Joel Osteen - You Are Blessed
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I want to talk to you today about You Are Blessed. When you gave your life to Christ, he puts something on you that causes you to stand out, to overcome obstacles, to accomplish dreams. It's a divine enablement, a can-do power, a favor that propels you into your destiny. It's simply called "The blessing". With this blessing you'll go up when others are going down, you'll recover from an illness when the medical report says you won't get well, you'll accomplish goals that were over your head. Wasn't just your talent, your skill, your determination. That will take you so far, but to reach the fullness of your destiny God put on you the blessing. See, when he chose you, he didn't say, "Good luck, you're on your own. Let's see what you can do". No, he anointed you. The word "Anoint" means he marked you, he set you apart. How did he do it? By putting this blessing on you.
You're a marked man, a marked woman. Not marked for defeat, negativity, failure. You are marked for favor, where people would be good to you and they don't even know why, where doors will open that weren't supposed to open, where you'll be promoted when you weren't the next in line. Where opportunity will come looking for you. It's not a lucky break, it's not a coincidence, it's the blessing on your life. You are marked to break generational limitations that have held your family back, marked to put an end to dysfunction, depression, anger, poverty. May have been that way in the past, but God raised you up to do something about it. You're the difference maker, you're the one to set a new standard.
Thoughts will whisper, "It's never going to change. You're not that strong, you don't have the talent". Don't believe those lies, you've been marked for this time. God has put his blessing on your life: a divine empowerment. You're not doing things on your own, there is a supernatural force breathing in your direction. And what others have done in your family line may have put you at a disadvantage, they left you with negative baggage to deal with. The good news is: the blessing always overrides the curse. That is not how your story ends, you're about to see a shift, strongholds that have held your family back are coming down. Negativity, lack, compromise, addictions, those forces are being broken. You're going to step into a new level of freedom, joy, fulfillment, abundance. It's the blessing God put on your life.
You've been marked to excel in whatever environment you're in. When people are for you, and when people are against you. When the economy is up, and when COVID hits and things shut down. When you're getting good breaks, doors are opening, and when doors have closed, the contract didn't go through, you lost a client. It says in Psalms 37:19, "Even in famine, the righteous will have more than enough". It doesn't say that God will get you out of the famine so you can have more than enough, he'll stop the people at work from doing you wrong, stop the injustice then you'll be blessed. No, you are blessed in the trouble. You are blessed in the famine.
The blessing is why the enemy cannot defeat you. The blessing is why that trouble is not soften your destiny. The blessing is why that sickness can't take you out. The blessing is the reason you keep rising up, when circumstances have tried to keep you down. The blessing doesn't stop the adversity, doesn't stop the famine, but it causes you to prosper in the famine, to triumph in the trouble, to have a smile in the sickness, to keep praising when nothing seems like it's working out. Deep down you know that God being for you is more than what's trying to stop you.
Isaiah 43:19 said, "God will make streams in the desert". We all want to get out of the desert, out of this difficulty, but sometimes God will leave you in an uncomfortable situation. He won't turn around what you don't like, but he'll make a stream in that desert, he'll bless you in the middle of the trouble. The blessing on your life doesn't come and go: you're blessed when you're seeing good breaks, people are for you, that's good, but this blessing is on you in the desert, in the hospital, in the trouble, in the fiery furnace, facing Goliath, when Pharaoh is chasing you down.
It says in Deuteronomy 28:3-8, "When you honor God, you are blessed in the city and blessed in the country. You are blessed when you come in and blessed when you come out. You are blessed in your uprising and in your down sitting". That means in the good times, and in the tough times. Says, "The fruit of your womb is blessed. Your cattle, your livestock is blessed", that's your business. This is saying the blessing is not dependent on the circumstances, whether they're good or bad, it's not dependent on the environment, the location, where you are. Whether you're in a furnace place or a famine, you are blessed. Whether you're around friends, people that love or support you, or enemies, people that who aren't for you, trying to make you look bad, discredit you. You you don't have to go somewhere else to have the blessing, the blessing is on you. When you get there, the blessing gets there.
Now, you may work in a negative environment, there's jealousy backstabbing, politics. "Joel, when God moves me out of this place, then I'll be blessed. When he gets rid of these jerks, I mean these co-workers, then I'll have a good attitude". No, you are blessed in the famine. The blessing didn't leave because of the environment. And sometimes times God will assign you to difficult people, he'll put you in a situation with people that are hard to get along with, compromise, it take the easy way out.
You're not there by accident. God has you there to shine brightly. He's counting on you to be a good influence, to be grateful when they're complaining, to have integrity when they're compromising, to show mercy when they're judgmental, to see the best in people when they're finding fault. Light has the greatest impact in darkness. If you're in the light all the time, you're not going to be that effective. Quit complaining about the dark, and let your light shine. They didn't stop the blessing, they're not keeping you from your potential, God has you there on purpose. He's not waiting to change your environment then he's going to bless you, he's going to bless you in the famine, he's going to make you a stream in the desert. You're going to be an example of his goodness, so other people can see the hand of God on your life.
In the scripture, God told Abraham to leave his country and go toward the Promised Land. Traveled a great distance, and came to this area, and set up camp. He had thousands of cattle and sheep. His nephew Lot was traveling along with him, he had a large number of flocks as well. After a few weeks they realized the land couldn't support all the animals. Abraham and Lot's shepherds begin to argue over who should get the land. There was strife and division. Abraham said to Lot, "We need to separate. You choose wherever you want to live, and I'll go somewhere else". Abraham took the high road. He was older, he brought Lot along out of the goodness of his heart, should have been his choice, but he let Lot choose. But Lot looked around, studied the terrain, and he found the best part of the land. The scripture says it was like a garden with lush pastures, beautiful streams, quiet valleys.
All that was left for Abraham was a dry place, barren, hot, dusty, nothing beautiful. You would think Abraham would be worried, thinking, "How we going to make it. He got all the fertile land, all the streams, I'm stuck out here in the desert". Now, Abraham understood this principle: that the blessing wasn't on the location, the blessing was on him. That wherever he went, the blessing was there. He knew the land was not his source, but God was his source. In the natural he should have struggled, had hardships, seen his crops dry up. It's just the opposite. Wasn't any time before, that barren land turned into a beautiful oasis. His flocks and herds multiplied. The scripture says Abraham was one of the wealthiest men of that day.
But we think, "Man, if I can get that position, Joel, then I'll be blessed. If I can get into into this friend group, if I can move into this neighborhood". Now, here's the whole key: the blessing is on you. It's not dependent on your circumstances, your environment, who you know. Quit looking to people, places, positions, and look to God. He's the source. He's the one that makes streams in the desert. He's the one that knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb. He's the one that called you, that anointed you, that marked you for favor.
This blessing will cause you to blossom when you should be drying up. It'll cause you to excel when you should be stuck. The blessing will make up for when people do you wrong, when Lot chooses the best part of the land, someone you were good to put you at a disadvantage. They may have taken your land so to speak, but they didn't take your blessing. They took the position, but they didn't take the favor on your life. The blessing will cause you to flourish in the famine, to succeed in the struggle, to excel despite what tried to hold you back.
Few years ago I went to Africa to visit this orphanage, and the man that ran it and started it he showed me around. They have several hundred acres, they take care of 500 children. When they were looking for land to build the orphanage they were told that they wouldn't be able to grow any crops on this property, because the soil was not healthy enough, and there wasn't enough water. All around them for miles and miles that was true, there are no crops, no livestock, it's dry and barren. But when he saw this property, he felt good about it. He knew it was supposed to be theirs. He gets the advice of all the experts, he purchased the property. Not only built the orphanage, but he planted over a 100 acres of crops. He designed his own irrigation system.
The neighbors, the local people they thought he lost his mind: nobody could grow crops. But this man knew: when he got there, the blessing got there. He knew the land wasn't his source, God was his source. That the blessing wasn't dependent on the environment, the rain, the people, the economy. The blessing makes streams in the desert. The blessing gives you more than enough in a famine. See, the blessing is not natural, it's supernatural. It defies the odds.
Well, the experts said he is wasting his time, making a big mistake, now they're all scratching their heads. Out there in the middle of this barren dry land, you come to his property and it's like an oasis. It's so green and fertile, all these crops and animals. The university sent experts out to take soil samples to try to figure out how he can grow crops, and next door they won't grow. How his soil can be so rich and healthy, but across the street it's just the opposite. Their land is so successful, they are not only self-sufficient, but they produce so many crops that they sell part of their produce to the local grocery stores. That's how they fund their orphanage. When this man was telling me this, he smiled real big and said, "Joel, it's the blessing of God on our life".
This blessing will cause you to defy the odds. The blessing is not dependent on the land, on the position, on what the experts say. The blessing is on you. It's the power of the Most High, his favor causing you to excel. That's what it says in Psalms that whatever you touch will prosper and succeed. That land may be barren, but when you touch it it'll come to life. That job you're at may be difficult, but when you get there, the blessing gets there. That sickness may look like it's going to defeat you, the experts say you're not going to make it. What they don't realize is there is something on you that defies the odds, that causes you to overcome, that moves sickness out of your body, that prospers you in a dry place, that turns people who are against you into being for you. You can't explain it, it doesn't make sense, it's the blessing of God on your life.
And here's the great news: you're not waiting to be blessed, hoping to one day get this blessing, you are blessed, it's already happened. When you understand that you have the blessing, you'll put your shoulders back and pray bold prayers. You'll believe for things that seem impossible. You won't be bitter over who did you wrong, upset over that door that closed. You know the blessing overrides every bad break, the blessing will cause you to flourish in the famine, to succeed despite the negative report, to blossom when the odds are against you.
This is what happened with David. He was 17 years old, had no military experience, yet he went out and defeated a giant twice his size, the champion of the Philistine army. How could that happen? It was the blessing on his life. Or how about Ruth, she was a widow, she had lost her husband and was out gathering grain in a foreign country, trying to survive, when a man named Boaz, the owner of the field saw Ruth they eventually fell in love and were married. They had a baby boy, Ruth became the great great grandmother of king David. Here she'd gone through a big disappointment, losing her husband, look like she was stuck in the fields, no future to speak of.
But the disappointments, the setbacks, the loss, they don't stop the blessing. The blessing will cause the right people to notice you. The blessing will take you from working in the company to owning your company. The blessing will will give you a legacy greater than you've ever imagined. Out in those fields, picking up leftover grain, that was just an ordinary place until Ruth got there. When she showed up, the blessing showed up. That's when supernatural things begin to happen. The co-workers dropped leftover wheat on purpose for Ruth, uncommon increase. Boaz noticed Ruth. He could have been busy, out of town, looking the other way, but the blessing on your life will cause the right people to not only see you, but to be good to you.
The apostle Paul was shipwrecked on a deserted island. He went to pick up some firewood, when a poisonous snake bit his arm. The natives had seen it happen again and again, in a few minutes he should swell up and die. Paul just shook it off, went about his business. It never did affect him. Those natives were so in awe that they thought he was a God. How could you be bit by something poisonous and it not harm you? That's the blessing of God. They had seen many people die from snake bites, but there's a difference between you and people that don't honor God. Part of this blessing is protection, it's God pushing back darkness and keeping you from evil, and angels guarding you, and defending you.
It says in Exodus 9:26, "The only spot without hail in all of Egypt that day, was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived". There was this huge hail storm wiping out people, animals, destroying the crops, but the only place that wasn't harmed was where the Israelites were. That's the blessing. It's not on the land, it's not on the position, the blessing is on you. The more you recognize it, the more peaceful you're going to live, the more faith you're going to have, and the more favor you're going to see. In the Amplified version of the Bible, when it says the word "Blessed", many times it describes the word. In parentheses it says "Happy, fortunate, prosperous and to be envied". When Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers", the Amplified says, "Happy, fortunate, prosperous and to be envied are the peacemakers".
If you want to activate the blessing, then you need to have a bless mindset. You're not going to see the blessing if you go around thinking, "I never get any good breaks. These people at work are never going to treat me right". You can cancel out the blessing with a wrong mentality. Try a new approach: a blessed mindset, "I'm happy. I'm not going to go around discouraged, bitter over what didn't work out, upset over who hurt me. I know God's on the throne. I know he's fighting my battles. I'm fortunate, that means I have an advantage. God's favor is on my life. He's going before me, opening the right doors and bringing the right people". Part of the blessing is you are to be envied. That means you should be so blessed, so peaceful, so kind, so generous, so influential that people want what you have. God wants to make you an example of his goodness.
Abraham was so blessed that people that didn't even know God, people that didn't worship Jehovah, they prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They thought "We want what he has. We want his peace, his joy, his attitude, his resources". Don't have a limited mentality, a defeated, mediocre, "Let me get by in life" attitude. Have a blessed mindset: I'm happy, I'm fortunate, I'm to be envied. And I don't mean to arrogantly, but there's a big difference between "I'm fortunate" and "Nothing good ever happens to me". "I'm to be envied" versus "I never get any good breaks. Nobody would want what I have". "I'm prosperous" versus "I don't know how I'm going to make it. Things have gotten so high". You have to change your mindset. Get in agreement with God. All through the day, in your thoughts, "I'm blessed. I'm fortunate. Something good is going to happen to me. I'm expecting God favor". You're going to draw in what you're continually thinking about. Do you have a blessed mindset or a limited mindset?
When Joseph was a teenager, God gave him a dream that he would be in leadership, he'd do great things, but his brothers were jealous. They didn't like his big dream. They were in another city taking care of flocks, and Jacob sent his son Joseph to check on them. When they saw him in the distance, they said, "Here becomes the dreamer". Sometimes the dream God put in you will stir up jealousy in others. Some people can't handle where God has taking you. They're too small-minded to celebrate the favor and blessing on your life. They think God blessing you means that they're going to be left out. They don't realize what God has for you, doesn't lessen what God has for them. But you will never see the fullness of what God has if you're jealous of other people. A test we all have to pass is to celebrate those that are going further, be happy for people that are seeing increase in favor. That doesn't mean you're being left out. If you'll pass that test, then your time is coming, then God can take you to new levels.
I've never seen jealous people really succeed, people that find fault, criticize, try to discredit others, I've never seen them really take all. It's because of their narrow mindset. That's what limited Joseph's brothers. They were so jealous that they threw Joseph into a pit. They were going to leave him there to die. They took his freedom, but they couldn't take his blessing. They took his coat of many colors, but they couldn't take his calling. Sitting in the bottom of the well, betrayed, alone, no way out, the brothers thought the location determined whether or not Joseph was blessed. They didn't realize the blessing was on Joseph. That's what God said, "You're blessed in the city and blessed in the country". You're blessed when people speak well of you, and you're blessed when they throw you into the pit. Here's the key: they didn't give the blessing, that means they can't take the blessing. The blessing was put on you by your Heavenly Father. No person can stop the blessing, the purpose, the destiny that God has laid out for your life.
One time in the scripture these people hired Balaam the prophet to curse the people of God, to speak against them. They kept offering him more and more money, but three times Balaam said, "I cannot curse what God has already blessed". Can I tell you? God has already blessed you. People can try to stop you, limit you, discredit you. Don't pay any attention. They might as well be talking to the wall, God has already blessed you, he's already already anointed you, he's already marked you, empowered you, destined you to fulfill your assignment. People can't stop you, the enemy can't stop you, the only one that can stop you is you. If you get bitter, discouraged, "Why did this happen? My own family turned on me". If you'll stay on the high road and keep doing the right thing, everything that was meant for your harm, God will turn to your advantage. The blessing will always override the curse.
But they brought Joseph out of the pit, and sold him as a slave in Egypt. And he worked for a man named Potiphar, running his household. Joseph was so excellent in what he did, that he was put in charge of all the affairs of this house. Potiphar's wife lied about Joseph, said he was making advances at her. Joseph was put in prison for something he didn't do. Could have been bitter, "God, where are you? Why did this happen happened?", but he kept being his best. So much, so that he was put in charge of the whole prison. Eventually he interpreted a dream for the Pharaoh, he was so impressed that he made Joseph the prime minister of Egypt. 13 years after Joseph had that dream as a teenager he saw it come to pass.
Joseph was assigned to a difficult place, with difficult people, but none of that stopped the blessing. He was blessed in the pit when his brothers betrayed him. He was blessed in Potiphar's house as a slave in a foreign country. He was blessed in the prison, falsely accused and unfair. The blessing on his life not only sustained him, kept him from being defeated, but it caused him to keep rising to the top. And yes, we all go through disappointments and betrayals, people that do us wrong, but nothing that's happened to you has taken the blessing. "Joel, they threw me into a pit. They put me into a hard place". The blessing is not dependent on your location, the blessing is on you. Wherever you are, the blessing is there. In these difficult times you have to keep reminding yourself, "I am blessed. I am blessed in the palace, and I'm blessed in the pit. I'm blessed when it's fair and I'm blessed when it's unfair. I'm blessed when people are for me, and I'm still blessed when they are against me".
Now, maybe someone has put you at a disadvantage, doesn't look like it's ever going to change, but can I tell you? Like Joseph, you're about to see the blessing override the curse. People that tried to push you down, it's going to backfire, vindication is coming. That sickness has been difficult, it's taken your energy, the tide is about to turn, health and wholeness is coming. Or your child's been making poor choices, the enemy is whispering "It's permanent, they're never going to change". No, get ready, things are about to shift. God is working behind the scenes. You've been marked for favor, marked to overcome, marked to outlast, marked to rise from the pit to the palace.
Now, do your part and have this blessed mindset. No more "I never get any good breaks", "No, I'm fortunate, I'm to be envied, I'm prosperous, the blessing of God is on my life". If you'll do this, I believe and declare: like Abraham, you're going to flourish in the dry places. Like Joseph, you're going to excel in the midst of the trouble. Like my friend at the orphanage, you're going to defy the odds, and see abundance, favor, breakthroughs, healing, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?