Get Over It by Joel Osteen

I want to talk to you today about, “Get over it.”

Too many people go through life thinking somebody owes them something.

They didn’t have a perfect childhood. Now they’re offended at their parents.They got laid off after years with the company. They’re offended with their boss or maybe they came down with an illness. Life threw them a curve.

They went through a divorce, didn’t get the promotion, now they’re offended at God. They’ve got a chip on their shoulder, bitterness on the inside.

“If God was so good, how could he let this happen to me?”

No, God never promised that life would be fair.

But he did promise, if you will stay in faith, he will take what’s meant for you harm and use it to your advantage.

Nothing’s that happened to you is a surprise to God. The people that raised you may not have given everything you needed.

It may not have been fair but that didn’t catch God off guard.

Don’t use it as an excuse to be bitter, thinking that you got cheated.

If you’ll get over it, God will still get you to where you’re supposed to be.

The person that did you wrong in a relationship, the betrayal, the divorce, it may have been painful, it wasn’t right, but if you’ll get over it and quit reliving all the hurt and pain and start moving forward, then you’ll come in to the new beginning God has in store.

My message today is very simple. I say it respectfully. Whatever wrong that was done, whatever’s causing you to feel sour, whatever seems unfair, get over it.

Well, Joel, all my friends are married, I’m still single, get over it.

Don’t let that bitterness take root. That will keep the right person from showing up.

Well, I wish I was a different nationality. I wish I came from a different family, get over it.

God knows what he’s doing. God wasn’t having a bad day when he created you.
You are not at a disadvantage. You have been fearfully and wonderfully made.

“Well, Joel, my friends, it seems like they’ve got more going for them. He’s more talented. She’s more beautiful. I feel like I’ve been shortchanged. No. Get over it.

You have exactly what you need to fulfill your destiny.

“Well, they did me wrong. They left me out.” Get over it and God will make it up to you.

Get over it and God will fight your battles.

I’ve heard it said, “You can be pitiful or you can be powerful. But you cannot be both.”

And instead of sitting around thinking about all the reasons you have to feel sorry for yourself, the bad breaks, the disadvantages. You’ve got to take the hand you’ve been dealt and make the most of it.

Nothing that you’ve been through has to keep you from becoming all God’s created you to be.

My mother had polio as a child. She had to wear a brace on a leg. Now one of her legs is much smaller than the other leg. When she goes to buy shoes, she has to buy two pair of the same shoe because her feet are different sizes. She could have been embarrassed by that, shrunk back, tried to hide it. Let it cause her to feel less than. But she never did. She knows she’s been made in the image of Almighty God.

Growing up, that never kept her from wearing a dress. In fact, she still wears dresses today, nearly 80 years old and still showing off her legs.

That never kept her from working out in the yard. It doesn’t stop her from praying for other people that need healing.

In spite of the “disadvantage” she’s gone on to live a full, blessed life. Why? She got over it. She didn’t make excuses. She didn’t fall into the self-pity trap. And sometimes we think, “Well, if I had their life, if I had his talent, if I was born into that family, then I could do something great.”

No, don’t compare your situation to somebody else’s. You’re not running their race. It may seem like they have more advantages. They have more going for them. But God has given you the grace you need to fulfill your destiny.

You’re not anointed to be them. You’re anointed to be you. And you’ve got to shake off any self-pity, any bitterness.

Our attitude should be, “Nobody owes me anything. I am not at a disadvantage. I didn’t get left out, short changed, passed over, cheated. I am equipped, empowered, and anointed. All the forces of darkness cannot keep me from my destiny.”

Friends, your time is too valuable, your assignment too important to go through life thinking about what you didn’t get, who hurt you, and how it didn’t work out. That is a trick of the enemy to get you distracted wasting valuable energy on things that don’t matter.

He would love to keep you discouraged, in self-pity, blaming others, blaming yourself, even blaming God.

I’m asking you today to get over anything that’s holding you back; a bad attitude, an offense, what somebody did to you, a mistake you made. Don’t be pitiful, when you can be powerful.

The Creator of the universe breathed his life into you. Every day of your life has already been written in God’s book and the good news is your book ends in victory.

And yes, we all go through tough times, but we’re not supposed to stay there. Keep turning the page and you’ll come in to another victory.

God knew there’d be unfair situations. That’s why he’s already arranged a comeback for every setback; vindication for every wrong, a new beginning for every disappointment.

Now don’t let one bad break, a divorce, a rough childhood, cause you to get sour on life. If you didn’t get the promotion, get over it. God has something better in store.

If those friends don’t accept, they leave you out, won’t give you their approval, get over it. You don’t need their approval. Don’t go trying to play up to them, trying to win them over. You have Almighty God’s approval, that’s all that matters.

Maybe your business didn’t make it. You had a setback. Now you think, “Oh, what did I do wrong? I blew it. This is the end.”

No, get over it. Don’t condemn yourself. You are not a failure.

You took a step of faith and a door closed. That means you’re one step closer to an open door.

And when you get knocked down, don’t stay down, get back up again.

Nothing good is going to happen as long as you’re down on yourself, down on life, focused on your mistakes, your disadvantages. That’s going to keep you from the amazing future God has in store.

I know some of you are dealing with a sickness and our hearts go out to you. We’re standing in faith with you.

But don’t you dare sit around nursing your wounds, thinking, “Poor old me. I guess my life is over. I’ve got this disadvantage.”

No, dig your heels in and fight the good fight of faith. God did not bring you this far to leave you. When the going gets tough, the tough have to get going.

Get over the disappointment. Get over the self-pity. Get over the doubt. You have been armed with strength for this battle. No weapon formed against you is going to prosper. Nothing can snatch you out of God’s hand.

The enemy doesn’t have the final say, God has the final say. And he says the number of your days he will fulfill.

You keep turning that page, praying believing, being your best, being good to other people and you’re going to come into another chapter, a chapter of victory.

Think about Job. He had a lot to get over. He lost his health, his family, his business. If anybody had a right, at least in the natural, to have a chip on their shoulder, be angry and bitter, it would have been Job.

He was a good man, he loved God. He was being his best, yet his whole life was turned upside down.

The scripture says, “Rain falls on the just and the unjust.”

I’d love to tell you that if you have faith and you love God, you’ll never have any difficulties, but that’s not reality. But I can tell you when the storms come, if you’ve got your house built upon the rock, if you’ve got an unshakeable confidence in God, if you know the Lord as your Shepherd, the storms will come, but you will not be defeated.

When it’s all said and done, you may go through the fire, through the flood, through the famine, but you’ll come out standing strong.

Don’t be discouraged by the storm. Don’t fall into self-pity, “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

No, you may not have done anything wrong. Maybe because you’re doing something right. You’re taking new ground for the kingdom. You’re setting a new standard for your family.

The enemy’s not going to roll out the red carpet and let us fulfill our destiny. But know this: The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you.

Job could have given up on life, blamed God, and thought, “Aww, just my luck I do my best and loo what happens to me.”

No, right in the middle of the difficulty, when he could have been bitter and sour, he looked up to the heavens and said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”

He was saying in effect, “No matter what comes my way, I’m not going to get bitter, angry, offended, have a chip on my shoulder. It may not be fair, but I know a secret, my God is still on the throne. He will make my wrongs right. I may not like it, but I’m going to get over it and keep moving forward.”

Nine months later, Job came out with twice what he had before.

When you get over it, you position yourself for double. When you forgive even though they did you wrong, get ready for double.

When you have a good attitude, even though life has thrown you a curve, get ready for double. When you your best, even though it seems like you’re got a disadvantage, thoughts tell you, “You’re not as talented as she is.”

“Look at him, he comes from an influential family, you got cheated.” “Look at her, she’s so beautiful, you’re average.”

No, you know better than to believe those lies instead of getting depressed, your shake it off, knowing that you have been made in the image of Almighty God. You have royal blood flowing through your veins.

You don’t let those thoughts defeat you. You don’t let what people say, circumstances pull you down; no matter what comes your way, you get over it and keep moving forward.

When you do that, you better get ready. God says to you what he says to Job, “Double is coming your way.” Double the joy, double the peace, double the favor.

Is there something you need to get over today? Get over a friend that betrayed you, get over a business deal that didn’t work out. Get over a childhood that wasn’t that great?

Unless you get over it, it will keep you from the fullness God has in store.
The key to the double is will you not get bitter? Will you not have a chip on your shoulder, going around thinking that somebody owes you something. It’s easy to make excuses to live a sour life.

Have you notice these days, especially, people blame the past, they blame how they were raised. Momma didn’t give me what she should have given me. My father wasn’t around growing up. That’s why I’m bitter. That’s why I can’t get along with people. That’s why I can’t be successful.

No, what your father or mother didn’t give you is not a surprise to God. Don’t use that as an excuse to be sour and go through life feeling shortchanged.

I say it again, respectfully, get over it. Start moving forward, this is a new day. God knew who your parents would be. He knew what kind of environment you would be raised in. And I’m not making light of it because some people came through a very unfair situation. They didn’t get the love, the approval, the support they should have.

But I don’t believe in giving anyone the right to feel sorry for themselves, because as long as they think they got shortchanged and life is not fair and I’ve got this sickness Joel, and I’m not that talented. That will keep you from the amazing future God has in store.

It may not have been fair, but if you’ll have the right attitude, instead of being a setback, it’ll be a set up for God to do something great in your life.

But I know people, 50 years old, still talking about what Momma didn’t give them. Have you ever thought about maybe Momma didn’t have it to give. Maybe your father did the best he could with what he had.

Sometimes we rely too much on people when we should be relying on God.

Psalms 27:10 says, “God adopts us as his very own children.” A mother or father may not have given you what you needed, but if you’ll start looking to God, he will make up for everything that you did not get.

I’ve heard it said, “If you want someone to give you 100%, don’t look around, look up, God is the only One that can give you everything that you need.”

And some people, it’s not that they don’t want to, they were never taught how to show love, to express approval. They never saw that model growing up. Now they’re passing down what they’ve seen. And if you only look to people, you’ll be disappointed. People will let you down. And if you’re not careful, you’ll get bitter and resentful toward them and think, “You owe me, why won’t you give it to me? What’s wrong with you?”

No, maybe God is teaching you to not rely on people but to rely on him. You’ve got to let people off the hook. Quit trying to make someone be everything to you. No one person has 100%. No one person can meet all your needs, no matter how good they are, how loving, how kind. At some point, they’ll fall short.

You’ve got to look up to your Heavenly Father and say, “God I know you will give me everything I need.”

My father told how when he was in his late 40s, he started thinking about how he had had such a rough childhood. His family was very poor. And at times, they barely had good to survive. He went around with old raggedy clothes, had holes in them.

One day it just hit him as being so unfair and he got a little aggravated at his parents. He thought, “Why didn’t they raise me better? Why wasn’t my father around to give me the support, the encouragement that I needed?”

And when you open the door to self-pity, to blame, all kinds of negative thoughts will flood your mind. The enemy will be right there to egg you on and tell you, “You’re right. They did you wrong. You got cheated. You should have a chip on your shoulder. You need to go straighten them out.”

My father was about to drive from Houston to Dallas to tell his parents exactly what he thought and how they didn’t do a good job on him and they put him at a disadvantaged and it just wasn’t fair.”

Before he left, God spoke to him, not out loud, but down in here. He said, “Son, they did you wrong, didn’t they?” Daddy said, “Yeah, God, they did.” “They didn’t give you what you needed, did they?” “No, God, they didn’t.” “It wasn’t fair was it?” “No, it wasn’t fair.” God said, “Son, how do you think you would have done if you would have been in their shoes, with no money with no air conditioning, no dishwasher, no washing machine; mother working 12 hours a day, making 10 cents an hour, father with a 4th grade education, lost everything on the farm during the great depression, standing in line for food?

Son, do you think you may have made a few mistakes?”

And when my father saw it from that perspective, he realized his parents had done an amazing job considering the circumstances they had.

But it’s easy to remember what we didn’t get and where they made a mistake, how they should have done better and why did they say that?

But most of the time, if you’ll put yourself in their shoes, you’ll find they did the best they could with what they had. Why don’t you let people off the hook? Quit expecting them to be perfect.

Look to God to give you what people could not give you. If you don’t and you go through life thinking somebody owes you something, you’ve got that chip on your shoulder; it’s going to cause you to get bitter.

And when you’re bitter, it poisons every area of your life.

Hebrews 12 talks about that root of bitterness. I’ve learned that a bitter root will always produce bitter fruit.

Bitter people don’t have good relationships. They’re too negative. When we’re bitter it affects our attitude. We see everything through a critical lens. Nothing is ever good enough. Bitter people, they can smile on the outside, “How you doing? Good to see you today.” But on the inside they’re thinking, “I don’t like you. Why did you show up here?”

Bitterness taints everything about them. It follows you everywhere you go. It’s like this grandfather I heard about. He took a nap one afternoon in the family room.

His grand kids decided to play a trick on him. They got some real strong smelling cheese. It’s very potent. It smelled really bad. While he was sleeping, they snuck over and rubbed some of that cheese on his mustache.

A couple of minutes later, his nose began to twitch. He finally woke up and thought, “Boy, it stinks in this room.”

He left the family room to go into the kitchen and get some relief. He took a sniff here, a sniff there, the same thing. “It stinks in this room.” Frustrated, he went outside to get a breath of fresh air. He took a deep breath of fresh air, shook his head and said, “Man, the whole world stinks.”

If the whole world ever stinks for you, might I suggest you look inside. Maybe there’s some adjustments you need to make. Bitterness will follow you everywhere you go.

I know a man. He got bent out of shape at how his former employer had treated him. Overall, this boss had been very good to him, loving and kind. Just a few things here and there. He could have overlooked it. Not paid any attention, focused on the good. But he made the mistake of letting the bitterness take root.

Today, 20 years later, the fruit from that bitter root is starting to show up. He’s negative, always finding fault, critical, got a chip on his shoulder.

When we hold on to things we should be letting go of, when we don’t forgive, when we remember the worst, it’s not harming the other person, it’s poisoning our own life.

God is saying today, “Get over it.” Life is flying by. You don’t have time to waste another minute being negative, offended, bitter. So, they did you wrong, get over it and God will make it up to you.

So you had a bad break, a disadvantage, get over it. God is still on the throne.
My friend, Nick Vujicic, we’ve had him speak for us here. He was born with no arms and no legs. All he has is his torso. He could be sitting around saying, “God it’s not fair. I have no reason to live. I have no future in front of me.”

No, Nick has taken the hand he was dealt and he’s making the most of it. Today, he’s a minister, that goes all over the world challenging people to not let disadvantage hold them back.

Are you making an excuse for some reason you can’t be happy? An excuse for why you can’t succeed?

“Joel, they hurt me too badly. That’s why I can’t forgive.” No, you’re not forgiving for their sake. You’re forgiving so that you can be free.

“Well, Joel, I’ve had some rough times. I’ve had a bad break in my business.”
Get over it. You wouldn’t be alive unless God had another victory in front of you.

Nothing in life has happened to you. It’s happened for you. Every disappointment, every wrong, even every closed door has helped make you into who you are.

You are not defined by your past. You are prepared by your past. You may have encountered some great obstacles. It’s because God has a great future in front of you.

I read about a young man. His dream was to play professional baseball. And all through junior high and high school, he was by far the best player in the league.

But one day, he had a farming accident and he lost all of his fore finger and most of his middle finger. It just so happened it was on the hand that he threw the baseball with. It looked like his career in baseball was over.

But this young man didn’t sit around in self pity, nursing his wounds. He learned how to throw the ball without these two fingers. If you know much about baseball, those are the two fingers that you normally use to throw the ball.

He had always played third base. And one day during practice, the coach was standing behind him and noticed that when he threw the ball to first base, the ball had all kinds of movement on it. The coach thought, “How could a batter possibly hit that ball?” He moved him from third base to the pitcher’s mound.
Mordecai Brown went on to become one of the greatest pitchers in all of professional baseball.

If you will get over what you think is a disadvantage, God will take what looks like a liability and turn it into an asset.

And it may not be something physical but the way you were raised, a mistake you made, what somebody did to you.

We think, “If only I hadn’t had that accident, then I could fulfill my dreams.” “If only, I hadn’t been through that divorce.” “If only I hadn’t gotten laid off.”
Listen, you’ve got to get rid of the “If only” thoughts. “If only” can keep you from your destiny.

Nick could be saying, “If only I had arms and legs. Then I could make something of my life.”

Mordecai Brown, “If only I had all my fingers.” My mother, “If only I had not had polio.”

My father, “If only I was raised in a better environment.” Zaccheus, “If only I was taller.”

David, “If only Goliath wasn’t so big.” Gideon, “If only I came from a better family.”

Joseph, “If only my brothers hadn’t sold me into slavery.”

No, what’s happened may look like a disadvantage in your eyes but it is not a disadvantage in God’s eyes. It’s not going to keep you from your destiny; it’s going to thrust you into your divine destiny.

Now I’m asking you, do your part, get over anything that’s holding you back. Get over what they had said about you. They don’t determine your destiny, God does.

Get over what didn’t work out. Get over the mistake you made. Get over the disappointment. It may have been a setback, but it’s not a surprise to God. He’s already arranged the comeback. Our attitude should be, “Nobody owes me anything. I am not going through life with a chip on my shoulder. I am letting go of what didn’t work out. I’m forgiving the people that did me wrong. I’m pulling up the root of bitterness and I’m moving forward into the amazing future God has in store. And if you will learn this simple principle to get over it, then I believe and declare no disappointment, no bad break, no injustice is going to keep you from your destiny.

God’s going to take what’s meant for your harm and use it to your advantage. And like Job, you’re not only to come out, but you’re going to come out better, stronger, increased, with twice the joy, twice the peace, twice the victory, in Jesus’ Name.

If you receive it, can you say amen today?

This entry was posted in Joel Osteen

God Will Cause You to Remain
Posted on November 20, 2013 5:06 pm by Salaveena

From 11/13/2011

I want to talk to you today about how God will cause you to remain.
The word “remain” means “to be fixed, immoveable, not affected by circumstances.”

In life we all have ups and downs. There are seasons that are more difficult than others, seasons of testing, trials, temptation, where our character is being developed. We’re proving to God what we’re made of.

You may be dealing with a boss that is hard to get along with, raising a difficult child. Or perhaps just when you thought you would get ahead, you had an unexpected crisis and now you had to start all over. It’s like you took two steps forward and then three steps backwards.

If we’re not careful we’ll think that all of life is going to be this way. Up and then down, like a roller-coaster. “Everything may be fine now but don’t get your hopes up. It’s not going to last something else is going to go wrong.

No, God wants to bring us to a place of stability where we cannot be moved.

Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you abide in me, you will bear much fruit and your fruit will remain.”

God is saying, “If you will just keep abiding in me, keep being your best, keep being faithful, giving, loving, serving, then you will come to a place where life is not all ups and downs, one good break and two bad breaks.” No, God will cause you to remain.

In other words, God won’t let you go backwards; he won’t let you be defeated. The attacks may come but God has you fixed, you are stable, you are established.

At one time you would have gone in reverse but because you’ve been faithful year after year, you had a setback but you didn’t get discouraged. People were talking about you but you stayed on the high road. Your plans didn’t work out but you gave God praise anyway.

Because you passed this test, it’s like you hit this tipping point where God says, “All right, you’ve done your part. You’ve abided in me. Now I’m going to do my part. I’m going to set you on high. I’m going to take you out of the enemy’s reach. I’m going to hide you under my wings. I’m going to make you immovable, unshakable, untouchable.”

And yes, the enemy may do his best but his best will never be enough. God has the final say, and when God says, “I want you to remain; all the forces of darkness cannot bring you down. No sickness, no person, no bad break, no injustice, no company, will be able to take you backwards.

You’ve come into this new season where the Creator of the universe says, “No more roller-coaster rides for you. No more two steps forward and three steps backwards. I’m establishing you. I’m sett you on high. I’m going to cause you to remain.

This is what happened to Joseph. As a young man he was wearing the coat of many colors. He had God’s favor. He was up. Then his jealous brothers threw him into a pit. He went down.

He was sold into slavery and went to work for a man named Potiphar. He came back up. Potiphar’s wife lied about him and had him put in prison. He went back down.

He was good to the people in prison; Pharaoh put him in charge over all of Egypt. He came back up again. Year after year it was up and down. Good break/bad break, promotion/setback. But Joseph understood this principle.

The whole time he just kept abiding. He didn’t get bitter. He didn’t start saying, “God, why is this happening to me?” He just kept passing the test. One day he hit that tipping point where God said, “All right, Joseph, you’ve done your part. You’ve proven that you’re going to be faithful. I’m going to do my part. I’m going to cause you to remain.”

We talk a lot about the ups and downs that Joseph went though, how he kept a good attitude during tough times. That’s important. But what I want us to see today is Joseph came to a place where he never went back down again. God established him. God set him on high.

The same God that brought you up can keep you up. Don’t get set in your thinking that life is going to be all ups and downs, one good break and one bad break.

No, keep abiding. Keep being faithful and you too are going to come to that place where God not only lifts you up but God is going to keep you up.

Think about Job, he went through a lot of heartache and turmoil. He had setbacks in his health, in his finances, in his family, he practically lost everything. Job is the poster child for a difficult, unfair life. You hear people talking about “Poor old Job.” But what we don’t always realize is that that difficulty didn’t spread out over Job’s entire lifetime. It didn’t last year after year. Most experts agree that that trouble lasted for a period of nine months, less than a year. And when it was over and Job came out with twice what he had before you never read about Job going through major heartache and trouble like that again.

Here’s the key; in the difficulty Job didn’t get bitter. He didn’t start complaining. He just kept abiding. He stayed in faith.

One day God said, “All right Job, you’ve passed the test. I let the enemy do his best but you’ve proven that you will be faithful. Now I’m going to take you out of the enemy’s reach. That kind of heartache and pain is over. I’m going to set you in a place where you remain, where you cannot be touched.”

You too may have had a lot of ups and downs in life, struggles in finances, difficulties in a relationship. Maybe you’ve battled with depression. These difficulties have lasted year after year and you’re thinking, “Is it ever going to get easier? Is it ever going to change? Am I ever going to see a breakthrough?”
The answer is yes.

Because you keep abiding in him, just like Job, just like Joseph, you’re going to come into promotion, to restoration, to vindication, where God not only lifts you up but God is going to keep you up.

When I took over for my parents twelve years ago at first it was very difficult, I had never ministered before, it was a struggle to prepare a message and to learn how to get up and speak in front of people. Then the church began to grow and we needed a larger facility.

We set out on our three-year journey to try to acquire this place, the former Compaq Center. It was up and down, a victory and a defeat. Just when we thought we had won the battle a company filed another lawsuit to try to keep us from moving in. We had to start all over.

With the growth came more notoriety. More people were watching, that’s both a blessing and a burden. It means there is more scrutiny, more criticism, more people examining every decision.

For the first ten years or so I was just fighting the good fight, growing, stretching, doing my best to stay above water. It was a struggle.

But about two years ago – I remember like it yesterday – I felt this weight lift off of me. It wasn’t anything bad, it was just an underlying pressure of, “What’s going to happen next? Is it going to work out? Are the funds going to come in? What are people saying?”

That all lifted off of me. It was like I stepped into a place where God said, “All right, Joel, you’ve been faithful, you’ve passed the test. Yes, you’ve had ups and downs, people for you and against you. But I’m bringing you into a place of stability where you are out of the enemy’s reach, where you cannot go backwards.”

David said in Psalm 27, “In the day of trouble God will hide me in his shelter; he will set me out of reach high upon a rock.”

If you’ll just keep being faithful you will come to the place where God will make you untouchable, invisible to the enemy. He will hide you away.

You will have a strength, a confidence, a rest, a knowing, greater than you’ve ever had before. Challenges may come your way but you’re not worried about it. You know it can’t touch you. No weapon formed against you can prosper.

People may be talking, trying to make you look bad, but you don’t give it the time of day. You know your future is too bright to be distracted. (I wear my sunglasses at night.)

You know they don’t control your destiny; God does. So you just keep on being your best, walking in integrity, staying on that high road and Almighty God will establish you.

It doesn’t mean that we won’t have challenges and certainly attacks will come but it’s no big deal. We know that God will take care of our enemies.

Many of you today are about to come into this place where God is going to cause you to remain. Because you keep abiding in him you’re not going to have to face the same struggles that have dogged you year after year. You’re not going to have to deal with the same challenges that have held you back for so long; the sickness, the depression, the addiction, the barely getting by, the bad breaks. No, it’s a new day.

God is saying to you what he said to Moses in Exodus 14: 13, “The enemy that you see today you will see no more.”

That addiction – that addiction that’s sidetracked you for so long is about to be broken. You will see it no more, that sickness, that depression that you thought would never go away is about to come to an end. You will see it no more, that legal problem, that conflict, is not going to last forever. You need to look at the enemies in your life, the things that are holding you back, the struggle, the lack, the unfair circumstances.

Instead of thinking, “Ah, man, it’s never going to change, just more of the same.”

No, have a new perspective. Look at those challenges and say, “Goodbye, so long, adios, the Creator of the universe is setting me on high. He is making me untouchable. He is taking me out of the enemy’s reach.” Have that attitude, “I will see you no more.”

It goes on to say, “You won’t have to lift one finger in your defense for the Lord you God will fight for you.”

I have a friend that’s struggled with an addiction for a long time, for many years. In high school he got mixed up with the wrong crowd and some twenty years later he was still addicted. He’s a good man, has a good family. He’s gone through a lot of counseling, different treatment centers with no success. I’ve prayed for him here at the altar several times. He could have easily just given up, thought, “Well, this is just my lot in life. It’s never going to change.”

Very often we settle for less than God’s best. When it’s not happening on our timetable, we don’t see anything changing; it’s easy to get complacent and to quit believing, to quit trying. But not this young man; he was determined. He had a made-up mind. Even though he would fall he would get back up again and again.

About two years ago he told me how after being addicted for 21 years now he is totally free.

I congratulated him and I asked him how he did it. I thought maybe he went through some kind of special treatment program.

But he said, “Joel, I didn’t do anything new. In fact, I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s just like something broke on the inside. All of a sudden I didn’t have the desire anymore. I had a strength that I had never felt.”

What’s interesting is in years past he could stop for two or three weeks but then he would crave that drug so strongly he would always go back to it. He couldn’t resist the temptation. But he said, “This time I’m not even tempted by it anymore. It’s not even a struggle.”

That’s God establishing him. That’s God taking him out of the enemy’s reach.
You may fall. You may have some setbacks. But if you will just keep getting back up one day the God that helped you up is going to keep you up. You’re going to hit that tipping point where God is going to cause you to remain.

You may have enemies that you’ve dealt with and they’re held you back for a long time. But the good news is those enemies are not permanent. That addiction is not going to defeat you all of your life. It’s coming to an end, that struggle, that barely getting by, never having enough, that lack is not going to dog you all of your days.

Don’t accept it as the norm. You keep abiding and it’s just a matter of time. God promises one day you will see that enemy no more.

I know a young lady; she is a single parent mother and really sharp girl. She’s got her college degree. She’s working hard and raising her family, doing her best to provide a living but she has always struggled in her finances. At the end of every month she would barely have enough to pay her bills.

She told how she wanted to take her children on vacation but every time she saved up extra funds something would break that would have to be fixed. It was like she just couldn’t get ahead. But again, she didn’t get discouraged. She didn’t start complaining. She just kept being faithful. Kept being productive, kept honoring God. She’s one of our faithful volunteers. I see her here all the time giving, serving, helping others. What’s she doing? Abiding, God says, “When you abide in me you will bear much fruit. Not only that, your fruit will remain.”

That means not temporary favor but permanent favor. Not a season of blessing but a lifetime of blessing. Because you keep abiding in him, God won’t let you live a life of constant struggle.

About four years ago her supervisor at work unexpectedly took an early retirement and she was given that position. With that position came an incredible increase in her salary. She was very grateful.

About a month ago she told me how one of the vice-presidents of their company suddenly resigned and she was given that position.

She said, “Joel, now I’m making more than ten times what I made when I first started.”

Today—she doesn’t live under that constant pressure. She has more than enough. She can take vacations whenever she wants to. Plus she supports another single parent family. That’s what God wants to do for you. He wants to set you on high.

You may be tough times. You may be struggling. But don’t let that spirit of lack get on the inside. That is not who you are. You’re a child of the Most High God. God has much fruit for you to bear. He has an abundance in store for you.

If you will be your best right where you are and be faithful with what you have, then you’re going to come in not to a temporary season but to a permanent place where that enemy of lack you will see no more.

It won’t be up and down, barely get by. You need to wave goodbye to those days.

It says in Deuteronomy, “God is bringing you into a good land, a land with no shortage, where you will lack nothing.

You may have some lack in your life right now but the good news is that’s not where you’re staying. God is bringing you into a land with no lack, no shortage, no defeat, no mediocrity, where you will have more than enough, where you can be a blessing to others.

Not two steps forward, three steps backwards. No, God is going to lift you up and he is going to keep you up. He is going to cause you to remain.

Friends, God controls the whole universe. Like with this young lady, God can move somebody out of the way so that you can have that position.

Quit worrying about who is in front of you. God knows how to get you to where he wants you to be. Promotion doesn’t come from people, promotion comes from the Lord.

I know this man who was kind of upset because his boss was really against him. He was always trying to make him look bad and would never give him any kind of credit, any kind of recognition.

The truth is, his boss was jealous of him. He was afraid he might get promoted over him. But his man just kept being his best, working unto God, not working unto people.

Several promotions that he should have received, because of this unfair boss and his tainted views toward him, he was passed over.

One day the CEO of the large corporation was in town and this man had to make a sales presentation. The CEO was very impressed with his work.

About a year later a position became available that should have gone to his boss but the CEO bypassed his boss and called him directly and offered him the position.

Today, instead of having to work for the unfair boss, the tables have turned; the boss is working for him.

One touch of God’s favor and you’ll go from the back to the front, from the tail to the head, from the employee to the employer.

Keep abiding, keep faithful, stay on that high road and you won’t have to lift one finger in your defense for the Lord will fight your battles. God will make your wrongs right. God will get you to where he wants you to be.

God knows not only how to lift you up; God knows how to keep you up.

This is what happened to a man in the scripture by the name of Hezekiah. This enemy was coming against him, causing him all kinds of trouble, trying to keep him from his destiny.

But again, Hezekiah didn’t get all upset and worried and complaining. He just kept abiding, kept being faithful, kept passing the test. In 2 Kings 19, God said, “Hezekiah, I Myself will come against this enemy. He will receive word that he is needed at home and I will cause him to want to return and he will be defeated.”

Notice when you abide in him, the Creator of the Universe says, “I Myself will come against your enemies. I Myself will come against that sickness. I Myself will come against those that oppose you.” It says God caused his enemy to want to do something. God can cause that unfair boss to take an early retirement. God can cause that neighbor that’s giving you so much trouble to decide to pack up and move to another subdivision, not mine, Lord.

God can cause that classmate that’s saying derogatory things about you to suddenly be transferred to another school. God is in complete control not just of your life; God is even in control of your enemies.

Yes, there may be a few ups and downs but what I want us to get in our spirit today is God is bringing you into a place where he is going to set you on high, where he is going to take care of your enemies. When it’s all said and done you will never be the victim. He will cause you to be the victor. Receive that into your spirit.

I know some of you; you’ve been doing the right thing for a long time, faithful year after year, but you haven’t seen much progress and not much is going your way.

But let me encourage you, your time is coming. God sees every right decision, every sacrifice; every injustice and at some point you will come out of the test and into the reward.

The scripture talks about if you just keep doing the right thing, then payday is coming.

Now you can’t get stuck in a rut thinking it’s never going to change. If you accept the fact that life is always going to be ups and downs, you get negative and bitter; it will limit what God can do in your life.

You may have some bad breaks but you’ve got to learn to just shake it off. Like this man I heard about. He was going skydiving for his first time.

The instructor said, “There’s only three things you need to remember.

Number one, when you jump pull the ripcord for your parachute.

Number two, if it doesn’t open pull the emergency rip cord.

And number three, the truck will be there to pick you up when you land.”
He jumped out of the plane so excited and he pulled the first ripcord and the parachute didn’t open. He frantically pulled his emergency ripcord and that parachute didn’t open. He said, “Oh, great. And with my luck the truck probably won’t even be there to pick me up.”

But when we have bad breaks it’s easy to expect more of the same. You’ve got to learn to just shake that off. Things may come against you but it’s not over until God says it’s over.

Our attitude should be “I may be down but I’m coming up. This difficulty didn’t come to stay. It came to pass. It’s not my final destination. God is bringing me into a good land. I know one day this difficulty I will see no more.”
2nd Chronicles, Chapter 14, there was a king named Asa. It talks about how King Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. He removed all of the idols and he encouraged the people to worship God. He lived by example a life of faith and integrity and honored God with his life. Up to that point the people of Judah had fought battle after battle. They were constantly on edge, struggling, working, fighting off this enemy and then another.

But when King Asa took over and honored God in a greater way and got rid of the things that were displeasing the scripture says that, “No one tried to make war against King Asa for the Lord was giving him rest from his enemies.”

When you put God first place and like King Asa you get rid of anything that is displeasing, wrong attitude, wrong friends, bad habits, if you will honor God with your life you will come to a place where God will give you rest from your enemies.

It says, “No one came against him.”

Some of you have struggled in your finances for many years but receive this into your spirit, God is going to give you rest from that enemy of lack. Because you have abided in him, God has much fruit coming your way. He has an abundance in store.

You may have struggled with a sickness for a long time. You’ve just learned to live with that pain. But take heart today. God is saying he is going to give you rest from that enemy. It is not permanent. Don’t believe those lies that are telling you, “I’m never going to get better. I’m never going to get well. I’ll never overcoming this problem.”

No, the Creator of the Universe is going to give you rest from everything that is holding you back.

Let me declare it; rest from depression, rest from sickness and disease, rest from addictions and bad habits, rest from poverty and lack.

You need to get up every day and say, “Father, thank-you that this sickness is not going to defeat me. You are giving me rest.

Father, thank-you that these addictions are not going to ruin my life, you’re giving me rest.

Lord, thank-you that this legal problem, this conflict, is not going to last forever. You have promised to give me rest.”

The scripture says, “His yoke is easy and his burden is light.”

God doesn’t want you to go through life constantly struggling, always burdened down, fighting against something.

Yes, you may have seasons that are more difficult where you have to really stand strong. But don’t settle there and accept that as the way it’s always going to be.

No, God is bringing you into a good land, a land with no shortage, not two steps forward and three steps backwards. No, keep abiding, keep being faithful and you’re going to hit that tipping point where God says, “Alright, that’s enough, they’re passed the test, that’s my son, that’s my daughter, I’m going to cause them to remain.”

God is not only going to lift you up, he is going to keep you up. He is going to make you immovable, untouchable to the enemy.

I know some of you have struggled in a certain area for a long time. But remember what God said to Moses. He is saying it to you. “The enemy you see today you will see no more.”

God is doing a new thing. I believe even right now chains are being loosed and bandages are being broken. Setbacks are going to turn around to being comebacks.

If you will just keep abiding in him you’re not going to have to lift one finger in your defense. God is going to give you rest from your enemies. He is going to set you on high. I believe and declare you will fulfill your destiny and you will become everything that God has created you to be. Amen! Do you receive it today?

This entry was posted in Joel Osteen

God Will Finish What He Started
Posted on November 20, 2013 4:47 pm by Salaveena

05/12

God Bless You.

I want to talk to you tonight about how God will finish what he started.
The moment God put a dream in your heart, the moment the promise took root, God not only started it but he set a completion date. God is called the Author and the Finisher of our faith. God wouldn’t have given you the dream; the promise wouldn’t have come alive if God didn’t already have a plan to bring it to pass.

It doesn’t matter how long it’s been or how impossible it looks. Your mind may tell you “It’s too late, you’ve missed too many opportunities, it’s never going to happen.”

No, God is saying, “It’s not over. I have the final say. I’ve already set the completion date.”

And if you will stay in faith and not talk to yourself out of it, it’s just a matter of time before it comes to pass.

But some of you tonight, you’ve lost your fire. At one time, you believed you could do something great. You had a big dream.

Maybe you believed you could start that business, believed that you’d get healthy again, believed that you’d fall in love and get married. But it’s been so long, you tried and it didn’t work out. The loan didn’t go through, the medical report wasn’t good.

Now, the “never lies” are playing in your mind.

“I’ll never get well.”

“I’ll never get married.”

“I’ll never accomplish my dreams.”

No, you have to have a new perspective. The Creator of the universe has already set that completion date. And just because it hasn’t happened yet, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. God has already lined up the right people, the right breaks, the right answers. Everything you need is already in your future. Now, you’re got to shake off the doubt, shake off the discouragement.

Whether it’s been a year, five years, or fifty years, what God promised you he still has every intention of bringing it to pass.

In the Scripture, there’s a man by the name of Simeon. An angel appeared unto him and told him, “You will not die until you see the birth of Christ.”

You can imagine how far out that promise seemed, especially back then. He would see the birth of the Messiah. Simeon didn’t tell anyone about it. He kept it to himself.

Do you know some promises you’re not to suppose to tell your friends and all your family members. They may not be happy for you. They may tell you how it’s not going to happen and you’re too old and you really think you can do that?

Keep it to yourself, that’s between you and God. The Scripture calls it a “secret petition of our heart”.

Years went by and Simeon didn’t see any sign of the Messiah, five years, ten years. I’m sure the thought came saying, “You heard God wrong. It’s been too long, it’s never going to happen.”

The enemy has no new tricks. He uses the same type of lies on us today; doubt, discouragement. “Do you really think you’re going to get well? You saw the medical report.”

“Do you really think you could accomplish those dreams? You don’t have the funds, the connections.”

No, let those thoughts go in one ear and out the other. I can see Simeon all through the day, “God, I know you’re a God of completion. You said, I wouldn’t go to my grave without seeing this promise come to pass. So, Lord, I want to thank you that it’s on the way.”

He got up every morning believing, expecting, knowing that it would happen. And sure enough, 20 years later, he saw Christ born. The promise came to fulfillment.

God is saying to you tonight what he said to Simeon. You can’t die yet. There are too many promises that have not come to pass in your life. What God he will finish. People can’t stop it, bad breaks can’t stop it, death can’t even top it.
You need to get ready. God is going to complete your incompletions. You will not go to your grave without seeing those dreams come to pass, even the secret petitions of your heart. And it may seem impossible, but remember our God is all powerful. He spoke the worlds into existence and he has you in the palm of his hand. God never created you to do something average, to drag through life unfulfilled, unrewarded. No, he created you to do something amazing. He’s put seeds of greatness on the inside. He’s whispered things to you in the middle of the night that seem too big, far out, impossible. But God is saying, “That was my voice, that’s my dream for your life, it’s bigger, it’s more rewarding.”

And you may not see how it can happen. It may look like it’s been too long. But if you’ll stay in faith, God can still bring that to pass. He will finish what he started.

I met a 106-year-old man in our lobby after the service a while back and he was so happy, so full of joy. He looked like he was 70 years old. He didn’t have one wrinkle. He was African American. And I commented on how great he looked. And I’ll never forget what he said. He touched his face and said, “Joel, black don’t crack.”

He was so funny that I asked him how long he planned on living. He told how he has seven children. And one of his sons has gotten off course and is not serving God. He said, “I can’t die yet because God promised ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’”

I love that attitude; I can’t die until I see God bring every promise to pass.

Friends, you’ve got to stir up what God’s put on the inside. Life will try to push you down, steal your dreams, talk you into settling for mediocrity. But I want you to have this new attitude; what God started in your life, he is going to finish it.

But here’s the real question; will you keep believing even though it looks impossible? Will you stay in faith, even though every voice tells you that it’s not going to happen?

This is what David did. He was anointed to be king at 17 years of age, but he didn’t take the throne until he was 30. For 13 years, he had a lot coming against him. King Saul was jealous of him and tried to kill him. Even though David had done no wrong, he had to live on the run, hiding in the caves. Year after year, I’m sure he thought, “God, did I hear you wrong? Is it ever going to happen?”
At one point, a man named Nabel insulted David. He wouldn’t give David’s men any food even thought they had been protecting his property. And this set David off. He was furious.

I don’t think so much it was the fact that Nabel was rude. But it was the fact that David had 13 years of pent up frustration on the inside. He’s heard the voice again and again, “Look at you man, you’re supposed to be a king. You’re out here living like a cave man.”

David and his men set out toward Nabel’s property. They were going to wipe him out. But along the way, a young lady showed up by the name of Abigail. This was Nabel’s wife. She said, “David, you’re the next king of Israel. You’re destined to take the throne. Why are you going to go mess with my husband?”
That’s like swatting a little fly. She reminded David what God had spoken over him.

David said, “You know what you’re right. I know there’s a promise in me and I’m not going to let the fact that it’s taken a long time cause me to get frustrated and make a poor decision that could hinder my destiny.” He turned around and went back home.

God has put a promise in every one of you. But maybe like David, right now you’re in the wilderness where you don’t see anything happening. You think, “Joel, I’ve been praying, believing for a year, five years, ten years. It’s never going to work out.”

No, let me be the voice of Abigail, “Stay the course. Keep believing. You may be tired, discouraged, tempted to be frustrated, but don’t give up on your future. Stay on the high road, our God is a faithful God. It may be taking a long time but what he started he will finish in your life.”

A good friend of mine is Jeff Hackelman, here on the front row. And he and Eileen pastor family faith church in Huntsville, Texas.

And when we were in high school, Jeff drove down to the Gulf of Mexico to go fishing one day. And he had done this many times before. This day, he and his friend decided they were going to try somewhere different. As Jeff was launching the boat, he asked the man at the dock how to get back to that place from the gas wells. The man said, “We’re directly north, if you’re anywhere around the gas wells, just go due north and you’ll make it back to this dock.”

Jeff and his friend traveled an hour in their little boat and got to their destination. They were having so much fun and catching so many fish, what they didn’t realize is a heavy fog had set in. It happened so quickly that it set them off guard. They could only see 20 – 30 feet in each direction. It was getting kind of late. The sun started to go down and Jeff was a little concerned.

He told his friend, “Pull up the anchor, we got to get going.”

Jeff looked around to try to get some sense of direction. He could only see fog, all of his logic said “We need to go this way.”

He asked his friend, his father’s a big fisherman as well, he said, “No, Jeff, it’s not that direction, it’s this direction.” Totally opposite of what Jeff thought, now, he was really confused.

He got his compass out. Due north like the man at the dock said wasn’t this way (pointing left), or this way (pointing right), but it was this way (pointing whole hand straight towards in front and ahead of himself), different than what both of them thought. Against all sense of reasoning, Jeff cranked up the motor and started traveling due north. Everything in his mind told him, “You’re making a big mistake, you’re going the wrong way, you better turn around.”

He kept going back to what the man at the dock said, “Go due north and you’ll make it back. He traveled, crept along, couldn’t go fast, he traveled 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45, an hour. Now it was dark. A voice started telling him, “If you were going right, you would already be there by now.”

How many times as we’re believing for what God promised us do we hear these same type of voices. If you were going to get well, you’d feel better by now. If you were going to get married, you would have met somebody by now.

There will always be voices trying to convince us it’s too late. You’re going the wrong way; it’s never going to happen. Jeff’s friend started panicking. He started yelling at Jeff, “Turn the boat around; you’re taking us out to sea. We’re going to run out of gas, we could get killed.”

In spite of all these confusing voices, Jess kept traveling due north, another 30 minutes, another 45, another hour.

Just before they ran out of gas, they began to see the dock faintly come into view. They made it back safely.

Sometimes in life, the fog will set in. You don’t know which way is the right direction. You know God’s put a promise in your heart. But every voice tells you it’s not going to happen, you’re too old, you’ve missed too many opportunities, you don’t have the connections. In the foggy times when you don’t see anything happening, that’s when you have to dig your heels in and say, “God, I’m going to believe what you promised me in spite of how I feel, in spite of what people are telling me, in spite of how it looks. God, I’m going to keep acting like what you said is true. I’m going to keep believing you’re on the throne. I know you’re a faithful God, what you promised you will bring to pass.”

There’s a young lady in the Scripture by the name of Rachel, she wanted to have a baby so badly, God put this dream in her heart. Year after year went by and she couldn’t conceive. At the same time, her sister Leah had a baby.

Rachel was happy for her, congratulated her. But all the while, she kept praying, Rachel did, believing for her own baby, but no success. Well, Leah had another child, another baby, and another and another. And of course, it’s good to be happy for others, it’s good to rejoice with them, but God doesn’t want you to just celebrate everybody else, God wants to bring your dreams to pass. God wants to give you the desires of your heart. He wants you to be celebrated.

And Rachel did her best to keep praying and believing, but after years of frustration, seeing her sister have babies and her not having a child. She got discouraged and said, “Hey this is my lot in life, it’s never going to happen.”

The one thing I love about God is just because we give up on a dream, it doesn’t mean that God gives up on the dream.

The Scripture says, “God remembered Rachel.” It doesn’t say that Rachel remembered God. This is how much God wants you to fulfill your destiny. It says, “God remembered Rachel, answered her prayer, and gave her a baby.”

Friends, God is so loving, he’s so merciful, even when we become too discouraged to believe, God does not forget what he promised you. You may feel like Rachel, your life hasn’t turned out the way you had hoped, you prayed, you believed, you worked hard, you put forth the effort but it didn’t work out. Now you’re kind of thinking, “Hey, I’m never going to be happy again. I’ll never be married. I’ll never accomplish my dreams.” No, God not only remembers you, he remembers the promise he put in you. He knows what he’s destined you to do.

You may have already said, “Forget it, it’s never going to happen.”

The good news is you don’t have the final say, God has the final say, and he says, “What I started in your life, I’m going to finish.” That dream you gave up on, God didn’t give up on.

When my brother Paul was 12 years old, he went to Africa with my father and standing on a hot tarmac, waiting for a small plane to refuel, in a tiny nation called Northern Rhodesia, God planted a dream in Paul’s heart that one day he would go back to Africa and do medical missions. The Creator of the Universe birthed that in him that day. Paul went on to become a doctor and he spent 17 years as the Chief of Surgery in Little Rock, Arkansas. Deep down, he still wanted to do medical missions but he was so busy. He had so much responsibility, he couldn’t do it.

In 1999, driving home from my father’s memorial service, he heard God speak to him right down in here, telling him to give up his medical practice, come back home and help us pastor the church.

In the natural that didn’t make sense. He had all these years of training, all these years of education; he was going to walk away from it.

And for ten years, Paul helped us in the ministry and never thought anymore about medicine. He thought those days were over.

But God doesn’t forget what he promised you as a child. God remembers the dreams, the goals, the things that you always wanted to do.

And one day, a group of doctors from our church were going to Africa and they asked Paul to go and he went over there thinking he’d watch from the side lines and maybe see how we could support them better. But when we got there, they put him in the operating room and said, “Paul, we need you to do these surgeries.” He hadn’t done surgery in over 10 years. And I just thank God I wasn’t the first patient that day. But on the last day before he left to come back home on that two week trip, he got up in the middle of the night. He went out and looked up in the African sky and all of a sudden it hit him. He was doing what God put in his heart as a 12-year-old boy. What God starts, he will finish.

You may not see how it can happen. It may look like you’re too old, you missed too many opportunities, it’s impossible. No, God has it all figured out. God knows how to connect the dots.

Here’s the key. God is not okay fulfilling half of your destiny. He’s not okay with you fulfilling a part of it. God is going to make sure you complete what he put you here to do.

Today, Paul spends five months of a year over in the remote villages of Africa operating on the poor and needy. In fact, right now, he’s in central Africa in a tiny nation that used to be called Northern Rhodesia. The exact place God planted the dream in his heart some 45 years ago. God knows how to bring your dreams to pass.

Well, you say, “Joel, this all sounds good, very encouraging. But you don’t know my situation. I think it’s too late for me.”

That’s what two sisters in the Scripture thought, Mary and Martha. Their brother, Lazarus was extremely sick. They sent word for their good Friend, Jesus to come to their city and pray for him. A day went by and Jesus didn’t show up.

They asked the people they sent, “Did you tell Jesus it was us?” “Yes, we told him.” “Did you explain how sick Lazarus was?” “We explained it to him.” They couldn’t understand why Jesus wouldn’t come immediately.

Lazarus ended up dying. Four days later, Jesus showed up. Mary said, “Jesus, if you had been here sooner, my brother would still be alive.”

Have you ever felt like God showed up too late? If he’d just got there a little sooner, maybe things would have worked out. That’s the way they felt.
You know how the story ends, Jesus spoke to Lazarus and he came back to life. But what I wanted you to see is they wanted Jesus to come and heal their brother. But Jesus wasn’t thinking about healing, he was thinking about a resurrection. A healing would have been good but Jesus had something better in mind.

When the promise doesn’t turn out the way you thought, when it doesn’t happen on your timetable, it’s easy to get discouraged and to feel like God let you down. But the truth is that means God has something better in store. You prayed, you worked hare, you believed, but you didn’t get the promotion, the door closed, don’t get discouraged. That would have been a healing. God has a resurrection. Dare to trust him. He’s promised what he started in your life, he will finish.

If you let God do it his way, it’ll always turn out better than you ever imagined.
I read a story about a young man that was training for the 1924 Olympic Games. They were to be held in Paris, France. He was an American, highly skilled in white water canoeing. He’s won many competitions down through the years. He was the heavy favorite for the gold medal. That was always his dream, an Olympic gold.

It just so happened that his wife became pregnant and her due date was the exact time of the Olympics and of course back in those days, they didn’t have travel like we do today. And to go across the ocean and back would take several months time.

He made the decision that he wasn’t going to miss the birth of his first son. He informed his coach that he would no longer be participating, not competing in the Olympic Games.

His son was born and over the years, he poured into that young man. Like his father, the son was extremely gifted in white water rafting. They spent year after year practicing, training, getting better and better.

In 1948, the son qualified for the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He went over and competed. A couple of weeks later, the father received a telegraph. It said, “Dear Dad, thanks for waiting around for me to be born. I’m coming home 24 years later with your Olympic gold medal.”

The son won the gold, came home and presented it to his father. Now, the father had the gold medal he always dreamed about. But it even meant more to him because it came from his son, whom he loved so much.

That’s the way our God is, when we think, “It’s too late, it could never happen, I’ve missed too many opportunities.”

Listen, God still has a way to bring your dreams to pass.

There’s a man in the Scripture by the name Zerubabbel. He had a dream to rebuild the temple. The whole city had been destroyed. He came back and laid the foundation. But the people in the city weren’t for him. They didn’t want the temple rebuilt. They went to the judge and he issued an order telling him to stop. For ten years no work was done.

I can image Zerubabbel week after week, going by the property and seeing the empty foundation, all the supplies stacked up. It was like rubbing salt on the wound. Sure he thought, God, I started off good. I had big dreams. These people came against me. I had so much opposition. He’s down, discouraged, thinking that it could never happen. But remember God never starts something that he can’t finish.

One day a prophet by the name of Zachariah showed up. He said, “Zerubabbel, God sent me all this way to give you two words; begin again.”

Faith shot up in his heart. He said, “You mean God can still bring it to pass? Do you realize it’s been ten years? Do you know how many people are against me? Do you really think that I can still do it?”

Zachariah said, “I don’t think you can do it. I know you can do it, and God says, ‘Get started.’”

God is saying the same thing to each one of us. “Begin again.” Get your dreams back. Get your hope us. God has put some kind of promise in your heart.

Like him, maybe it’s been years, you tried, it didn’t work out. You had some setbacks. God is saying it’s time to start dreaming again, start believing again, start praying again, start expecting again.

Some of you wanted to buy that new house. You didn’t qualify for it. It didn’t work out. That was 10 years ago. God says, “Begin again.”

Some of you , at one time, you knew you could break that addiction, but it didn’t happen. Now you’ve gotten comfortable, God is saying, “Begin again.”

Some of you had a big dream for your life. You were going to break out of the mold and set a new standard for your family. But you had some disappointments. Nobody believed in you. Nobody encouraged you. Now you think it’s over. But God is saying, “It’s not over. I have the final say. Begin again. You have seeds of greatness on the inside.”

God wouldn’t have put the promise in your heart unless he already intended to bring it to pass.

Here’s how the Scripture puts it: Be confident of this: He that began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

Friends, God is saying to each one of you tonight, “I’m going to complete your incompletions. I’m going to finish what started. I remember the dreams I placed in your heart. I lined u the right people, the right opportunities, it’s not too late, you haven’t missed too many opportunities. You haven’t made too many mistakes. Begin again.”

Get your fire back, get your passion back, and remember, if it doesn’t happen your way, keep the right perspective. That would have been a healing, God has a resurrection. He has something better coming your way.

If you’ll stir your faith up, like Zerubabbel told Zachariah to be confident, that God will finish what he started. Then I believe and declare God is going to complete your incompletions. He is going to shift things in your favor. He’s going to release a flood of his goodness, a flood of mercy, a flood of ideas. You will overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy and become everything God’s created you to be in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This entry was posted in Joel Osteen

How God’s Destiny for Your Life Will Come to Pass
Posted on November 20, 2013 4:25 pm by Salaveena

We don’t realize how much God is in control.

Every aspect of our life, down to the smallest details has already been planned out.

God lined up the right people to come across your path.

He arranged the right breaks to be in your future.

He already has solutions to every problem that you will ever face.

God is in complete control, orchestrating it all. And the scripture says, “The Lord of Hosts has purposed. Who will annul it?”

This saying God has a purpose for your life. He’s already planned out your days. Then it asks this question, “Who will annul it?”

God is saying, “Who can stop my plan? Who is more powerful than me? I created the whole universe. I flung these stars into space. Now who can make a mistake so big that I can’t forgive them? Who can have a problem so large that I can’t solve? Who can have a dream so great that I can’t bring it to pass?”

Friends God’s plan cannot be stopped by a bad break, by a sickness, by somebody walking out on you.

All the forces of darkness cannot keep you from your destiny. But sometimes we think because we have made mistakes and we’re not where we want to be life, surely we must have stopped God’s plan.

I say this respectfully, you’re not that powerful. You may have mistakes but it wasn’t a surprise to God. He already has the mercy. Why don’t you shake off the guilt and move forward. Nothing that you have done or haven’t done has cancelled your destiny.

I had a lady write me a few years ago, she had been in an automobile accident where she had broken her neck.

For months after her surgery, her husband had stayed home to help take care of her. She felt badly that he had missed so much work and she finally convinced him that she was okay to stay alone by herself.

He reluctantly agreed to go back to work. And one day she was so depressed and in so much pain that she decided to end her life and there was a gun rack in the corner, her husband was a big hunter.

She couldn’t walk over there by herself, she was going to crawl. But when she got out of the chair, she lost her balance, knocked over the end table and fell flat on her back. She couldn’t move.

The remote control for the television hit the floor and the batteries came out. When it did it changed the channel on the television. And it just so happened to flip to a station where I was ministering.

Her first thought was, “Oh great, I’m dying, now I’ve got to listen to this TV preacher to add to my misery.

That day I was talking about how God can turn a situation around. How he can take your darkest hour and turn it into your brightest hour. She began to feel a peace like she never felt before.

She said, “I couldn’t move her body. I couldn’t open my eyes, but I could feel tears of joy running down my cheeks.

That moment was a turning point. Today several years later she is happy, healthy, whole, on her way to fulfill her destiny.

What am I saying? You are not powerful enough to stop God’s plan.

All of your days have already been recorded. They’ve been numbered by the creator of the universe. If it’s not your time to go, you’re not going to go, God has the final say.

There was an article in the newspaper last week. This police was attacked by a man high on drugs. This man stabbed the officer in the head. The 3 1/2” knife blade went straight into his brain.

He was rushed to the hospital, his family was told that he was most likely brain dead and even if he did live, he would never be able to walk or to talk.

The neurosurgeon had all the X-rays done and when they came back he was amazed. The knife blade missed the part of the brain that controls motor skills by less than a millimeter. It missed the main nerve that gives the sensation by less than a millimeter.

The surgeon said it is unbelievable. The only way I can describe it is he was less than a millimeter away from death in every direction.

A fraction this way, he’d be dead. A millimeter this way, totally incapacitated.

Friends nothing can snatch you out of God’s hand. An accident cannot stop God’s plan, a crazy person cannot stop God’s plan. God is in complete control of your life. Right now God is working behind the scenes, arranging things in your favor. He’s making away where you don’t see away.

You don’t have to live worried, stressed out, trying to force everything to happen. All you’ve got to do is keep God first place. Honor him with your life. And you will come in to these destiny moments, where you see God supernaturally protecting you.

You know if it had not been for his angels, you wouldn’t be alive, destiny moments where you are at the right place, you meet the right person that leads to a promotion.

That wasn’t a coincidence that was the favor of God moving you towards your divine destiny.

Or maybe in your health, like my mother, you were told that you’re never going to get better.

One day, you go back to the doctor and they say, “We don’t understand it. It’s starting to turn around.” That’s not a lucky break. That’s Almighty God saying, “I’ve got a destiny for you to fulfill. My plan will come to pass.”

Now you may not know how this can happen, but that’s okay. God has a thousand ways to do it that your never thought of. Just like God can direct that knife blade to be so precise that it’s a fraction away from everything that matters. God is directing your steps down to the smallest details.

He can make things happen that you could never make happen on your own. He is for you. He is on your side. And what he has purposed for your life will (come) to pass.

My father was ordained as a Baptist minister. But back in the 1950s, he felt like what God has put in his heart was bigger than any denomination. He took a step of faith and he left the Baptist church where he was pasturing. He started his own independent church but he didn’t have the courage to take the “Baptist” out. He called it Lakewood Baptist Church. Every time he thought about dropping the word “Baptist” he would get cold feet and he wouldn’t do it. That’s all he’d ever known his whole life.

The sign in front of the church was made up of three separate boards stacked on top of each other.

Lakewood the top board separate the middle board Baptist and the bottom board Church.

One day a big storm came through and the wind blew the name “Baptist” off. My father took that as a sign from God. From that day forward we’ve been known as Lakewood Church.

What am I saying?

Even when you don’t have the courage to do what you know you’re supposed to do, God won’t leave you there and say too bad you should have more faith. No God will push you into your divine destiny. God knows how to get where you are supposed to be.

I like what my friend Joyce Meyer says. She told someone “I’ve been walking with God for 20 years. She heard the Holy Spirit say on the inside, “Excuse me, you’ve been walking wit me for 2 years. I’ve been dragging you the other 18.”

But God is so good, so loving, so forgiving. Even if he has to drag us, he’ll still get us to our destiny.

We don’t have to live down on ourselves cause we don’t think we have enough faith. We don’t have to go around stressed out because it’s not happening on our time table.

We can stay in peace, knowing that our God the Creator of the Universe is in complete control. God knew when we wouldn’t have the faith. He knew when we need a push. Just like with my Father, he’s already got your destiny moments lined up, where you will see his hand of favor. You’ll connect to the right person. A problem you’ve had for years suddenly turns around. An opportunity of a lifetime suddenly is in front of you. Those are destiny moments that God already has in your future.

I read about a young lady that was going to meet her fiance’s parents for the first time. They were known to be very picky and not easily impressed. And she was kind of nervous about it.

As was leaving the house, she knock over a coca cola and it spilled on the floor and splashed up on her shoes, on her pant legs, she was standing in the middle of it.

She got same napkins and cleaned and cleaned it up. She went on her way, as she got to her fiancé’s home, she met them and they were very nice.
The whole time, their little dog that they’d had for many years was at this young lady’s feet, following her all through the house, would not leave her side.

When she stopped, the little dog stopped where she sat, the dog sat right at her feet. For 2 hours the dog was her best friend. As she was leaving the mother said, “We’ve had a lot of guests in our home, but our little dog has never taken to anyone like she’s taken to you. She usually barks and is at a distance, but there must be something really special about you.

What she didn’t realize is that little dog liked the smell of coca cola on her shoes.

Friends, God works in mysterious ways. He knows how to get people to like you. He knows what it’s going to take to push them over to your side.

Why don’t you trust him? Why don’t you believe that in your future, are these destiny moments. You may not be able to make it happen, but God knows how to make it happen.

If God has to use coca cola to have a dog follow you, he will. If God has to use the wind to blow the name off of your sign to get you into the fullness of his destiny, he will.

If God has to cause the remote control to get stuck on just the station, he will. He’s God, he’s in complete control.

But sometimes we get all worked up trying to make things (right or happen – don’t know if I missed a word here). We’re discouraged because somebody won’t be our friend. And we’re working overtime trying to convince them to like us.

No, if someone doesn’t like you, don’t take it personally. Doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, they’re just not a part of your destiny.

If you keep moving forward, you will come into the people God has ordain(ed) for you. God has divine connections in your future, people that will celebrate you, people that will want to be your friend, people that will even go out of their way to be good to you.

There was a lady driving to work one morning. She got pulled over by a police officer for not coming to a complete stop at the stop sign.

The officer asked if there was any reason she was in such a hurry.

She said, “No officer, I’m just going to work. I teach 3rd grade at the elementary school around the corner.” He wrote her a ticket. And she drove off so disappointed. She was mad at herself. She didn’t have the extra money. Now it was going to make her budget tight. But in a couple of minutes later, she got pulled over again by the same officer.

He came up to the window and said, “Give me the ticket back.” He took it and tore it into pieces. He said, “When I was in 3rd grade I was mean to my teacher. I want to be nice to you to try to make up for it.

God has it all lined up, big ways, sparing your life from that knife blade, small ways, causing you to find a police officer that’s remorseful. God’s in complete control.

I want you to have this confidence that you’re not just randomly going through life hoping everything works out. No God is strategically orchestrating your steps.

You are not here by accident. You didn’t just happened to show up in the year 2012. God handpicked you. You’ve been chosen by the Creator of the Universe. God not only ordained for you to be here, but he has a specific plan for your life, something for you to accomplish. You haven’t made too many mistakes. You haven’t missed too many opportunities. If you will keep moving forward, you will come into your destiny moments, where you see God’s hand of favor, that’s him bringing about his purpose in your life.

If you going to live with this down on the inside really all through the day, in the back of our mind, this should be playing: I’m a person of destiny,

God breathed his life into me,
His favor surrounds me like a shield.

No weapons formed against me will prosper,

What God started in my life he will finish,

I will become everything he’s created me to be.

I met a young man a few years back. He came from a very dysfunctional family and he was extremely troubles by it all. They were into drugs. All he had seen growing up was anger and people stabbing each other in the back and additions. His parents never encouraged him. They did just the opposite; they were always belittling him, telling him how he wasn’t never going to amount to anything.

He said, “Joel, it doesn’t seem fair that I was born into this family. It’s almost like they have cursed my future.

No, how you were raised doesn’t have to stop your destiny. People may have done you wrong. You may have heard things growing up that you should have never heard. But know this; before anyone can put a curse on you, God put a blessing on you.

The good news is the blessing always overrides the curse. It doesn’t matter what people have said about you, it matters what God said about you. When God created you, he stepped back and said that was good, another masterpiece.

Take this the right way, you didn’t come from your parents, you came through your parents, you came from the Almighty God. He is the giver of all life and just because you raised in a negative environment or maybe you’re around people now that are just stuck in mediocrity, you don’t have to stay there. That is not who you are.

Shake off every negative comment people have spoken over you and reprogram your thinking.

I am not who people say I am.

I am who God says I am.

I am valuable, I am talented. I am a master piece.

I am blessed and I cannot be cursed.

One time in the Old Testament, the King of Moab sent word to Balaam to come to their city so he would curse the people of Israel.

They said, “Balaam, we know what you ask God to do he will do and if you will come curse these people for us, we’ll pay you a lot of money.” Balaam said, “We’ll stay overnight and let me pray about it. But I will only say what the Lord instructs me to say.”

Balaam prayed about it and the Lord said, “Balaam, there’s no use you going with them. What I have blessed, no man can curse.”

Notice when God puts the blessing on you, it doesn’t matter what people say, it doesn’t matter how someone treats you, all that matters is that Almighty God has blessed you and everything else is of no effect.

They begged him and begged him to come, Balaam finally went. He told the king, “Here’s what the Lord says, ‘They will succeed, and become a great (nation) and have descendents too numerous to count.’”

The king said, “Balaam, what are you doing? I bought you here to curse them, but instead you’re blessing them.”

He said it again, “ I cannot curse what God has already blessed.”

Get that down in your spirit. When God created you he breathed his blessing into you. You have the DNA of Almighty God. Royal blood is flowing through your veins. You’re wearing God’s crown of favor.

Like this king, when people try to do you wrong or maybe you go through some disappointments, it’s easy to let that cloud your future.

But have a new perspective.

What God has blessed, no person can curse.

Maybe somebody is talking about you. Your attitude should be, no big deal, they are powerless to stop the blessing on my life.

Well you got some bad breaks, you got laid off. Yes that’s true but I’m not worried about it. I know the blessing overrides the curse.

Well you came from a rough family; you had a rough back ground. That’s all right, where I am is not where I’m staying. I know the blessing of God will get me to where I’m supposed to be.

Here’s what I learned; the enemy doesn’t fight you for where you are, he fights you for where you’re going.

Sometimes like this young man, we think, why are we facing this opposition? Why was I born into this family? It’s because of what’s in your future.

When I first starting ministering 12 years ago, I was not only dealing with the loss of my father but I was learning how to minister. I’d never done this before.

At one point, it seemed like everything was coming against me. People were talking and I didn’t know if I could do this. I thought why do I feel this resistance? Why is this such a struggle?

Later I realized the enemy wasn’t fighting me for where I was, he was fighting me for where I was going. He didn’t want me to be standing here with you tonight. He didn’t want the Compaq Centre to become Lakewood Church. He didn’t want our message of hope and faith and victory to go around the world.

You may be facing difficulties and you think, “Well, Joel if I’m going to fulfill my destiny, why are these circumstances, why are these people coming against me? Here’s why:

It’s because God has something amazing in your future. There are new levels of your destiny. You have not touched the surface of what God has in store.
You are going to see Ephesians 3:20, exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond.

Now get your passion back, no obstacle is too much for you, no difficulty is too great, you and God are a majority. If God be for you who dare be against you?

Think about Moses, his destiny was to deliver the people of Israel from slavery. God had something big in his future. Yet when he was born, the king ordered all the male babies 2 years old and under to be killed. It looked like God made a mistake. It looked like it wasn’t going to happen. No God was still in control. God had it all figured out. Moses’ mother put him in a little basket and sent him down the Nile River. It just so happened Pharaoh’s daughter went out to take a bath. She heard the cries coming from the basket. A Destiny Moment. God positioned Pharaoh’s daughter to be at the right place at the right time. Ten minutes later and Moses would have floated on by. God’s plan for your life is down to the very second.

May 25, 2013, finished.

God is not a vague God; he’s a precise God, a detailed God, an exact God. Every step of my life has strategically orchestrated.

God has already taken into account every attack that will come against you. He already knows every setbacks, the good news is, he’s already planned your come backs.

Pharaoh’s daughter took Moses in. She said, “I need somebody to nurse the baby.” An assistant said, “I know just who to get.” She went and got Moses mother. His life was not only spared, but Moses grew up in the palace with his own mother. He went on to fulfill his destiny. What God has purposed for your life will come to pass.

I met a young lady that grew up in Rwanda. She and her family are strong believers. At 22 years old, she came home from college for Easter break.
There were two main tribes in Rwanda and they gotten along peacefully for many, many years. They considered themselves all Rwandans.

But one day the President of the nation was killed. These rebels all from one tribe started killing people from the opposing tribe, a genocide.

They went on a rampage, going from town to town, ruthlessly slaughtering men, women, children, anyone from the opposing tribe.

Some of the people that were doing the killing she had grown up with. She had played with, even had them in their home. It was unthinkable. Her parents snuck her to a pastor’s home from the opposing tribe. She and six other girls hid in this small bathroom, week after week, never making a sound; never talking, never whispering. The bathroom was three feet by four feet with a toilet in the center, seven people in there.

Again and Again the rebels would knock on the pastor’s home, calling her by name, specifically asking for her. The pastor would say, “No, she’s not in here.”

One time they came in and searched the house. They had their hand on the door knob of the bathroom where they were hiding. But just before they turned it, they got distracted and walked away.

For ninety-one days, she stayed in this bathroom, never left once. She went in weighing 120 lbs., she came out weighing 70 lbs.

During those three months, her parents, her relatives and nearly one million Rwandans were killed in this senseless genocide, very sad. But here’s my point tonight. If it’s not your time to go, all the forces of darkness cannot stop you.
What God has purposed for your life, will come to pass.

God is bigger than any enemy, bigger than any injustice, bigger than any sickness.

The scripture says when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise up a barrier. God knows how to protect you. Just as god can make blind eyes see, God can make seeing eyes blind. God can shield you from the enemy.

Now quit worrying about your future. Quit trying to figure it all out. God has you in the palm of his hand.

Come back to that place of peace. There is a hedge of protection around you that the enemy cannot cross. What is meant for your harm, God said he’ll use to your advantage.

Today this beautiful, young lady works for the United Nations. She goes around the world telling her story, letting people know that when you believe all things are possible. When you don’t see a way, God can make a way. When it looks like it’s over God has the final say.

God said in Hebrews, Hebrews 13:5

Three times God said the same thing. He knew we would all face situations that look impossible.

Times when the medical report says, “no way”, the financial situation says “You’re never going to make it.” In the natural you could never accomplish your own dreams.

Let this sink down into your spirit. God is saying, “I will not fail you, I will not let you go under. My purpose for your life will come to pass.

I will connect you to the right people. I will take care of your children. I will turn the financial situation around. I will give you another chance. I love you too much to let you miss your destiny.

My challenge is stir your faith up. Shake off every disappointment. Shake off ever negative comment people made. Shake off the self pity and put on a new attitude.

Get up every morning and say, “Father, thank you that your destiny will come to pass, thank-you that I will leave my mark on this generation.”

Always remember this: before anyone could put a curse on you, God put a blessing on you. And if you will have this attitude of faith, honor God with your life, you’re going to come into your destiny moments.

That favor is going to thrust you to new levels.

And I believe and declare over each one of you that you will see God’s purposed come to pass in your life.

You will overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy, and become everything God’s created you to be in Jesus’ Name. If you receive it come on give the Lord a shout of praise tonight. Amen!