Joel Osteen - In The Middle of a Miracle (2023)
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Even when life feels overwhelming and full of challenges, we often fail to see that God is already at work sustaining us and pushing back the opposition, just like Moses holding up his staff helped Joshua win the battle. Drawing from stories like the Israelites at the Red Sea and Paul’s triumph in Christ, the key is to recognize we’re in the middle of a miracle and trust that victory, healing, and breakthroughs are coming.
You’re Already in the Middle of a Miracle!
I want to talk to you today about being in the middle of a miracle. When we go through challenges, it is easy to live worried and stressed. We wonder when it is going to change and when God is going to do something, when in fact God is doing something. He is keeping the trouble from taking us out. He is holding back the opposition. He is not letting the addiction defeat us.
We do not realize it, but we are in the middle of a miracle. God is in the process of bringing us out. Without His favor, we would be overcome. Without His protection, we would be defeated. One day we will look back and say, «Look what the Lord has done. Look at how God sustained me in that tough time. Look at how He healed me from that disease. Look at how He promoted me despite the opposition.»
God’s Invisible Hand Is Sustaining You
Right now, God is working behind the scenes, making things happen that you cannot see. If it was not for His goodness, His favor, His mercy, you would not be able to withstand what is trying to stop you. You are not in the difficulty by yourself. The Most High God is pushing back forces of darkness.
One time, Joshua and his men were in a valley fighting the Amalekites. They had attacked the Israelites, and they were bigger and stronger, but against all odds, Joshua was winning the whole time Moses was up on the hill holding his staff in the air. As long as he had his staff up, Joshua was winning.
You Think It’s Your Strength—It’s Really God!
I can imagine Joshua thought he was defeating the opposition in his own strength. He did not realize the only reason he was prevailing was because Moses was holding up his staff. Sometimes we think we are making it through the difficulty because we are tough, determined, or smart—and that is part of it—but what you cannot see is the Creator of the universe breathing in your direction.
The God who spoke worlds into existence is sustaining you, favoring you, healing you. Like Moses up on that hill, you cannot see Him, but God is causing you to win. That is why that car barely missed you on the freeway. That is why that addiction could not finish you off. That is why that person who did you wrong could not stop your destiny.
Greater Forces Are Fighting for You
The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:14 that «God always causes us to triumph.» If you are not seeing victory yet, do not panic—you are in the middle. That is not how your story ends. God is holding up the staff, so to speak. You cannot be defeated. The enemy cannot stop God’s plan for your life.
Healing is coming, freedom is coming, breakthroughs are coming. God is about to show out in your life. He is going to do things you cannot do on your own. It is going to be uncommon—that is why you cannot figure it out. It is not going to be natural; it is going to be supernatural.
Why the Middle Feels So Scary
But in the middle, it can be frightening. In the middle, all you see is the opposition—how big the obstacle looks, how bad the problem is. Thoughts will tell you, «It is never going to work out. You will never get well, never break the addiction, never meet the right person.» You have to remind yourself that things are happening that you cannot see.
It may look permanent. You do not see anything improving. The truth is: it is only the middle. Your time is coming. God would not have allowed it if it was going to keep you from your destiny. Now keep the right perspective: you are not just fighting cancer—you are in the middle of a miracle.
That Trial Will Become Your Testimony
God is in the process of restoring your health. That test one day will be your testimony. You will say with David, «Where would I be without the goodness of God?» You are not just struggling in your finances—you are in the middle of a miracle. The enemy thought he was setting you back; he did not realize he was setting you up.
Your story does not end in defeat. God is about to do a new thing: promotion is coming, opportunities are coming, the right people are coming. «You know, Joel, but the stock market is down. I do not have the work I used to.» The economy is not your source—God is your source.
God Owns It All—He’s Not Having a Bad Year!
The stock market may be down, but God is not having a bad year. He owns it all. One touch of His favor will put you into overflow. When you keep God in first place, when you honor Him with your life, you are connected to a supply line that will never run dry. The Scripture in Psalm 37:19 says, «Even in famine you will have more than enough.»
When things are drying up all around you—when you should be in lack, struggling, barely making it—you will see supernatural provision, increase, promotion, opportunity that does not make sense. Isaiah 43:19–20 says that God makes rivers in the desert. He makes streams in the barren places.
Rivers in the Desert? That’s God’s Style!
You cannot have a river in a desert. If it is barren, you cannot have water freely flowing. This is showing us: God is going to do unusual things. He is going to take you up when all the circumstances say you should be going down. He is going to bring opportunity and promotion when things should be drying up. You are not only going to be amazed, but people are going to see the favor of God on your life.
«Well, Joel, this sounds good, but I do not know—it is tough in my life. Things are slow at work. I lost a contract. I do not see how I am going to make it.» That is calling in more defeat. Turn it around: «Yes, things are slow, but I know a secret—I am in the middle of a miracle.
Stop Talking Defeat—Start Declaring Victory!
God is working behind the scenes. He is supplying all of my needs. He has a hedge of protection around my family.» Get in agreement with God. You cannot talk defeat and have victory. You cannot think negative and live positive. You cannot go around worried, afraid, panicked and reach your destiny. You are drawing in what you are thinking about. Do not use your energy to worry—use your energy to believe.
After God delivered the Israelites out of slavery, they headed toward the Promised Land, but Pharaoh changed his mind and sent 600 of his fastest chariots and most skilled warriors to recapture them. These two million Israelites were at a dead end at the Red Sea—they had nowhere to go.
Walls of Water: Terrifying or a Sign of Breakthrough?
Moses held up his staff, and the waters parted. It is interesting how God brought them out. We read about it now, and it is so encouraging and inspiring—these huge walls of water being held back, the people walking through on dry ground. In the movies, they are going through so peaceful and calm, rejoicing at what God had done, but I do not think that is how it happened.
Imagine being there with 20-foot walls of water on each side, not knowing if at any moment those walls were going to collapse. Mothers were holding their babies for dear life, rushing through. Fathers grabbing their little children’s hands, running as fast as they could.
Chaos in the Miracle—It’s Normal!
People carrying the elderly—it was not peaceful; it was chaotic. The wind was holding back the water; it was incredibly noisy. There was confusion, turmoil—people were panicked, worried, thinking any moment those walls could come crashing down. They were not calm and collected; they were afraid. They finally made it to the other side and started rejoicing, giving God praise.
But when you are in the middle of the miracle, sometimes it will feel chaotic. You may not hear angels playing harps and the heavenly choir singing. The circumstances may not be calm and reassuring. It may look like all hell is breaking loose—the medical report looks worse, your child will not do what is right, inflation is rising.
Be Still—God Is Holding the Walls!
It is easy to panic, live worried, not able to sleep at night. God is saying in Psalm 46:10, «Be still and know that I am God.» Those walls of water may look scary—you could think of a hundred things that could go wrong—but God did not bring you this far to leave you. He is the one holding up the walls. He is the one pushing back the forces of darkness. He is the one keeping the trouble from defeating you.
It may look frightening; the circumstances seem overwhelming—stay in peace. You are in the middle of a miracle. God may not deliver you from the trouble; He may take you through the trouble. Those walls of water that look so intimidating—that is not a sign that you are done; that is a sign that breakthroughs are up ahead.
God Doesn’t Always Choose the Easy Route
Promotion, freedom, healing is in your future. Yes, the winds are strong, the opposition is bigger than anything you have faced, but it is not a surprise to God. He has not let the water collapse. He is going to bring you through safely to the other side. It is interesting how God brought the Israelites out. He did not give them a bridge to cross the Red Sea—that would have been much more peaceful. They would not have had to worry about those walls of water.
He could have sent them a big ship, had Carnival crews pull up with several of their cruise liners. The Israelites could have gone across in comfort, secure, without any fears. But God does not always bring us out the most comfortable way. He does not always make it easy where we do not have any opposition, any reason to live worried or afraid.
Faith Means Trusting Between the Walls
This is what faith is all аbout: trusting Him in between the walls of water, being at peace when others are panicked, staying calm when you do not know how it is going to work out. The Scripture in Exodus 14:21 says that God sent a strong east wind to blow the water back. Imagine how strong that wind had to be to blow back 20 feet of water and sustain it. That means it had to keep blowing—it was loud, noisy, chaotic.
In one sense, God sent a storm on top of another storm. You could think, «This could not be God—things are getting worse instead of better.» You do not know what God is up to. Those winds that are so noisy, the trouble, the opposition—that is not going to keep you from your destiny; it is leading you to your destiny.
Chaos Often Means Your Miracle Is Close
You are not close to your miracle only when everything is calm and peaceful—sometimes it is the opposite. When it is chaotic, when you are tempted to panic, live afraid and worried, that means your miracle is on the way. There is a lot going on in the world today, and with all the uncertainty we could live worried: «Man, what about my finances? This sickness is not improving, and I am concerned about my children.»
Come back to a place of peace. We may not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. God is still on the throne. You cannot see it, but He is holding up the walls of water. He is keeping you from evil and harm. He is sustaining you in the famine. He is bringing healing and wholeness. He is protecting, providing, favoring. You are in the middle of a miracle.
Praise at Midnight Changes Everything
Now do like Paul and Silas: they were arrested for sharing their faith and put in the deepest dungeon, locked behind prison doors with chains on their feet. They could have been depressed, complaining, but they understood this principle—that they were not just in the middle of a dungeon; they were in the middle of a miracle.
They knew the same God who sent the wind to blow back the Red Sea for the Israelites could make a way where they did not see a way. And at midnight they started singing praises to God. When you can sing in a storm, when you can praise through the pain, when you can thank God that He is working instead of complaining about the trouble—get ready, your miracle is on the way!
Turn Up Your Praise in the Middle!
All of a sudden there was a great earthquake. Prison doors flung open, the chains fell off their feet—they walked out as free men. God sent an earthquake; He used another storm to get them out of the storm. Do not be surprised if God does it in an unusual way. Like Paul and Silas, you may feel like you are in the middle of trouble—dealing with an illness, worried about your finances, concerned about your children.
What you are up against seems bigger and stronger. You have to do like them and recognize: you are not just in the middle of a difficulty—you are in the middle of a miracle. If you will start thanking God that He is working, thanking Him that He is bigger than what you are facing, thanking Him that He is holding up the walls of water, then you are going to see situations suddenly turn around.
Chris’s 20-Year Fight That Ended in Overflow
Suddenly you get well, suddenly your child gets back on course, suddenly the problem is resolved. When you are in the middle of a miracle, you have to turn up your praise: «Father, thank You that no weapon formed against me is going to prosper. Thank You that this difficulty did not come to stay—it came to pass. Thank You that even now things are changing in my favor.»
I know a young man named Chris. He has been attending Lakewood with his family since he was nine years old. He grew up healthy and very active, but at seventeen he started having fever and fluctuations in his weight. He eventually lost the strength and mobility in his legs.
From Diagnosis to Defying the Odds
After two weeks in the hospital, he was diagnosed with a rare form of lupus. He could have been discouraged, given up on life, but Chris is a fighter. He knew he was not just in the middle of a rare sickness—he was in the middle of a miracle. He decorated the walls of his house with Scripture verses: «I will live and not die, and declare the works of the Lord, ” „By His stripes I am healed.“
Chris started volunteering here at Lakewood. I would see him faithfully serving, helping others year after year. I have never heard Chris complain, never seen him without a smile. If you ask him how he is doing, he is going to tell you that he is blessed, that he is healed, that he has the favor of God.
Faith When Life Throws a Curveball
It is one thing to believe when everything is going your way—that is easy. The real test comes when life has thrown you a curve, when you are facing something out of your control. Chris continued to struggle with his health. One day he looked like he had gained 50 pounds, and another day he looked like skin and bones. He spent time in and out of the hospital, fighting the good fight of faith.
It did not seem like he was in the middle of a miracle—the medical report said he would never get well. But God can do what medicine cannot do. Medical science may run out of options, but God never runs out of options. He breathed life into you—He has the final say. Nothing can snatch you out of His hands.
A New Heart—and Kidneys Too!
When Chris was 40 years old, after fighting for over 20 years, his heart and kidneys began to fail. He was hospitalized and given a temporary pump to keep his heart beating. The doctor said his only chance of survival was a heart transplant. He was placed on the waiting list, but there were so many ahead of him—it seemed unlikely that he would make it.
He had been in the hospital for five months in ICU. Doctors told him that all of his organs would start shutting down. Chris would not hear of it—he kept declaring health, wholeness, victory. Much to their surprise, he defied the odds, and his other organs remained healthy.
God Exceeds Every Expectation
One night his wife unexpectedly received the call they had been praying for so long: there was a donor for Chris. It just so happened it was a perfect match—not only a heart like they were praying for, but there were two kidneys as well. The family stood outside, took pictures of that ambulance arriving with Chris’s new organs. He had the heart and kidney transplant at the same time.
The surgery was successful, and Chris is well on his way to the life he has been dreaming аbout: healthy and whole. There was a prayer he prayed every day from Psalm 51: „God, create in me a clean heart.“ He said, „God not only gave me a new heart, but He gave me kidneys as well.“ That is the way our God is—He exceeds our expectations.
Your Best Days Are Still Ahead!
It may look like that sickness is permanent, that addiction is never going to change, you will never see your family restored—it is too late, the problem too big. Can I encourage you? You are in the middle of a miracle! God already has the solution. He has already lined up the good breaks, the healing, the right people.
Do not believe the lies that you have seen your best days. Do like Chris and live from a place of faith, a place of trust. You look at the circumstances—you could be worried, negative, thinking it is never going to change. But if Chris were here, he would tell you: God is a faithful God! Your time is coming!
Nothing Is Too Hard for God
He is not only going to do what you ask—He is going to exceed your expectations. The Scripture in Genesis 18:14 says, „Is there anything too hard for God?“ He spoke worlds into existence. He flung stars into space. He has you in the palm of His hand. What He has destined for your life will come to pass.
Now, I believe right now faith is rising in your heart. Dreams are coming back to life. Promises you have given up on are about to be fulfilled. You may be in a difficult time, but have a new perspective: you are in the middle of a miracle!
The Enemy Fights Hardest When Victory Is Near
The enemy would not be coming against you if he did not know something amazing was in front of you. This is not the time to live worried and afraid. The God who breathed life into you is watching over you. He is keeping the walls up. He is pushing back the opposition. He is ordering your steps, putting you at the right place at the right time.
Isaiah 3:10 says, „Say to the righteous, it shall be well with you.“ You are the righteous—you would not be listening if you did not have a heart after God. There is a lot of fear and panic in the world, but that is not going to stop your destiny. It shall be well with you!
It Shall Be Well With You!
The medical report may not look good—you have been dealing with that sickness for years. It is not permanent—it shall be well with you! Healing is on the way! You lost a loved one; you do not think you can go on. It is not the end—God has a new beginning. Let this phrase sink down in your spirit: it shall be well with you!
Or you had a setback in your finances—business is slow; you do not know how you are going to make it. God has it all figured out. He is your provider. He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds of the air. He knows how to take care of you. New doors are going to open. Opportunities are going to come looking for you. It shall be well with you!
When It’s Not Well Now—Hold On to the Promise
Now the circumstances may look the opposite—things are coming against you in your health, your finances, your relationships. It may not be well now, but you have the promise: it shall be well. The opposition, the trouble, the lack—it is not the end. Why? You are in the middle of a miracle! Victory is coming, healing is coming, freedom is coming, new levels are coming!
In 2 Kings chapter 7, the Syrian army had surrounded the city of Samaria and cut off their food supply. The Israelites were starving and faced certain death. There were four lepers sitting outside the city gates.
Four Lepers and a Supernatural Turnaround
They said, „We are going to die here anyway—let us go down to the enemy’s camp and see what they are doing.“ They started walking toward the Syrians. God caused the sound of their footsteps to be multiplied. The Scripture in 2 Kings 7:6 says the Syrian army heard the clatter of thousands of speeding chariots and the sound of a vast army approaching.
They were so afraid they panicked. They took off running into the desert, fleeing for their lives. They left in such a hurry they did not take any of their possessions, any of their food, their supplies, their gold, their silver. They left everything behind.
God Multiplied What They Couldn’t Hear
When the lepers arrived, they could not believe it! They did not know what happened. They went back and told the Israelites. They came and gathered up all the food and belongings—it was a great victory. What is interesting is when the lepers were walking to the enemy’s camp, they did not hear anything different.
Even though God multiplied the sound of their footsteps, they could not hear it. Everything seemed normal to them. They were just doing what they knew to do. What they could not see was God working behind the scenes, doing things they never dreamed. In the natural, they did not have a chance, but we serve a supernatural God.
Keep Moving Forward—God Is Orchestrating!
They thought it was the end, that there was no way they could live—all the odds were against them. They did not realize they were in the middle of a miracle. God was making things happen that they knew nothing about. When you are doing the right thing, making decisions that honor God, you may not see anything improving: you still have that problem at work, your health has not gotten better, your finances look just the same.
What you cannot see is God behind the scenes, orchestrating things in your favor, lining up the breaks you need, moving the wrong people out of the way. It seems like where you are is permanent, but God is causing people to hear what they need to hear. He is multiplying what you know nothing about.
Don’t Quit—Your Sudden Breakthrough Is Coming
You are going to see things fall into place that do not make sense. Like these lepers, you will be scratching your head, thinking, „How did that happen?“ You thought you were stuck in your career, gone as far as you could, but out of nowhere promotion came to you—a door opened that you could never open.
You thought you would never get well, but it was not the end. Like Chris, you were in the middle of a miracle. Against all odds, your health began to turn around. Now, what if these lepers had thought, „Man, we do not have a chance—no use walking down there; that is just wasting our time“? They would have missed their miracle.
God Has You Right Where He Wants You
Every circumstance said they were done—they were outnumbered, they had a dreaded disease—but when they dared to take that step of faith, things supernaturally turned around. You may have opposition, things coming against you—you do not see how that situation could ever resolve. But if you will just keep moving forward in faith, knowing that God is in the process of bringing you out, that He is making things happen that you cannot see, not believing those lies that where you are is permanent, then you are going to come into these times where God shows out in your life, where He makes things happen that you could never make happen.
Do not let the fact that it is stressful, that you are tempted to be panicked and worried, convince you that it is not going to work out. Most of the time when you are in the middle of a miracle, it is not peaceful. There are walls of water on each side that could collapse, there is a Pharaoh chasing you, there is wind and noise—do not panic. God has you right where He wants you! He is in control!
It’s Just a Matter of Time!
He is keeping the opposition from defeating you! It is just a matter of time before you make it safely to the other side. I am asking you to live from a place of peace, a place of trust. If you will do this, I believe and declare: forces that are trying to stop you are being broken right now. Things are changing in your favor. Healing is coming, freedom is coming, promotion, breakthroughs—all will be well with you, in Jesus’ name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?