Joel Osteen Podcast - Waiting Well - Victoria Osteen

Episode Date: March 1, 2017

Sometimes in life, we have to wait. We have to be careful to not allow the waiting to open the door to doubt and discouragement. We have to trust that God will get us to the right place at the right time.Today, I want to encourage you, no matter what you are waiting for, learn to wait well. Instead of worrying, turn your focus to the Father. Let patience have it’s perfect work. Trust that He is ordering your steps.Think about a butterfly coming out its cocoon. It takes time, it takes effort, it takes difficulty to get out of that cocoon but once it breaks out, it comes forth in such beauty. It’s ready, it’s poised to be able to fly. That’s what happens to us when we wait well. We become strong and beautiful, ready to embrace all God has for us. 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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Are you ready to move your career forward? Make your comeback with Purdue Global and get college credit for your work, school, life, or military experiences. With these credits, you may have already completed up to 75% of your undergraduate degree. You've worked hard to get where you are. to get the recognition you deserve and earn a degree you'll be proud of, one that employers will trust and respect. When you take the next step in your life and career, make it count with Purdue Global. Purdue's online university for working adults. Start your comeback at Purdueglobal.edu. I think about when my daughter sent out her applications for college. She was going to go to a university and so it was the end of her senior year. She began to send out applications to see where she would go to school. I remember they said it was going to take a few months to get those applications back and see

which school she was accepted in. But, you know, those months just seemed to take even longer. It seemed like it was taking forever to get a response back from the school. And she was anticipating what school she would go to. All of her friends were going through the same process. They were waiting for their answers. And it's kind of funny because as they were waiting, it was as if they had more questions in their heart and mind. They were like, well, what if I get accepted to this school? Who will I live with? Well, if I get accepted to that school, where will I live? You see, they were anticipating all this, and it was just formulating more doubt and more questions in their mind about this situation. You see, they were waiting, and it was making it.

them weary. Have you ever waited and been frustrated? Kind of like my daughter, she couldn't make plans until she got this answer. You see, it happens to all of us. We all go through this waiting process. It's no fun. It can be difficult. It can be challenging and it can be hard. But can I tell you, God is not making us wait to make it hard on us. He's... causing us to develop in our character and in our strength. You see, we all have patience we need to acquire. Patience is a strength. Patience is what brings forth God's promises, the word says.

It's through patient endurance that we bring forth the promises of God. You see, my daughter was accepted to a college. She was really happy about it. But then she started waiting to see what sorority she would get in. She was waiting to see what kind of friends she would meet. She's going to be waiting to graduate. She'll be waiting to see what job she gets, who she marries, waiting to have a baby. You see, life is a process of waiting.

She's 18 years old. She's got a lot of waiting to do. So the earlier that we learn this process, the happier we're going to be. You see, I wonder sometimes if those girls even enjoyed the last semester of high school because they were so concerned, worried, and frustrated about what was going to happen in the future. You know, it's interesting. God always puts us at the right place, even if it's not the place we think we should be.

God always works it out for us. You see, we're going to be waiting most of the time, so we need to learn. to wait well. Isaiah 4031 says, wait on the Lord and he will renew your strength. See, we're never going to wait well unless we wait in the strength of God. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking waiting is passive. We're standing in the corner with our hands folded, just waiting for the right thing to happen, waiting for us to get this great break, waiting for our career to start. But see, God doesn't think that we should sit around and wait. We should be actively waiting. We should be pursuing God, not just waiting to see what happens, but preparing

ourselves in the wait. You know, I've heard it said like this, that patience is a muscle that can only be developed in the weight. You see, we've got to. You see, we've got to, wait well to develop patience. We all want patience. We all want to be strengthened. The writer of James says it like this. See the farmer how he waits patiently for his crops to come up? Then it goes on to tell us how he waits. It says he waits with cheerful endurance, with expectation. He's waiting, looking for the signs, the rain. He's out there, watching his soil, believing it's rich. You see, he doesn't go out there and say, I know I planted seed in the ground. I wonder if it's still there. Have you ever thought, like, let me dig it up and make sure

it's still down there. I don't see anything happening yet. You see, that's easy. We all feel like that. But he stayed excited about his crop, even when he didn't see anything happening, because he knew it was just a matter of time that the earth would bring forth his harvest if he kept his endurance and his strength and his patience. See, we should all wait with that attitude, shouldn't we? We would enjoy life more. You know, we don't need to feel the struggle when we wait. We need to develop our patience, knowing that at the right time,

God is going to get us to where we need to be. We need to start enjoying our life right now. not looking so far into the future that we forget what's happening right now. I was in the elevator with my daughter not long ago, and we were going up to like the 25th floor in this high-rise building, and the elevator stopped, doors open, and a man walks in, and we're just standing there, and he looks at me, and I smiled at him, and he looks at me, and I said, hi, he was going to say something to me, and he stopped for a second, and I could just see him thinking, and he said, I can't believe you're standing in this elevator. I can't believe

I'm seeing you right now. He said, I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and he said, I was talking about how I've been waiting for something for a long time, and I need God to help me. I need him to increase my patience so I can bring forth what I feel like he's called me to do. And he said, you know, I love the ministry. I get encouragement from the ministry. And he said, because I see you today? He said, I believe it's a sign that God is telling me it's going to happen. Hang on. Don't give up. It's just a matter. You know what that man was doing? He was doing the same thing that the farmer does. He was looking for a sign. He was looking for the rain. He was saying, I need this cheerful, hopeful endurance. God, give me a sign. Give me the next thing to give me to my

next place. Strengthen me. I'm waiting on you so that you'll renew my strength. You see, when we're strong, we can endure. God says, I want you to run and not get weary. I don't want you to faint. I want you to be strong with this virtue called patience. See, we don't need to birth anything before it's time. We've got to be ready for what God has in store for us. And if we're going to bring forth the promises of God, we're going to have to develop patience. Patience isn't a bad thing. Patience is a strength. It's a good thing. Jesus told 500 disciples, wait here in Jerusalem because the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you. He said, don't leave. Wait right here. Do you know that only 150 disciples out of the 500 didn't get impatient and leave? The rest left.

There was only a hundred and twenty out of the five hundred that stuck around. You see, sometimes I think when it takes a long time we get bored, we lose our enthusiasm. We forget what we're waiting for. We quit expecting. You see, that day, the ones who stayed got renewed, recharged, and re-energated, energized by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came in and suddenly did exactly what Jesus said the Holy Spirit was going to do. Habakkah, the prophet, said, God, I have this vision. You told me to write it down.

You told me to hold it close, but it's taken a long time. You know what God said to him? He said, though it, Terry, wait for it. Well, God, tell me when. Wait for it. Man, sometimes, you know, have you ever thought of that word waiting? All you can see is long lines, lots of traffic. You're sitting in the doctor's office with everybody sitting there waiting.

But why do you stay in that chair? Because you know the nurse is going to come out and she's going to call your name. She's going to call your name. That's what keeps you in that chair. Let me tell you something, God is going to call your name. It's for an appointed time. wait for it. Don't get ahead of the time. See, you know what our job is? Our job is to get ready for the appointed time because we don't want to birth anything before it's time. We don't want to

take it into our own hands. I think about Moses and how he led the Israelites. They were well equipped when they came out of Egypt, strong, headed to the promised land. Listen, he opened the Red Sea. They saw amazing miracles. They walked through on dry ground. So incredible, even though they may have been fearful, they look back and they watched the sea swallow up their enemies. You see, God did amazing things. He said, I'm taking you to that place called the promised land. Stick with me. Keep the promise and don't give up. Well, as they were in the desert, Moses said, hey, I'll be back. I'm going to see God. I'm going to get our instructions for the next half of our journey. So we went up to Mount Sinai and spoke with God. But you know what the Israelites did in the camp? They lost sight of the promise of

God. They lost sight of where they were going and what God was capable of doing. You know what they said? They said, we don't know if Moses is even going to come back. He's taken so long. They were so impatient. You know what they did? They took the gold that God had given them, that he had supplied for them. And they threw it in the fire and they said, we're going to make our own God. We're going to celebrate and worship that God. They thought that God was going to make them happy. It didn't. It didn't make them happy at all. In fact, you know what they did? They fell short of the best plan God had for their life. We need to be prepared. There's a pointed time. What are you? you doing to get to that appointed time? You see, it's how we wait. That's important to God.

How we wait can oftentimes lead to how long we wait. See, the waiting is what God is interested in. He's interested in what we're going to develop within us as we wait. In fact, I believe he's more interested in our development than what we're waiting on. Because, see, God's got amazing things in future. Hey, if he's brought you this far, he's going to take you all the way. He's parted red seas for you. You've seen him do miracles. You're well fed and well clothed. You've got everything you need. Don't jump ahead of God. No, if he's brought you this far, he's going to take you all the way. Enjoy where you are right now. Begin to learn to wait well, knowing that this patience, endurance that you are birthing is going to bring forth.

every promise he's given you. Amen. Amen. As a thank you for your support of our ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you a copy of Joel's new series. Unlock Your Promise. In this new three-part series, Joel Osteen reminds you that God's promises are yours today. God will lead you to your destiny and use all things for your good. Request your copy of Unlock Your Promise Today at Joel Osteen.com. Or call, call you to your destiny and call, Call 888-567, Joel. Don't let doubt and discouragement talk you out of your dreams. It may be taking longer than you thought, but what God started, he's going to finish.

It's just a matter of time before you see things change in your favor. Request this resource. It's going to help you stay in faith so you can unlock the promises that belong to you. Before I ever heard Joel speak, I felt lost in my life. I didn't know where I was headed. But through the message of hope in this ministry, I feel like I feel like I feel. found my purpose. I've gotten married. We're expecting our first child. This ministry has completely changed my family's life. Your support is making a difference in people's lives. Thank you so much

for your prayer and generosity. If you'd like to partner with us to take hope around the world, go to the website and find out how. We appreciate our champion of hope partners so much. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. We believe 2017 is going to be a blessed, prosperous, bountiful year. Know that we love you, that you're blessed, and you're a child of the most high God. Be a barbecue hero. With delicious ultra-low-net carb,

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