Joel Osteen — It's All Good
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I want to talk to you today about "It's all good". Life is full of things that we don't like, disappointments, a friend betrayed us, we see these things as being negative, thinking, "That was bad. Didn't work out, my prayers weren't answered". But God won't allow a difficulty unless he's going to somehow use it for our good. This means everything that happens in life, we may not understand it, but if you'll keep the right attitude, it'll push you further into your destiny.
Every closed doors, the delays, the person that did you wrong, the loan that didn't go through, God says, "It's all good. I'm in control. It may not feel good, but trust me and I'll use it for you. And when you understand this principle, life is much more freeing. You don't get upset because a co-worker is playing politics, trying to keep you down. You know it's all good. God allowed it, you tried, but the business didn't make it. You don't give up on your dreams, you know it's all good. It's a part of the process.
Even simple things, you get stuck in traffic, you don't let it frustrate you, ruin the rest of your day. You know God is directing your steps. He may be keeping you from an accident, or he may be developing patience in you. Whatever it is, keep the right perspective, it's all good. This boils down to trusting God. We're never going to understand everything that happens in life, and if you try to figure it all out, you'll be frustrated. God has an advantage, he can see the big picture for our lives. He knows where the dead ends are, where the shortcuts are, where the bumpy roads are, and sometimes, he'll close a door that we're asking him to open because he knows it would be a waste of time.
When you're a mature person, instead of getting bitter, you say, "God, I trust you. I may not like it, but I believe you know what's best for me". Some of the things that God has in your future, if he gave them to you right now, you couldn't handle it. He loves you too much to let it happen. He's developing your character, growing you up. That boss that gets on your nerves, doesn't treat you right, you keep trying to pray him away, the reason he's not going anywhere is because God's using him like sandpaper to rub the rough edges off of you, and as you keep doing the right thing, keeping your mouth closed, being respectful, that's doing a work in you. You couldn't develop your character without him. You may not like it, but it's good. It's getting you prepared for the next level.
God is asking us, "Do you trust me with your closed doors? Do you trust me with your unanswered questions, with the things you don't understand"? Instead of fighting everything you don't like, why don't you have this new perspective, it's all good? "This grouchy boss, I can't stand him, but I know he's good for me. This child that's hard to raise, this sickness I'm dealing with, this dream that's taking forever, I don't like it, but I'm not going to live bitter. I know God is on the throne, he's in control of my life. It may have been meant for my harm, but he's promised he will use it to my advantage.
That's what Paul said in Romans. All things work together for good to those that love the Lord. Not some things, they may not be good at the time, it's painful to go through a loss. It's discouraging when a dream doesn't work out. By itself, that may not be good, but God has promised he's going to bring it all together. One day, you'll look back and say that was good.
"Well, Joel, I'm discouraged 'cause I lost a loved one, or I'm bitter because a business partner cheated me. That wasn't good". The problem is you're isolating that one incident. God hasn't brought it all together yet. If that difficulty was going to keep you from your destiny, God would've never permitted it. That setback was really a setup for God to show out in your life. But you have to get rid of a victim mentality and have a victor mentality. When you have this attitude that it's all good, you don't go around with a chip on your shoulder because you had some bad breaks. You know no weapon formed against you will prosper. You know weeping endures for a night, but joy is coming in the morning. You know it's just a matter of time before God brings it all together.
We celebrated Good Friday recently. We call it good today, but 2,000 years ago when Jesus was crucified, didn't look like a Good Friday. The disciples thought it was the worst day of their lives. Their dreams were shattered. The man they had given their lives to was gone. Doubts filled their mind. "Maybe he wasn't who he said he was. Wasted all this time". I can imagine Mary, the mother of Christ, weeping and weeping as she sees her son on the cross. She's heartbroken, in so much pain.
If someone would've suggested, "Mary, this is a Good Friday," she'd have thought, "What are you talking about good? Look what's happening". But we all face these times when life doesn't make sense. A dream dies, a relationship comes to an end, or we come down with an illness. Nothing about the situation seems good. Good would've been the last word we would've used to describe this Friday. Better description would've been Tragic Friday, Lonely Friday, Betrayed Friday.
In the heat of the battle, the disciples could've said, "God, why did you let Judas betray him? Why did you let the soldiers crucify him? God, why did you abandon your son in his time of greatest need"? But a few days later, after he arose from the grave and cooked them breakfast on the beach, appeared to them in he was who he said he was, and they looked back on that Friday and said, "It wasn't what we thought. It wasn't Depressing Friday, it wasn't Tragic Friday, it was all a part of his plan. It was Good Friday".
They looked back on what they thought was the darkest day of their lives and they called it good. What am I saying? It's all good. It may not be good right now, may not make sense on its own, but God knows how to bring it all together, and what you think is going to stop you, hold you back, can I tell you if you will stay in faith, one day you will look back and say that it was good.
If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, we wouldn't have salvation. God used the betrayal to move Jesus toward his destiny. The betrayal at the time didn't seem good. It hurts when somebody does you wrong, walks out on you, breaks your heart. You may not see it at the time, but without that betrayal, like Jesus, you couldn't become who you were created to be. If they left you, you didn't need them. If they walked away, they weren't a part of your destiny.
It may be Painful Friday right now, Sunday is coming. New beginnings are on the way. A resurrection is in your future. When God brings it all together, when you meet that person of your dreams, somebody better than you ever imagined, you'll look back and say with a smile, "It was Good Friday when that old goat left, I mean when that man left". That supervisor that's tried to keep you down you didn't realize it, but staying there with a good attitude, giving it your best, doing the right thing when the wrong thing was happening, that was developing your character, getting you prepared for the next level. You wouldn't be who you are today without that difficulty. You may not have liked it, but you can look back and say, "That was a Good Friday".
That's what happened to us, twice we tried to buy property to build a new sanctuary on. Both times, the property was sold out from under us. The first one, we had worked for 6 months doing soil samples, preliminary drawings, and we went to close on the property real early in the morning. The secretary came out, said, "I'm sorry, the owner sold the property last night to someone else". It had been on the market for 20 years. We were so disappointed. "There's no place to build a new sanctuary". There didn't seem like anything good about that owner not keeping his word, not selling us that property. If you would had told me it was a Good Friday, I'd had told you, go jump in a lake.
A few months later, we found another 100-acre tract of land, thought, "Boy, this is even better". I prayed more fervently, "Lord, thank you for your favor. Thank you for opening this door". Same thing, they sold it out from under us. Didn't make sense to me. I've learned God's ways are better than our ways. The right way to pray is, "God, this is what I want. This is what I'm believing for, but God, you know what's best for me, I trust you". If you're only going to be happy if God does it your way, that's not really trusting. That's not praying, that's giving God orders. "God, here's what I want you to do, when to do it, where to do it. Here's the... who to use".
I found God doesn't take orders. But this is one of the main reasons we get frustrated, discouraged, 'cause it's not happening our way. But when you develop this trust, you let God do it his way, you know it's all good. If the door opens, you thank God. If it doesn't open, still thank you. About 6 months after that last property sold, we received word that this place was coming available, the former Compaq Center. I realize now the reason God closed those doors is because he had something God can see things that we can't see. Now, I thank him for those closed doors.
I look back and say, "That wasn't a Defeated Friday after all, that was a Good Friday. That was God keeping me from less than what he had in mind". Sometimes God will close a door because we're believing too small. You may have dreams that haven't worked out yet. You too have had some Disappointed Fridays. Don't get discouraged, God knows what he's doing. Keep honoring him, your Sunday is coming. He's going to open doors bigger, better than you ever imagined.
My father went through a great disappointment. He had pastored this church for many years and given his life to the people. They'd just built a new sanctuary, the church was growing. He was on the state board for his denomination, on his way up. His future looked very bright. But my sister Lisa was born with something like cerebral palsy, and my dad began to search the scriptures with a new set of eyes, fresh eyes, and he saw how Jesus went about healing people, and how we're supposed to live an abundant, he went back and shared this with his congregation, thinking that they would be excited too. It was just the opposite. They didn't like his new message. It didn't fit in with their denominational teaching. He ended up having to leave that church.
My mother had lifelong friends that never spoke to her again. They felt betrayed, discouraged. Nothing seemed good about having to leave a position you'd work so hard for and leave people that you'd grown to love. Seemed like a Dark Friday, a Lonely Friday, a Betrayed Friday. But just as God opens doors, God closes doors, and God knew my father would never become who he was created to be in that limited environment, and we love the open doors. We celebrate God's favor. But when the door closes, it takes maturity to say, "I don't understand it, but I'm not going to fight it, I'm not going to get bitter".
My parents, instead of sitting around in self-pity, thinking about what they had lost, they went out and started Lakewood Church in an abandoned feed store with 90 people. It grew and grew we're still growing strong today. Looking back years later, my father would tell you that betrayal, getting pushed out, that was a Good Friday in his life. That pushed him into the fullness of his destiny. At the time, it didn't seem good. When you're hurting, disappointed, every thought will tell you, "This isn't fair. God, why did you let this happen to me"? I'm asking you to trust him. God knows what he's doing.
It may not seem good, but when he brings you'll look back and say it was a Good Friday. I couldn't see it at the time, but it was good that they sold the property out from under us. Jesus would tell you, "It was good that Judas betrayed me". My father would tell you, "It was good that I got pushed out of that position". Will do more to promote you than your friends. If my critics had not been so vocal, I would've never learned to pray like I pray. When my dad went to be with the Lord, if I had not overheard people saying, "He can't do it. The church is never going to last," I would've never had so much determination.
Some of my critics, I need to write them a check. They thought they were going to stop me, discourage me, they don't realize God used them to light a fire on the inside. They helped me learn how to pray bold prayers, how to declare God's favor, how to be a victor and not a victim, the good fight of faith. They meant it for harm, God used it to my advantage.
What am I saying? It's all good. Even your enemies, quit complaining about the opposition and people trying to push you down, make you look bad. They don't control your destiny, God does, and you may be in a Friday today. Nothing in your life seems good. Dealing with an illness, struggling in a relationship, you have people coming against you. Seems dark, lonely, discouraging. You don't see how it could ever work out. Stay in faith. God wouldn't have allowed that if it wasn't going to move you towards your destiny. You're in Friday. The good news, Sunday is coming, and when you see your resurrection, when God vindicates you, promotes you, healed you, restores you, when he pays you back double for that unfair situation, that's what turns Defeated Friday into Good Friday. No more disappointed Friday. No, it's blessed Friday. It's joyful Friday. It's victorious Friday.
Friend of mine told about this couple, they would go up to the hospital every week to visit people and encourage them, and one day, the man had just parked his car, and he was walking across the street this car came around the corner, very fast, almost out of control and hit the man, knocked him up from the hood, over the car, and down to the pavement. He was rushed to the emergency room, where they discovered that he had bleeding on his brain. They had to take a full body scan to see if there were any more injuries.
They were looking, of course, for broken bones, for any more bleeding. That was all fine, but they did find a tumor on his kidney. They did a biopsy and found out that it was cancer. A few days after the swelling went down, he had surgery to remove the kidney. Today, he's cancer-free. The surgeon told him if they had not found that cancer, it was the type that spread very quickly, most likely would've taken his life.
My point is it's all good. Even things that at the time seemed bad, going to the hospital to volunteer and you get hit by a car, man, seemed like you got bad luck, nothing good happened for you. No, God wouldn't have allowed it if he wasn't going to use it for good. We may not always see it. "No, Joel, I don't believe this 'cause I've had things happen and it did nothing but pull me down". You don't know what God was doing behind the scenes, or maybe God hasn't brought it all together yet.
This is what faith is all about. When things happen that we don't like, disappointments, bad breaks, betrayal, we can get negative, live bitter. Or we can say, "God, I trust you. I don't understand it, but I believe when you bring it together, it's going to work for me and not against me".
Two young men were traveling to Kenya to work on they were both former college basketball players, and this was their first trip overseas. They were so excited, and they prayed that everything would go smoothly. But when the plane tried to land in London, it was too foggy, they missed their connecting flight. Thought, "Oh great, what way to start". They had to spend the night in the airport. The next flight, the only seats available were up in first class. They put them right up front.
About midway through the flight, the plane took a nose dive, started heading straight toward the ground. Panicking, they thought they were going to die. These young men heard some noise in the cockpit, seemed like a commotion. This was before 9/11, where you could go up front. They went into the cockpit, this deranged man had taken over the controls of the plane. The pilots were trying to get him off, but they were very small. These basketball players stood over 6'6, big, strong, tough guys. They ripped him off the controls, tied him up. The plane had descended to 4,000 feet.
Another few minutes, I don't know, maybe seconds, they would've all been killed. That delay didn't seem like a good thing, but really it was a good thing. They didn't like it, but God held them back on purpose so they could save the whole plane, and sometimes, God will inconvenience us so we can help somebody else. Instead of being frustrated when our plans don't work out, we have to remember it's not all about us.
"Well, Joel, these people at work, they're negative. They complain, they compromise. When is God ever going to move me out"? Have you ever thought about maybe God has you there on purpose to let your light shine? Maybe God's counting on you to be a good influence on them?
Quit fighting it. The psalmist said, "The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord". If God has you there, the delays, the inconveniences, the bad breaks, we may not like it, it may be uncomfortable. But instead of trying to pray it away, instead of resisting it, why don't you embrace it and say, "God, this is where you have me right now, so I'm going to be my best. I'm going to keep a good attitude. I may not like it, it seems bad, but I know a secret, it's all good.
This is what Joseph did in the scripture. Nobody had more bad breaks than him. As a teenager, his brothers betrayed him, threw him into a pit. They ended up selling him he was lied about, falsely accused, he spent years in prison for something that he didn't do. It was one bad break after another. He could've lived negative, bitter, but he understood this principle, that even though it may look bad, feel bad, be unfair, when it comes together, God's going to use it for our good.
After 13 years of trouble, God not only vindicated Joseph, but he promoted him. He was put second in command of the whole nation. Looking back, Joseph would tell you that whole time that God was directing his steps. All those bad breaks were a part of God's plan to get him to where he was supposed to be. But the truth is it was good. It was another step toward his destiny. Being sold into slavery, that was unfair, that was wrong, he didn't like it, but he wouldn't change it. Without that disappointment, he would've never become who God created him to be.
Quit fighting everything that you don't like. God wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't going to move you forward. The right attitude is "God, this doesn't make sense to me, but I believe when you bring it all together, one day it will make sense".
All those years Joseph was doing the right thing when the wrong thing was happening, that was getting him prepared for his destiny. He was developing his character, strengthening his spiritual muscles. He was proving to God that he could handle it.
My friends Craig and Samantha had two healthy children when little Conner was born. They soon realized that Conner wasn't developing like the other children. He wouldn't talk to them and interact very much. Conner was diagnosed with autism. Craig at that time was the head of our children's ministry. He and Samantha are strong believers, they loved the Lord, but this was difficult on them. One day, Craig was he said, "God, I don't understand it. Why was my son born with autism? Why did this happen to me"? He heard God say four words, "Do you trust me"?
That moment, Craig did what we all must do when we face things we don't understand. He quit seeing it as being negative, and he embraced it as a part of God's plan for his life. God will never give you something that you cannot handle, and when he made this shift in his thinking from, "I'm a victim. I've had these bad breaks," to, "God is in control of my life. He's entrusted me with this situation," that's when things begin to change.
Not only did little Conner begin to defy the odds, and begin to talk and interact more than expected, Craig started a ministry to help children with special needs called there are over 30 champions clubs around the world. Plus, Craig and his associate have written the first ever faith-based curriculum for special-needs children.
Looking back, Craig would tell you the same thing Joseph said. That difficulty looked like a setback, but really it was a setup to push him into his destiny. He would tell you that it's all good. You may not see it at the time, but the closed doors are good. The disappointments are good. The bad breaks, they may be uncomfortable, but when God brings it all together, it's not going to work against you, it's going to work for you.
I'm asking you to trust him. It may be Friday in your life, you don't see anything good. Don't worry, Sunday is coming. God is in control, and I believe and declare everything that was meant to stop you, God is going to use it to push you forward. He's bringing it all together right now. You're coming into Good Friday, Blessed Friday, Healthy Friday, Victorious Friday in Jesus' name.