Joel Osteen - Empty Out The Negative
- Watch
- Donate
- Contact Us
In this sermon, Joel Osteen teaches that our hearts are like containers with limited space, and we must intentionally empty out negative emotions like worry, guilt, bitterness, and jealousy to make room for the good things God wants to fill us with—joy, peace, confidence, and strength—drawing from Psalm 103 and the principle of giving no place to the enemy.
Your Heart Is a Limited Container
I want to talk to you today about emptying out the negative. It is easy to go through life holding onto things that are weighing us down: guilt, resentment, doubt, worry. The problem is when we allow these things in, they are taking up space for the good. Imagine your life is like a container. You were created to be filled with joy, peace, confidence, creativity, but if you allow worry in, it pushes out the peace.
There is not space for both. You cannot go above 100%. You have a limited amount of room. If you allow guilt to take up space, that is space that you do not have for the confidence you need. The reason some people do not enjoy their lives is because their container, their heart, is contaminated with so many things.
They have 10% worry, stressed out over their job; 12% bitterness, mad at their neighbor; 20% guilt, beating themselves up for past mistakes; 9% jealousy, their co-worker is more beautiful. They do not realize 70% of their container is negative. They wonder why they do not have joy, creativity, passion. They only have room for 30% of what they should have.
Give No Place to the Negative
The scripture says, «Give no place to the enemy.» It is not just talking about forces of darkness. That means give no place to guilt, give no place to worry, give no place to bitterness. It cannot come in and automatically take over. You control what is in your container. You control what you think about, what you choose to allow in. We all have negative emotions and negative feelings.
You have to make the choice, «I am not going to give this jealousy, this bitterness, this anger valuable space and let it poison my life. I am going to protect what I allow in me.»
Every morning, when we wake up, we need to empty out anything negative from the day before. Somebody offended you at work, they did not treat you right. It is easy to let that offense stay. It feels good to carry around a grudge, but you have to be disciplined and say, «No, I am not giving this offense any room. I am not going to let it sour my day.» They hurt you once. Do not let them continue to hurt you by holding onto the offense. Being offended is not harming them, it is harming you. It is taking up space you need for the good things that move you toward your destiny.
Empty Out to Make Room for Good
Or you wake up in the morning and thoughts of worry come. How are you going to pay your bills? What if the medical report is not good? You will never get out of this problem. Do not allow that in. Do not make the mistake of dwelling on it. Just say, «No, thanks. I know God is in control. He has got me in the palm of His hand. He will get me to where I am supposed to be.» Take inventory of what you are giving space to. Life is too short to go through it with negative things holding us down.
David said in Psalm 103, «God fills my life with good things so I stay young and strong.» I have learned if you will empty out the room, God will fill you with good things. You empty out the worry, God will fill you with peace. You empty out the insecurity, negative things people have said about you, God will fill you with confidence.
My question today is: Is God trying to fill you with good things but there is no room? Your container is full of worry, regret, bitterness, jealousy. Why do you not start emptying that out? Somebody did you wrong. You could hold on to that bitterness. Instead, «God, I forgive them. I let it go.» You did not just forgive, you made room for God to fill you with good things. That is when He will give you beauty for ashes, joy for mourning.
Trust God in Tough Seasons
You are in a tough season, the medical report was not good. You should be stressed, worried. Instead, «God, I trust You. You said You would restore health back unto me.» You just made room for God to fill you with healing. He will give you peace in the midst of the storm.
Perhaps a co-worker got the promotion that you worked so hard for. Envy, jealousy will come. «I wish that was me. I am smarter than they are. I do not understand that.» Instead of letting that stay, «God, I know You are no respecter of persons. You did it for them, I know You can do it for me.»
The good news is God does not run out of favor. He does not have a limited supply. If you will empty out the jealousy, then when it is your time to be promoted, God will open doors that no man can shut. If somebody got what you wanted, that simply means it was not supposed to be yours. If they got the promotion, be happy for them. God has something better for you.
If they got the man you wanted to date—let us make it real—if they got the girl you were interested in, do not be upset. God knows what He is doing. If it worked out your way, it would be second-best.
What Has Your Name on It
Bottom line: what has your name on it is not going to go to anyone else. Do not go around bitter, with jealousy and in self-pity. That will poison your life. Empty it out. God is in control, He is directing your steps, and at the right time what has your name on it will show up. God promises if we will make room, He will not only fill us with good things, but He will keep us young and strong.
The reason some people are not young and strong—and I do not mean just young physically, but young, passionate about life—is because they are filled with the negative. Worry will make you weak. Living stressed-out will make you old, give you wrinkles, take your passion. Being bitter, angry, resentful will shorten your life.
Proverbs says, «A relaxed attitude lengthens life.» You can be 80 years old and young at heart. Your spirit never ages. I met a woman in the lobby a while back. It was her 100th birthday. She was standing there dressed impeccably, beautiful, hardly had any wrinkles, full of joy. Her mind was as sharp as can be. I asked her what her secret was so I could tell Victoria. She said, «I do not worry, I let things go, and I laugh a lot.»
A Life of Releasing Negatives
She has lived by this principle. In a hundred years people have hurt her, she has made mistakes, life has happened, offenses have come, but she has not held on to them. She has kept emptying them out, and like God promised, He has filled her life with good things, kept her young and strong.
I do not want to get old, grouchy, grumpy, fall apart. I want to stay young, strong, good-looking, full of faith and joy and energy. The way this happens is give no place to the negative. Get in the habit of emptying out the offenses, empty out the worry. You make a mistake, empty out the guilt. You did not do your best, empty out the regret. Do better next time.
Nobody gave you credit, empty out the self-pity. You had a bad break, you do not understand it, empty out the questions. If you will get good at emptying out the negative, you will be like this lady: strong, young, vibrant, full of faith, and full of joy.
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Jesus said, «Blessed are the pure in heart, they will see God.» That word «pure» in the original language is where we get our word «cathartic.» It means cleansing, releasing. If you have surgery, sometimes the doctor will put in a catheter—same root word—to remove the impurities of the body. You cannot get up to use the facility. That catheter automatically takes what is not beneficial, the toxins, the infections, the waste and flushes them out of the body.
The doctor knows there will be contaminants. He is not alarmed that the body has waste and infection. He is only alarmed when it is not being released, when we are holding onto things that should be flushed out.
When God says, «Blessed are the pure in heart,» He is saying you are going to be blessed when you learn how to release the impurities of life, when you get in the habit, like this catheter, of emptying out things that will infect you. Bitterness is infection to our spirit. Guilt is infection. Worry, doubt, self-pity—these things are not unusual.
Release the Toxins of Life
Impurities come. You have to push them out. It is when we hold on to them that it contaminates our spirit and causes us problems. You were not created to carry around guilt, regret, bitterness, anger. That poisons your life. «Well, Joel, I am bitter because I had a bad break. I am sour because somebody walked out on me.» I say this respectfully, that is simply an impurity. Why do you not release it so it does not infect the rest of your life? Divorce, a layoff, a loss—do not let them poison your future.
«Well, Joel, I am worried about my health, worried about my finances, worried about my children.» Worry is a part of life. Those thoughts come to us all. The key is to not hold on to them. Recognize they are not beneficial, they are not moving you forward. That is an impurity that was not meant to stay. You have to release it.
«God, I do not see a way, but I know You are still on the throne. I know You are bigger than this problem. I know You are supplying all of my needs.» You just released the toxin.
Make Room for God’s Deliveries
Are you holding on to infection, to impurities—angry, jealous, worried, discouraged? Maybe you had a disappointment, something did not work out. Imagine there is an angel that has a delivery with your name on it. It says, «Beauty for ashes, new beginning, new opportunities, new friendships.» He is en route with one of those good things. The problem is if you are holding on to the old, there is no place for him to deliver it.
I wonder how many things are en route right now. The angel is standing by with our joy, our peace, our confidence, our creativity, our spouse, but because there is no room, because we are not releasing the toxins—the anger, the bitterness, the jealousy, the worry—then he cannot deliver those good things. Instead of living blessed, excited about our future, we become infected.
The good news is you can get rid of that infection. It is not permanent. If you will start releasing the regret, the worry, the bitterness, the anger, then it is just a matter of time before that angel shows up with your delivery. When you make room, God promises He will fill your life with good things.
David’s Example of Emptying Out
This is what David did. He was an expert at emptying out the negative. His family looked down on him, treated him like he was second-class. He could have let that infection take root, but he let it go in one ear and out the other. He knew if he held onto it, it would keep him from his destiny.
David went to the palace, served faithfully King Saul. He would play the harp when Saul was sick, to make him feel better. In return, Saul tried to kill him, chased him through the desert, made his life miserable. David could have become bitter, thought, «What is the use? Everybody is against me. Life is not fair.» Instead, he kept his heart pure and emptied out the self-pity.
Like David, we all have impurities, infections that come. People come against us, our plans do not always work out, and it is easy to think, «Why is this happening?» It is just life. The scripture says offenses will come. They are not a problem unless you do not know what to do with them.
Too many people make the mistake of holding on to them. They get bitter, live guilty, with a chip on their shoulder. That is going to poison your future. You have to release the toxins of life. You may not be able to keep them from coming, but you can keep them from staying.
David made mistakes. One time, he committed adultery and had the lady’s husband killed. For one year, he tried to cover it up, swept it under the rug, and he was so overwhelmed with guilt and condemnation that he became sick and weak. That poison started to infect his life. He finally admitted his mistake. He repented and asked God to forgive him, and things began to turn around. Once he got the infection out, then his health was restored.
Receive God’s Mercy Today
When you make a mistake—and we all do—do not run away from God, do not try to hide it. Go to God, repent. That means do not keep doing the same thing, and then ask for forgiveness. Here is the key: you have to receive God’s mercy.
The enemy is called the accuser. He will remind you of every mistake you have made for the last 30 years, and it is easy to live life in regret, thinking about what you should have done differently. «Man, I should have raised my children better. I should have been more faithful in my marriage. I should have finished college.»
Do not go through life looking in the rearview mirror, down on yourself, living in regret. You cannot do anything about the past, but you can do something about right now. Being against yourself does not help you do better. It pushes you down. The moment you asked God to forgive you, He forgave you. Why do you not forgive yourself? Why do you not empty out the guilt? Why do you not turn off the accusing voices?
God does not remember your mistakes anymore. If someone is bringing up the negative things of your past, it is not God. That is the accuser trying to deceive you into living condemned.
How much space are you giving to guilt, to shame, to regret, to being against yourself? Whatever it is, it is too much. You need that space for the good things God has to move you toward your destiny. If you are giving space to guilt, you will not have the confidence you need to move forward. That will cause you to fail again. It is a negative cycle.
The only way you can break it is to rise up and say, «That is it. I am done living in the past, focused on my mistakes, reliving my failures, beating myself up. This is a new day. I am emptying out all that infection. I am going to receive God’s mercy.»