Joel Osteen - It's Not What You Think
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I want to talk to you today аbout: It’s Not What You Think. We all have situations that look like they’re not going to work out. We can’t accomplish our dreams, no doors have opened, we took the fertility treatments we can’t have a baby, our child will never get back on course, we’ll never meet the right person. All the facts say it’s not going to happen, but what we can’t see is what God is doing behind the scenes. We don’t know what he’s already lined up. We look at things in the natural, but God is supernatural. And it may seem like your dream has died, you did your best but you’ve had setbacks, people didn’t support you, now you’ve accepted that it’s not meant to be. But it’s not what you think. God has some twists coming, some surprises where suddenly things come back to life, doors open you never dream would open.
Or it may look like your health will never improve. The medical report says «You won’t get well», but it’s not what you think. There’s another report that says, «God is restoring health back to you». That sickness is not how your story ends. Or perhaps it looks like your child will always be off course, running with the wrong crowd. It’s not what you think. God has his hand on your child. Like Jonah, when he tried to go the wrong direction, God had a well waiting for him to take him back to his purpose. Your child may run, but he can’t get away. God’s arm is not too short to save. There’s a shift coming where God suddenly changes your child’s course, and brings him back into his destiny.
Or maybe it looks like you’ll always struggle in your finances, have lack, not enough, that’s how it’s been in your family for years, seems like it’s going to continue to the next generation. No, it’s not what you think, abundance is coming, overflow is coming. God is going to give you the power to get wealth. What you touch will prosper and succeed. You’re the difference maker. You’re the one to break the generational limitation and to start a generational blessing. Now, don’t be discouraged by what’s not happening, but what looks impossible, the dream seems dead. Part of faith is believing when there’s no evidence, trusting when all the circumstances say there’s no chance.
The scripture (2 Corinthians 4:18) says, «The things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal». What you can see: the dream that looks dead, the relationship that’s too far gone, the addiction that’s never going to change — those things are not permanent. One translation says, «They are subject to change». What God promised you is still on the way, but the enemy will work overtime telling you all the reasons it’s not going to happen. «Is too late. You’re too old. You would have met somebody by now. Your health would have improved a little bit». Don’t believe those lies.
Hebrew 11:1, «Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen». God is going to do things in your life where there’s no evidence, no sign of it happening. All the facts say the dream will never come to pass. The evidence says, «You’re not going to get well, never meet the right person». Don’t be moved by what you see, it’s not what you think. God is working in ways you can’t perceive. He’s doing things behind the scenes that are going to defy the odds. His ways are higher and better than our ways. If you can see it, it doesn’t take faith. Faith kicks in when there’s no evidence. If you’ll keep believing, keep trusting, God will do things you never saw coming, things that exceed your expectations, that leave you in amazement of his goodness.
This is what happened with Jacob. His father was Abraham. Abraham was the one God promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore, they’d always walk in his blessing and favor. Well, Jacob had a son named Joseph, this was his youngest son. He was especially proud of Joseph. He had other children, but the scripture (Genesis 37:3) says, «Jacob loved Joseph more than any of the other sons, because he was born to him in his old age». And of course it’s not good to play favorites with our children, but Jacob did. He gave Joseph a special coat of many colors, it represented the favor and blessing on his life. Well, this didn’t set well with his brothers. Every time they saw Joseph wearing that coat, it made them more jealous, more sour toward him.
On top of that God gave Joseph a dream of people bowing down before him, and him rising up into great leadership. This made his brothers hate him even more. Well, Jacob knew the promise that God gave his grandfather, now with this dream he believed his son Joseph would be instrumental in that promise coming to pass. He knew God’s hand was on him. Well, Joseph’s brothers traveled to another city to find pastures for their flocks, after a few weeks Jacob asked Joseph to go check on them. He left home, headed that way. When the brothers saw him in the distance their eyes lit up, they thought, «Great! This is our big chance to get rid of him». They were fed up with him being the favorite, getting all that attention.
What’s interesting is Joseph didn’t make himself the favorite, he couldn’t choose when he was born, he didn’t make his father like him more, God made him the favorite. When God God favors you, sometimes other people can’t handle it, family members get jealous, co-workers try to discredit you. Don’t take it personally, it’s not you they don’t like, it’s the favor God put on you. It’s the blessing on your life. The good news is: they can’t stop your destiny, they can’t override what God has purposed for you. You don’t have to fight with them, try to win them over, live upset cause they’re not for you. Just run your race, focus on what God’s called you to do, and he will take care of the jealous, critical, negative people that try to push you down.
When Joseph arrived, the first thing his brothers did was to take his coat of many colors off. They thought they were taking his favor, but the favor is not on what you have, the favor is on you. And people may take your coat so to speak, but they can’t take your favor. They threw Joseph into a pit, they were going to leave him there to die, and they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming. Instead they sold him as a slave into Egypt. These brothers knew how much their father loved Joseph, they didn’t know what they were going to tell him. They decided to kill a goat, they took the blood and smeared it all over Joseph’s robe so it looked like he’d been harmed.
They went back their father, «Dad, we found this robe, isn’t it Joseph’s»? Jacob took it and said in disbelief, «Yes it is. A wild animal must have attacked him and torn him to pieces». Verse 34 says, «Jacob tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth. He mourned deeply for his son. His family tried to comfort him, but it was no use. He said 'i will die in mourning for my son'». So heartbroken, so despondent, he didn’t think he could go on. Was not only losing his son, but it was also so losing the promise that Joseph represented. Jacob believed that Joseph was destined to bring about what God told Abraham, that their seed would be blessed for generations. Now it looked like the dream was dead, the promise was over. Jacob had the evidence, a bloody robe.
I can imagine that robe over in the corner of his room, he knows he needs to move on, get rid of it, but it’s too painful. Month after month he goes over, mourns and weeps, «God, why did this happen»? We all have times where it looks like something has died in our life: a dream has died, relationship is over, in our health, our finances. What we were believing for didn’t work out. Like Jacob, it’s easy to get stuck in mourning, thinking that God let us down, but you don’t know what he’s doing behind the scenes. It’s not what it looks like. It looks like it’s over over, but God is working in ways that you can’t comprehend right now. Things are going to happen that you didn’t see coming. Trust him when you don’t understand. There will be twists, turns, things that don’t make sense, but God knows what he’s doing. He’s working it all out for your good.
See, Joseph’s brothers were mean, hateful, jealous. But the truth is: they were all a part of God’s plan. They had to be that way to get Joseph to Egypt. We don’t like when people do us wrong, friend betrays us, we go through bad breaks, but you have to realize: God uses these things to move us into our purpose. Not just the good breaks, not just the coat of many colors. We love the favor, the open doors, but God also uses closed doors, disappointments, people that walk away. It’s all serving his plan. And in those difficult times it’s tempting to get stuck. Like Jacob in mourning, thinking the dream is dead, the promise is over. And we have the evidence, the bloody robe, but it’s not over until God says it’s over.
Joseph was a slave in a foreign land, didn’t speak the language, held against his will, lied about, put in prison, overlooked, but he kept being his best year after year, doing the right thing in a difficult situation. God will always give you the grace for every place that he takes you. You have the power to shine in every season that you find yourself in. It may be winter now, gloomy, gone through loss. God has equipped you with the strength, the courage, the determination to not just drag through it, but to excel in it. You have to know your steps are being ordered in the good times and in the tough times. That God is with you when you’re wearing that coat of many colors, and he’s with you when you find yourself in a pit, betrayed, lonely.
22 years had passed, and by now Jacob had accepted that his son was gone, the dream had died, wasn’t going to happen. There’s a great famine in the land, Jacob sent his other sons, the ones that threw Joseph into a pit to Egypt to try to buy food. If not they couldn’t survive. These brothers showed up at the palace, what they didn’t know was their brother Joseph was now the prime minister of Egypt, and in charge of all the food supply. They thought they were getting rid of him, but in fact God was using them to move Joseph into his purpose.
Those people that tried to push you down, discredit you, leave you out, don’t be bitter toward them, God uses everything. Some of them you don’t like what happened, but you couldn’t become who you were created to be without them. They thought they threw you into a pit, but really they threw you into your destiny. God used them to position you for the greater things he has in store.
When these brothers finally realized it was Joseph, they nearly passed out. They bowed down low before him. Years earlier Joseph was down in the pit, and the brothers were up. Now Joseph was up and the brothers were down. Keep doing the right thing, and the tables will turn. You will see the plan of God unfold in your life. Vindication, promotion, influence that could have never happened without all the stops along the way.
Joseph gave them food and said in verse 9, «Hurry home and tell our father that God has made me the master of all of Egypt. Have him come here with all the family, and the flocks and herds. And you will live by me in the best land, and I will take care of you». The brothers headed back home, and you can imagine the excitement and what was going through their mind. The scripture (Genesis 42:25–26) says, «When the jubilant brothers arrived at Jacob’s home, they shouted, „Joseph is alive and in fact, he’s the ruler over all of Egypt“. Jacob had been in mourning for 22 years, discouraged over a dream that died, thinking the promise would never come to pass. All that time God was working behind the scenes. Things were happening that he couldn’t comprehend. He had the bloody robe, he had the evidence that his son had been killed, but it’s not what he thought. His dream was still alive.
You may have promises that you’ve given up on, dreams it look like they’ve died, and all the facts say „It’s not going to happen, it’s too late late, problem too big, you missed your chance“. Can I encourage you? Your dream is still alive! What God starts he’s going to finish! Sometimes we give up, we get discouraged and let the evidence talk us out of it, but God doesn’t give up. Like with Jacob, your jubilant caravan is on the way. Your time is coming. Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
God has some surprises for you, some twist that you didn’t see coming. You thought you’d live lonely after that breakup, you’ve already accepted that dream is dead. No, Joseph is still alive! The right person is going to find you! You thought your health would continue going downhill, that sickness would limit your life. It’s not what you think! Joseph is still alive! Healing is coming! A supernatural turnaround! Or that dream seems like it’s over you, you wanted to start your business, write the book, move into that nicer neighborhood. You tried, doors closed, you didn’t have the funds. What you thought was dead is still alive. God is about to do a new thing, unexpected, uncommon, you didn’t see it coming, a surprise.
When God told Abraham and Sarah that they were going to have a baby, they were both way too old. And logically speaking it was impossible. But the scripture (Romans 4:19) says, „They considered not the weakness of Abraham’s body, nor the deadness of Sarah’s womb“. Sarah’s womb had been barren for 70 years, she hadn’t been able to have a baby, it was dead. They didn’t deny that, but they didn’t let the deadness of that womb talk them out of what God could do. They understood this principle: that it’s not what we think, God is up to something we can’t see. We all have these things that kind of look dead, like it’s over: a child that’s too far off course, that sickness too big, the dream too great, it’s not possible now. No, the key is: don’t focus on the deadness of what you have, focus on the greatness of our God. He flung stars into space, he spoke worlds into existence. Nothing too difficult for him. Yes, we have situations that look impossible, but we know God can do the impossible. Even though we have a bloody coat, the evidence that looks the opposite, we dare to believe that Joseph is still alive, that what God promised will still come to pass.
It’s interesting that the brothers killed the goat, and put the blood on Joseph’s robe. They created these circumstances to try to trick their father and deceive him into believing that Joseph was dead. That’s the same way the enemy is. He’ll give you circumstances that look real, all the facts may say that sickness will end your life, the experts say „You’ve gone as far as you can“. There been bad breaks, delays, betrayals. You have good evidence that what you’ve dreamed about is dead, what God promised is not possible now. You’re right where Jacob was. When you have that bloody robe, you have to realize: it’s not what you think. That’s not a true representation of what’s coming, that’s the enemy trying to deceive you into giving up on what you’re believing for. Don’t be moved by what you see, the evidence will try to convince you that it’s not going to happen, but God is doing things you can’t see. Where there’s no evidence now, you can’t see Joseph in Egypt, you don’t know that he’s not only alive, but he’s being promoted and put in position to save you and your family, that is going to be better than you’ve imagined.
I received a letter from a woman that had been married for 40 years, and she found out her husband was having an affair. And he tried to make things right, they went to counseling, tried therapy, but nothing helped. There was so much hurt and so much unforgiveness, they got a divorce. She never imagined that her life would turn out this way, she’s so heartbroken, she had this bloody robe, this evidence, her marriage was over. My friend invited her to Lakewood, she told her ex-husband and he asked if he could come too. That Saturday, the day before they had a big argument on the phone, nothing had changed. Picked her up Sunday morning, on the way to church they had another big argument, she almost got out of the car.
They walked in the building, and we’re going to sit up top. And they told an usher it was their first time. He said „Follow me“, and he took him down to the second row, right up front. They’re very moved by the service. When it was over, they were walking out this side entrance by the platform, and I came out of a small room right when she was coming around the corner, and we literally bumped into each other. I kind of laughed and said „I’m so sorry“. She was taken aback that it was me, and her husband said, „We came to church today because we’re hurting. We just got divorced after 47 years“, and I could see tears welling enough in his eyes.
I told them how God is a God of restoration, and how it’s not over until God says it’s over. All the evidence said that they were done: unfaithful, can’t forgive, division, but what they didn’t know was Joseph was still alive. They had the bloody robe, the circumstances it said it was over, but God knows how to breathe life back into your dream, and freshness into your marriage, and passion into your spirit. Don’t let the robe fool you. God is working behind the scenes. What are the chances that we would bump into each other? You know, thousands of people leaving the building, but God was ordering their steps, bringing into alignment what he had purposed. We prayed together that day, chains of unforgiveness were broken in their mind, strongholds came off their spirit. God began to restore the love, the passion, the joy. A few months later they got remarried, they became some of our great volunteers. That was over 15 years ago, today their marriage is stronger than ever.
Is there something in your life that looks dead, something God promised you but you’ve given up on? It’s too late, you’ve been too hurt, made too many mistakes. You have that bloody robe, all the circumstances say it’s not going to happen. What if you knew that robe wasn’t the truth? That it was all trying to deceive you into living discouraged, bitter over what didn’t work out, thinking that you missed your chance when in fact Joseph is still alive? What God promised you is still going to happen.
When Jacob heard about Joseph, the scripture (Genesis 45:27) says, „The spirit of Jacob revived“. 22 years Jacob was in mourning, doubting, defeated, not knowing his son was alive in Egypt. Don’t be like him, don’t go years upset over what hasn’t happened, discouraged over who hurt you, thinking that your dream is dead. It’s not what you think. Get your passion back, get your fire back. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Quit focusing on what you can see, get rid of that bloody robe, it’s not telling you the truth. The lie that say „You’ll never get well, never break the addiction, your marriage is done“. No, God is still working. He has some surprises coming your way, some twist where suddenly doors open, suddenly problems turn around, where Joseph shows up. You’ll say like Jacob, „My son is still alive. That means I’m going to get healthy again, I’m going to see my children excelling, my marriage is going to flourish. I’m going to reach my highest potential“.
It was a young woman named Sarah, she went to the grocery store to pick up a few items. And when she got back in her car and sat in the driver’s seat, she heard a loud noise and felt something hit the back of her head. She thought she’d been shot. She reached up and felt what seemed like her brains coming out. She initially passed out. When she woke up, she sat there motionless for over an hour, holding the back of her head, trying to keep her brains in.
Men walked by and noticed something was wrong called 911. The police showed up, and asked her to open the door, but she said she couldn’t because she had been shot and was holding her brains in. They broke the window open, and discovered a can of „Pillsbury“ biscuits had exploded, the dough had shot out and hit the back of her head. The enemy always tells you the worst case scenarios. Can I encourage you? It’s not what you think. I have to wonder if she was blonde, but let’s not go there.
That bloody robe says that Joseph is dead, it’s not what you think. That door that closed looks like your dream died, it’s not what you think. That person that walked away, thoughts tell you „You’ll always be lonely“, it’s not what you think. That medical report says „It’s all downhill from here“. No, God is working in your life right now. Nothing can override his plan. And yes, there will be things we don’t understand, seasons of silence where we don’t see things working out. That’s when you have to trust him. Not be moved by what you don’t see, be moved by what you know: that God is faithful, that he has not brought you this far to leave you.
„Joel, man, I got the bloody robe. The medical report’s not good. I didn’t get the scholarship. My finances“. Stay in peace, your dream is not dead. God didn’t run out of options. He’s not in heaven scratching his head, thinking, „Oh, man, they threw Joseph into a pit. They ruined my plan“. God knew everything that was going to happen. He’s already lined up what you need. Here’s the key: it’s in the unseen realm. There’s no evidence of it right now. May look just the opposite, don’t worry, a twist is coming, a surprise, Joseph is still alive! God is still going to bring to pass what he promised!
Now, like Abraham and Sarah: don’t focus on the deadness of what you have. Quit believing the lies „It’s over“, „It’s too late“. All the facts say it’s not going to happen. Well, I believe and declare: what you thought was dead is about to show up. Dreams coming back to life, relationships restored, health turning around, children back on course. Like Jacob, your spirit is going to be revived, as you see the greatness of our God, in Jesus' name. If you receive it, can you say amen?