Joel Osteen - Ease Is Coming (03/01/2017)
Joel Osteen encourages us that after seasons of struggle and fighting the good fight of faith, we will come into an anointing of ease where God’s yoke—easy and light—brings supernatural grace, favor, and breakthroughs, as promised in Matthew 11, leading to things falling into place without constant effort.
Seasons of Struggle and the Promise of Ease
I want to talk to you today about «Ease is Coming.» We all go through seasons of struggle when it feels like it is uphill. There is pressure raising children. Maybe you are believing for your health to improve, but it is not getting better. Too often we get discouraged and think, «That is just the way life is.»
But in Matthew chapter 11, Jesus talked about how the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and you have to take it by force. He was telling us there will be seasons where you have to stand strong and really fight the good fight of faith. But a few verses later, in the same chapter, He said, «My yoke is easy and my burden is light.» He was saying, «There will be times of struggle, pressure, difficulties, but do not get discouraged. What I am putting on you, my yoke, it is easy. It is light.»
You may be struggling now, and you feel pressured, and you think that is the way it is always going to be. You will always struggle with your health, struggle in a relationship, struggle in your finances. No, you are going to come into an anointing of ease. When you come into this ease, what once was a struggle will not be a struggle anymore. You are going to have a supernatural grace, a favor that will lighten the load and take the pressure off.
God Smooths Out the Path
God is going to make your way go before you and make your crooked places straight. That means He is going to smooth things out. You are coming into a season where things are going to fall into place. You are going to get breaks that you did not see coming. Problems that you thought were permanent are suddenly going to turn around. You are not going to go through life constantly struggling, pressured, weighted down by problems. This is a new day. Ease is coming.
David said, «God anoints my head with oil.» Oil makes things flow. When there is friction and things that are stuck, it helps to make it more fluid. God is going to oil your life. This anointing is going to cause things to flow. You are going to accomplish more with less effort. What stopped you in the past, what has caused friction, is not going to stop you anymore. You are going to flow right past that. You are going to accomplish goals and think, «That was easier than I thought. I never dreamed it would happen that quickly.»
The Anointing of Ease in Action
There is a large company that has a slogan that says, «That was easy.» A few years ago, a friend of mine sent me their big red button. When you push it, it says:
That was easy.
I keep this by my bathroom sink there on the counter. Every so often I reach over and push this button. I like to get that phrase down in my spirit. Because it is easy to go through life looking at our problems, focused on our obstacles, thinking, «Oh, man, this is going to be so hard. I dread dealing with this. It is never going to work out.» That mindset is not only stealing our joy, but it is keeping us from seeing God’s favor.
When my dad went to be with the Lord and I first started ministering, it took everything I had to write a message for that weekend—all my focus, my creativity, my energy. I was pressured and stressed. When I finally finished, I felt like, «That is the last one that I could ever do.» If I was not careful, I was tempted to dread it and think, «This is too hard. I am not going to know what to say. I cannot do this anymore.»
Shifting Mindset for Ease
I had to turn it around. «Father, thank You that Your yoke is easy. Thank You that I am well able. Thank You that You have equipped me and empowered me.» I got my mind going in the right direction. I went through seasons of struggle, strain, difficulty, but I did not let it become permanent in my thinking. One day, I came into this anointing of ease. What once was struggle is not a struggle anymore. Every week when I finish a message, I hit this button:
That was easy.
Just to remind me that it was easy. Quit telling yourself, «This is so hard. I will never accomplish my dreams. I will never get out of debt.» This is a new day. You are going to have a strength that you did not have. God did not create you to struggle your whole life. His yoke is easy.
You may have had that addiction for a long time. It is going to be easier than you think to break it. You are going to have a supernatural power. Maybe you are struggling in your finances, pressured to pay the bills, pressured to get ahead. I believe that pressure is coming to an end. God is going to cause good breaks to find you. Your gifts and talents are going to come out in a new way. It is going to be easier than you think.
Unexpected Opportunities and Favor
A couple of years after I wrote my first book, a man was walking by Madison Square Garden one evening there in New York. He was an executive at one of the largest publishing companies in the world. He saw my name on the marquee and people waiting in line to get in. He had never heard of me, and he went home and did some research. He called my literary agent and said that he wanted to publish my next book. She told him that we already had a publisher and we were happy. He asked if he could make an offer. She said, «Of course you can.»
He offered an amount more than I ever imagined. When she called and told me, I nearly passed out. I said, «Boy, you sure do great work.» She said, «Actually, Joel, I did not go to him. He came to me.» I thought to myself, «That was easy.» That was God lining up the right people, having him at the right place at the right time.
If he had not left work late that night, he would not have seen those people in line. If he had not taken that train home, he would not have been in that area. If he had been preoccupied, he could have walked by the arena, just thought, «It is another ball game, another concert.» All these things had to fall perfectly into place. That was the hand of God.
God Lines Up the Right Breaks
God has the right people lined up for you. He has the right breaks, the right opportunities. You may not have seen it yet. Keep honoring God, being your best. He is going to take you into overflow. You are not going to go through life pressured by bills and pressured to make ends meet, pressured to send your children to college. God is going to do something unusual, something unexpected, something that you could not make happen.
I know a single parent mother. She was working hard, raising her children, and trying to make ends meet. Every month she barely had enough to pay her bills. She told how she dreamed of taking a vacation. But every time she saved up extra funds, something would break that had to be repaired. She was being her best, but could not get ahead. It seemed like she would struggle her whole life.
Keep passing these tests. You are going to come into this anointing of ease. God is going to make things happen that will lighten the load. He is going to take the pressure off. Unexpectedly she took early retirement and she was given that position. With it came a significant increase in salary. She was very grateful.
Several years later, her manager, one of the vice presidents of this large company, suddenly resigned and she was given that position. Today she makes more than ten times what she started. She does not live under constant pressure. She can take vacations whenever she wants. She supports other single-parent families. She said, «Joel, I do not really know how this happened. Everything just fell into place and here I am.»
Ease in Challenges and Breakthroughs
What she was really saying is that is what God is going to do for you. He is going to put you at the right place at the right time. He is going to open doors to cause people to want to be good to you. You may be struggling in some areas. That is not permanent.
I talked to a young man. He was finishing up his master’s. He had one final exam left. It was the hardest class on his schedule. He was very stressed out and concerned that he was not going to pass. We prayed and asked God to give him wisdom, to help him to excel. He came back last week so excited. He had passed the test. I asked him, «How was it?» He said, «It is funny because all of my classmates thought it was very difficult. But to me, it was easier than I expected.»
He did his part. He studied. He prepared. Then God stepped in and made it easier than he thought. Quit thinking, «I will never pass. I will never get out of debt. This is too hard.» Sometimes we are expecting to fail. We are expecting to struggle. We are expecting it to be hard.
Turn it around. «Father, thank You for Your anointing of ease. Thank You that You are causing me to excel. Thank You that You are breathing in my direction.» Some of the things that you are worrying about, that you do not see how it could ever work out—God is going before you right now, making those crooked places straight. You are going to look back like him and say, «It was easier than I thought.»
The Ark Returns Without a Fight
In the book of 1 Samuel the Philistines had just defeated the Israelites in a battle. They captured the Ark of the Covenant. That is where the presence of God was back then. The Israelites were so distraught. When the prophet Eli heard this bad news, he passed out, fell backwards, and broke his neck. All of Israel was in mourning. They had not only lost the Ark of the Covenant, their most important possession, but 30,000 men had been killed in that battle.
It looked like the ark was gone forever. The Philistines took the ark to their temple and placed it next to their god Dagon. He was a stone statue that they worshiped. In the middle of the night, Dagon fell over. They thought it was a coincidence, maybe the wind or something. They stood him back up. The next night, Dagon not only fell over, this time he broke into pieces.
They realized their god could not stand in the presence of Israel’s God. Plagues began to break out in the camp. People started getting boils and tumors. They finally realized, «It is because we have the Ark of the Covenant.» They decided to move it to another city just to make sure. The same plagues happened to those people. They panicked and said, «We have to get rid of this ark. We cannot mess with the God of Israel.»
Seven months after they captured it, they built this wood cart, placed the Ark of the Covenant on it, hooked it up to two young cows. They turned it loose and let those cows go wherever they wanted. They started heading straight toward the Israelites' camp. In a few days, when the Israelites saw the ark coming, they could not believe their eyes. They started celebrating. They never dreamed they would see the ark again.
Your «Cows» Are Coming
They not only got it back, but they did not have to fight for it. The ark came looking for them. If they would have had one of these red buttons, they would have pushed it. That was easy.
You are worrying about something, trying to figure out how it is going to work out—how are you going to get well, how you are going to get out of debt? How is your family going to be restored? God is going to do for you what He did for them. He is going to cause those things to find you. You are not going to have to fight those battles. Good breaks are going to come after you. The right people are going to search you out. What you are believing for is going to track you down.
God is saying, «Get ready. The cows are coming. What belongs to you is headed your way—the health, the freedom, the abundance, the contracts, the spouse.» God is going to make things happen that you could never make happen.
Those cows could have stayed there grazing. They could have wandered aimlessly month after month. But God controls the universe. That means God controls what is yours into your hands. People cannot stop Him. Bad breaks cannot stop Him. Cows cannot stop Him. Enemies cannot stop Him.
What Belongs to You Will Return
The Philistines took the ark, but I love the fact they could not keep it. It made them miserable. The enemy cannot keep what belongs to you. The enemy may take your health for a little while, but he cannot keep it. You are God’s property. God will send it back.
He may distract your child and get them off course for a season, but he cannot keep them there. Quit worrying. Quit losing sleep. They are coming back. He may have taken your dream temporarily—had bad breaks, disappointments. Stay encouraged. What has your name on it is coming.
Some of you, your cows are going to show up sooner than you think. What you thought was over and done, it would never work out—suddenly, things are going to fall into place. You do not have to fight. You do not have to struggle. «Father, thank You that my cows are coming.»
Isaiah said to the Israelites, «Your swords will be turned into plowshares, your spears into pruning hooks.» God was saying, «You are coming into a season where you are not going to need your swords and your spears.» You are not going to have to fight. You are not going to have to struggle, try to make things happen. Instead of a sword, you are going to need a plow to gather up the harvest.
You are not going to have to go attack, try to get back what belongs to you. He is putting pressure on those that have what is yours. You need to get ready—not for a fight, not for a battle. Get ready for a harvest. Get ready for healing. You are coming into this season of ease.
Breaking Free and New Beginnings
I have a friend that I grew up with that struggled with an addiction for a long time. He got mixed up with the wrong students in high school, and 20 years later he was still addicted. He had gone through rehab and all kinds of treatment, but it never worked. Like the Israelites, he looked defeated. That addiction looked so much bigger, like nothing he could ever do.
But I saw him a couple of years ago and he told how, after 21 years of being addicted, he is now totally free. He looks better than he looked in high school. His skin had cleared up. He had gained some weight. He had a smile on his face. I asked him how he did it. I thought he went through some type of special rehab. He said, «Joel, I did not do anything different. I cannot really put my finger on it. It was just like something broke on the inside, and I felt a strength that I had never felt before.»
What was that? That was God causing the yoke of bondage to come off. God gave him the victory without him having to struggle. Freedom belongs to you. Wholeness belongs to you. Quit believing those lies that you are stuck. You will never get well. It has been too long. It is too hard.
A New Yoke of Victory
This is a new day. That yoke of bondage is being broken. You are getting a new yoke—a yoke of ease, a yoke of freedom, a yoke of victory. You are going to break habits that looked permanent. It is not going to happen just by your might, by your power. It is going to happen because the most high God is breathing in your direction.
It may have been difficult in the past. You tried and it did not work out. Try again. You are in a new season. You have come into harvest. You can put those swords down. You do not have to do it in your own strength. God is fighting your battles. Dare to declare, «I am free. I am whole. I am victorious.» Like this man, God is going to surprise you. What you thought would never turn around, suddenly you are going to see it happen.
Several years before my father went to be with the Lord, we came across a construction permit for the last full-powered television station in Houston. The transmitter was going to be out north, but we needed a place to put the station here in the city. A man had called me out of the blue and left a message saying that he was in commercial real estate and that if we ever needed anything, he would love to help.
Normally, I would have erased that, not thought much about it—just another sales call. But for some reason, I wrote his name and number down, put it in my desk drawer, never realizing in a few months we were going to need a place to put the station. I called him. It was like we were old friends. He was so likable.
God Orchestrates the Details
He took us to different office buildings. They were nice, but our challenge was we needed a cell phone tower close by so we could microwave our signal down to the transmitter site. We looked for several weeks and could not find anything.
One day he took us to this big office complex, about 50 acres and very beautiful, trees and lakes. There were new owners, and they were very excited about the possibility of having a television station there. They told us we would be their main tenants, and they would give us the signage out front. They showed us offices overlooking this lake. They wanted us so badly, their price was about half of anything we had seen.
We loved it. We wanted to be there. The only problem was, we had to see if there was a cell phone tower close. We went on top of the building and looked around and we did not see anything. I was disappointed. I thought, «That would have been a perfect location.» Everyone left, but Victoria and I stayed and we walked around the property for about 30 minutes.
As we were coming up the parking lot, on the side of the building, about 40 yards from the place they showed us, I could hear construction behind this wood fence. I climbed up on the fence and looked over. They were pouring a foundation. I asked one of the men what they were building. He said, «A cell phone tower.» I nearly fell off that fence. I said, «Is there room for other clients?» He said, «Yeah, it is brand new.»
Recognizing God’s Hand
I called the company. The next day, we had a contract to microwave our signal. What was that? God causing things to fall into place, going before us, making crooked places straight.
«Well, Joel, that is just a lucky break.» Can I tell you, the lucky breaks you have been having—that is the hand of God. That is the yoke of ease. When you recognize it as God’s favor and say, «Lord, thank You for making my life easier, thank You for Your goodness,» then you will see more of God’s favor.
What is interesting is this man I met, this realtor—when we learned that the Compaq Center was coming available, he was one of the first people I called. He worked hand in hand on our behalf with the city. He was very instrumental in us getting this place.
What are the chances of him calling me out of the blue, me keeping his number, him taking us to an office building where they were building a cell tower? That was not random. That was not a coincidence. That was God causing our cows to find us. God is in control of your life, and He knows how to get what you need to you.
Yes, we all go through seasons of struggle, seasons of pressure and difficulty. But that is not your permanent home. You are coming into this anointing of ease. Like with me, you are going to see things fall into place. You are going to know it is the goodness of God.
From Struggle to Harvest
A friend of mine grew up very poor. His family lived in public housing and there was crime and drugs. His parents were migrant farmers and had no education. It did not look like this young man would ever amount to too much. His mother saw that he had a love for music and encouraged him to join the band in school. He became one of their top tuba players.
In the 6th grade, he already stood 6'6» tall. He was the star player on the basketball team. When he graduated from high school, he received 30 scholarship offers to play in college. He was headed to the Portland Trailblazers to play professionally when he suffered a career-ending injury. He ended up back at home, in the projects, no money, no education, working for the city as a dog catcher, making a little more than minimum wage.
During his lunch hour, he would go up to the local music store and play the keyboards that were out on demo, wearing his dog catcher uniform. Customers would gather around to listen to him play. They were mesmerized at his ability. One day, a customer told the owner she wanted to buy the keyboard that the dog catcher was playing. This happened again and again.
The owner said to this young man, «People are not buying my pianos. They are buying the dog catcher’s sound. They love what you do.» He offered him a full-time job to come in and play the piano all day. That was the first step in his musical career.
Today, my friend Ben Tankard has become known as «The Godfather of Gospel Jazz.» He has sold millions of albums, pastors a great church, goes around the world sharing his music. But like with Ben, God is working behind the scenes, lining up what you need—where you are not going to have to struggle. You are not going to have to fight. You can put those swords down.
Ease Is Coming Your Way
You are coming into a harvest season. You are going to see the goodness of God making your life easier. You may be in a difficult time. God is about to take the pressure off. You are going to have a strength that you did not have before. People are going to go out of their way to be good to you.
That yoke of bondage is coming off. The yoke of ease is coming on. What has hindered you in the past is not going to hinder you in the future. You are going to overcome obstacles easier than you think. You are going to accomplish dreams easier than you think. Like the Israelites, those cows are going to find you. Ease is coming your way. In Jesus' name.