose hope because we serve the God that can be. do anything. If we will stay encouraged and continue to impart courage, I truly believe that that exchange works two ways. We will also be encouraged. When you encourage, you'll be encouraged. When you're encouraged, you'll be strengthened to encourage yourself. Do you know there's studies that say when you encourage people, when you help someone, that it is an emotion. high that literally releases dopamine in your brain and makes you happy. You see, it empowers you.

And when you're empowered with this emotion of happiness, then you can go and help other people. When you're empowered with emotion of happiness, you can help yourself. Because see, I truly believe there will be days that we have to encourage ourselves. just like David, but God wants us to get good at encouraging others and encouraging ourselves because those days that we can't, he'll provide. Just like my friend, you know, sometimes encouragement is just simply showing up with a broom and a mop or a bag of makeup. You see, we need to encourage not only with our words but with our actions.

ask God, give me somebody every day, God, that I can have a exchange with, that I can encourage in a meaningful and profound way. If we will all ask God to give us that one person, put that one person on our heart, whether it's your child, your husband, your friend, your co-worker, your boss, I believe that God will do things in our life that we came and ask, think, or imagine. and amen. Let's push back darkness with our encouragement. What if every plan you set, every habit you formed, and every decision you made became a pathway to see God move in your life? We all have hopes and dreams, things we're believing for.

When you start the year in faith, expecting God's goodness, you are setting the tone for a blessed new year. And we'd love to send you our 2026 Faith for Today Planner. You can write down your dreams and goals, plus use it for your everyday activities and reminders. It's important to feed your faith on a daily basis. This planner, it's not just a calendar. It's filled with scriptures and inspiration to help you stay encouraged and keep believing for what God has put in your heart. 2026 is your year to see the goodness of God in greater ways. Let go of what didn't work out and get ready for the new things God has in store.

As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount this month, we would like to send you a copy of the 2026 Faith for Today Planner. Each month features a fresh theme of encouragement, a guiding scripture to stand on, room to write your goals, prayers, and vision. Space for faith steps, because faith isn't passive, it's active. A monthly QR code linking to a message or video to keep your spirit lifted. With the 2026 Faith for Today planner, you'll be reminded that living by faith makes room for God to do what only he can do.

Break through in your business, God's healing touch, loved ones returning to faith. Request your copy of the planner and step into the new year with bold faith, fresh hope, and daily encouragement to strengthen your spirit and face every challenge with confidence. No matter what's happening around you, faith can rise up in you. Keep believing and expecting a blessed 26. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity is helping people around the world. As we finish this year, I hope you'll consider making a special year-in gift to help keep the ministry strong. We so appreciate all the Champion of Hope partners for your monthly support. We wish you and your family,

A very Merry Christmas. Until we see you next time. May the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of the 2026 Faith for Today Planner. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567 Joel. For a special year-end gift this month, we are also offering the Faith to Share bundle. Keep one, give one. Give the gift of faith, focus, and fresh hope for someone special in your life.

You can also request the God's Word Work study collection. This empowering collection includes the NIV, The Message, Parallel Bible, a beautifully crafted leather bookmark and pen, and how to read your Bible and enjoy it, along with two planners. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567, Joel, or logging on to joelosteen.com today. Call or click anytime, 24 hours a day. Stay organized, encouraged, and full of faith all year long.

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