Joel Osteen - Don't Shrink Back
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I want to talk to you today about Not Shrinking Back. We all go through times when there’s pressure and things pushing against us. It’s easy to let fear, doubt, and intimidation cause us to shrink back to where we quit believing in what God promised. But Hebrews 10 says, «We do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.»
God didn’t create us to have a shrink-back mentality. You don’t belong to that family. Your DNA doesn’t say «give up» or «can’t do it.» You belong to the Most High. He’s put courage, endurance, and favor in you. You are not weak. You are a warrior. Don’t believe those lies that it’s too much and it’s been too long, and that it’s never going to work out. That’s the enemy trying to convince you to shrink back. The scripture says, «So you will be destroyed. You will miss your destiny.» How you respond to pressure in life will make you or break you. How you deal with the giants, the opposition, and those times when everything in you says to settle — it’s not worth it -those are critical times. If you’ll keep pressing forward, believing despite what’s come against you, you are passing the test. On the other side is a new level of your destiny.
David was 17 years old when he took lunch to his brothers. They were in the army. He heard Goliath taunting the Israelites. Goliath had been doing this for 40 days, once in the morning and once in the evening. When the Israelites heard it, they were so afraid they ran and hid. Thousands of soldiers had put their destinies on hold at the mercy of this one giant. Well, David was half his size, a shepherd. He had no military training. But something rose up in David. He said, in effect, «I’m not like these other men. I don’t have a shrink-back spirit. I know who I belong to. I know what’s in my DNA.»
While the others were hiding, the scripture says David ran quickly toward Goliath. You’d think he’d want to sneak up on him and catch him off guard. But when you know who you are and whose you are, you don’t run from giants; you run to giants. David slung that rock and brought down Goliath. When you face obstacles that seem too big, you feel pressure, thoughts that say you can’t beat the cancer, that you should just learn to live with it, that you’ll never be successful -no one in your family is, and your child is not going to make good decisions -just accept it. You’re right where David was. Maybe friends and family have shrunk back. They’re on the sidelines. Don’t be like them. You don’t belong to those who shrink back. That’s not who God created you to be. There’s courage in you. There’s favor on your life to bring down the giants.
The scripture talks about us putting on the armor of God: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, shoes of peace, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit. What’s interesting is there’s nothing for our backside, nothing to protect us from the rear. That’s because you were never designed to run from the enemy, to retreat, or to live intimidated. When you shrink back, you’re leaving yourself open. It’s more dangerous than it is to face the opposition. That’s why the scripture says, «Stand firm in your faith, and having done all to stand.» When you’ve done everything you can, prayed, believed, and taken steps of faith, but the giant is still there, still shouting insults, and you still feel doubt and uncertainty, don’t turn and run. Just stand. Be strong. Be courageous.
Sometimes you have to outlast the enemy. God wouldn’t have allowed that giant if it was going to stop your purpose. It’s not going to keep you from your destiny; like David, it is going to launch you into your destiny. Because David didn’t shrink back, he changed the course of his family line. They were shepherds out in the desert, taking care of animals. They had no influence and very little income. I’m sure David thought, «There’s got to be more to life than this.» He could feel those seeds of greatness, but as he looked around, he didn’t see any way out. This is all he knew. His seven brothers were in the army that day he saw Goliath. They were shrinking back with the rest of the army. They had been running and hiding for the last 40 days. David’s father didn’t have much vision. He didn’t think David could do anything significant; he discounted him. But everything changed when one person in that family made this decision: «I’m not shrinking back.»
Everyone else was afraid, accepting dysfunction. Not David. His attitude was, «I am not a shrink-back person. I don’t belong to that family. I have the spirit of the living God on the inside of me. I was created to defeat giants, to take new ground.» He had this boldness, this courage to stand strong and face things that others in his family turned and hid from. They backed away, but David moved forward in faith. You can be the David in your family. Others may have backed down. The addiction’s too strong. Everyone’s depressed in my family. We’ve always struggled with our finances. Nobody can stay married. That’s just who we are. No. Someone has to rise up and break the generational bondages. Someone has to run to Goliath instead of running away. You are that someone. You wouldn’t be hearing this if God didn’t want you to set new standards. You can be the first one in your family to be free from addictions, to stay faithful in your marriage, to raise your family in church, to start a business, to go to college, to see your children flourish.
You weren’t created to shrink back. You were created to take new ground. But when we’ve seen a pattern of people who give up on dreams and accept mediocrity, it can become normal to us, where when you encounter a Goliath, an obstacle that looks too big, you hear those threats, like David’s brothers, and you’ve been conditioned to shrink back. It’s too much. I can’t do that. God is saying to you, you don’t belong to shrink-back people. That’s not who you are. You may have been conditioned to think that way. The truth is, you’re a David. You’re a giant killer. You’re a history maker. Be strong and go after what God put in your heart.
It just takes one person to break a negative cycle in your family. You can be the one to affect generations to come. You may be outnumbered, smaller, have less experience, and less equipment. That’s where David was. It wasn’t his size, his strength, or his skill. It was the fact that he had the courage to move toward the enemy when everyone else was retreating. God saw his faith and breathed favor on his life. He became a giant killer. That can be you. I’m not looking at shrink-back people. That’s not who you belong to. I’ve seen your birth certificate. You’re a child of the Most High. In your DNA is courage, endurance, faith, and fortitude. Stand strong, and you’ll see God show out in your life.
A friend of mine was raised in a single-parent home and government housing. She didn’t know her father, and her mother was never around. She didn’t have any guidance. She became pregnant at 16, had to drop out of school. And it looked like this cycle of defeat would get passed to the next generation. She moved to a small apartment, tried to raise her son, but couldn’t make ends meet. She had to go to a shelter. She found a job at a school cafeteria punching meal tickets. Every thought told her, «This is who you are. You’re stuck here. Nothing will change.» But deep down, she heard something on the inside saying, «You were made for more. This is not your destiny.» The enemy will try to convince you that the obstacles are too big. There are no options. So just shrink back. But if you’ll listen closely, there’s a still small voice saying, «You were made for more. You have greatness in you. You can set new standards.»
And she had every reason to settle. All the odds were against her. But she decided to go back to school. Two years later, she got her GED. That was good, but she wasn’t satisfied. She enrolled in college. She’d work all day and go to school at night. In four years, she graduated with honors. She still wasn’t satisfied. She went back to school and got her master’s degree. She was then hired as a principal at the same school where she worked in the cafeteria. God will do amazing things if you don’t shrink back. Are there areas today where maybe you’ve settled? You quit believing for your healing; it doesn’t seem possible now. You’re not pursuing a dream. Too many doors have closed. You’ve accepted you won’t get married, won’t break the addiction, and won’t get into college.
This is a call to action. No more hiding. Hiding because of fear. The giant looks too big. It’s intimidating. You and God are a majority. He has not brought you this far to leave you. You have to get your fire back. Get your passion back, and start pursuing what He’s put in your heart. Those dreams have an expiration date. There are windows of opportunity. You can’t sit around nursing old wounds and asking why this happened to you or why you went through this loss, and thinking you’ll never get out of this problem. You need to check your birth certificate. You don’t belong to a shrink-back family. You don’t come from a DNA of retreat, hiding, and can’t do. Your DNA is full of courage, full of faith, full of can-do power. Don’t be like all those others in the army and run away from Goliath. Be a David and run to Goliath.
There was a man in the scripture named Bartimaeus. He had been blind since birth. He was on the side of the road begging and asking people for money, as he did every day. He heard all this commotion, all this chatter, and asked what was going on. They said, «This teacher named Jesus is passing by.» Well, he had heard about Jesus and how He performed all kinds of miracles. So, Bartimaeus started shouting, «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.» Again and again, the people around him said, «Bartimaeus, be quiet. Quit yelling. You’re making a big scene.» But the scripture says, «Bartimaeus shouted even louder.»
He didn’t have a shrink-back spirit. He had a bold, courageous spirit. About that time, Jesus stopped, turned, and looked right at him. The people thought, «Oh, great. You made Him mad. He’s going to chew you out.» Jesus smiled and said, «Tell him to come to me.» They couldn’t believe it. He said, «Bartimaeus, He’s not upset. He’s calling for you.» Jesus asked him, «What do you want me to do for you?» He said, «Lord, I want to see.» Jesus said, «Go your way. Your faith has made you whole.» Instantly, he could see.
But here’s my point. I’m sure there were other blind people on the road that day, other sick people, those that needed favor and breakthroughs. But he was the only one who was healed. Maybe the others were complacent. Maybe, at one time, they believed and took steps of faith, but it didn’t work out. Now they’ve settled. The difference was that Bartimaeus didn’t have a shrink-back spirit. He kept believing despite being blind his whole life. He kept calling out to Jesus despite others trying to talk him out of it. Jesus said, «Your faith has made you whole.» My question is, are you releasing your faith? Are you stretching, praying, expecting, or have you become complacent, accepting mediocrity and living with dysfunction? Shake off that shrink-back spirit and start pursuing what God put in your heart.
My father gave his life to Christ at 17 years old, the first one in the family. He felt God calling him to become a pastor. This was totally new to them. They knew nothing about faith. They were very poor and had lost everything during the Great Depression. He told his parents he was going to leave the farm and become a minister. They said, «John, you don’t know how to pastor. All you know how to do is work on the farm. You’re going to get out there and fail.» They were good people, but they had a limited mindset. People who live small lives will try to convince you to live small. Family members who have shrunk back will try to talk you into shrinking back. You have to be like Bartimaeus and break out of that mold; have the boldness to take steps of faith.
That’s what my father did. He had to hitchhike, but he left the farm and began to minister. That was the start of more than 50 years of pastoring and ministering all over the world. But had Daddy shrunk back, we wouldn’t be here today. Where God is calling you is going to take greater faith, greater courage. People may not understand and may try to talk you out of it. There will be giants that look bigger. You’ll be tempted to retreat. I don’t want that pressure. You have to be strong. God has raised you up for this time. He’s empowered you with His Spirit. It’s not a spirit to quit, a spirit to settle, or a spirit to run and hide. It’s a spirit of power, a spirit to outlast, a spirit to bring down giants, to break generational limitations, to accomplish more than you thought possible.
Think about the three Hebrew teenagers, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They wouldn’t bow down to the king’s golden idol, and they worshiped only Jehovah. When the king got word, he was furious. He said, «I’m going to give you one more chance. If you don’t bow, if you don’t shrink back like everyone else, I’m going to throw you into a fiery furnace.» Well, they had emotions just like us. They felt fear and intimidation; no doubt panic set in. Man, this is life or death. Everything in them said to back down and retreat. It’s not worth it. This battle was taking place in their minds. They could have said, «All right, king. We’ve changed our minds. We’re going to bow.»
It’s always easier to shrink back. It’s easier to get out from under the pressure, quit believing, and not have to stand strong. But to reach your destiny, you have to do the hard thing. If it were easy, everyone would do it. God is looking for people who won’t be intimidated by threats, won’t back down because of fear, and won’t give up because of disappointment or because the giant is bigger. Be a David. Do the hard thing. What I’ve found is when you do what’s difficult, there’s a grace that empowers you, a favor that enables you. It won’t be as hard as it looks. God will show up and breathe strength and courage into your life. He’ll make ways where you don’t see a way. He’ll turn your slingshot into a mighty weapon that brings down giants.
These teenagers said, «We’re sorry, King, but we are not going to bow down. We know our God will deliver us. But here’s the key.» They went on to say, «But even if He doesn’t, we’re still not going to bow.» That’s a powerful attitude. God, we would rather honor You and lose our lives than shrink back and keep our lives. Because if you shrink back, you can’t become who you were created to be. And this takes trust. Because sometimes we think, «I won’t shrink back as long as I know it’s going to work out my way. I’ll face Goliath as long as I know I’m going to defeat him. We’ll go after the Compaq Center as long as we know we’re going to get it.» That doesn’t take any faith. God will ask you to go into the unknown where there’s uncertainty.
You don’t know how it’s going to work out. You’re saying, «God, my life is in Your hands. I’m going to keep pressing forward despite this giant being so much bigger, knowing that You have the final say, that what You purposed for my life will come to pass.» If the giant had defeated David, David would have finished his course. He would have died in faith. If the fire had consumed these teenagers, they would have fulfilled their destiny. As long as you’re pursuing God’s purpose, doing what He’s put in your heart, then it’s up to Him to protect you, to favor you, to move you into your destiny. The king heated up the fire seven times hotter than normal. He wanted to make sure they were quickly killed. What he didn’t realize was he was setting them up for a bigger miracle.
Sometimes the enemy overplays his hand. God will let the odds be against you in a greater way on purpose. Goliath could have been a typical tall man, someone big, maybe 6'5», muscular. He still would have towered over David. David was small. But Goliath stood over 9 feet tall. His armor weighed 125 lbs. He was almost twice David’s size. That wasn’t a coincidence. God let Goliath be so much bigger. He let the fire be seven times hotter so that when He turned it around, there would be no doubt it was the hand of Almighty God. His power at work. They threw these teenagers into the fire. It should have killed them instantly. The king looked in and said, «Didn’t we throw three men in the fire? I see four men, and one looks like the Son of God.» They came out without the smell of smoke. The king said, «From now on, we’re all going to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.» Amazing things happen when you don’t shrink back. You’ll be protected in the fire. You’ll defeat giants. You’ll overcome impossible situations.
In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John were going to the temple one afternoon, and there was a crippled man lying at the gate who asked them for money. Peter said, «I don’t have any silver or gold, but I have something better. In the name of Jesus, rise and walk.» The man was instantly healed. He went around dancing, thanking God. Well, it created a big stir. People had seen the man there for years, crippled and begging. Now he was perfectly healthy. You would think they’d be excited, so happy, but the religious leaders didn’t like it. There will always be people who find fault. You can do a good thing, but someone won’t understand. They’ll be jealous and try to discredit you.
The leaders had the temple guards arrest Peter and John and put them in jail. They brought them out the next morning and said, «By what power or by what name did you do this?» They thought they were trapping Peter and John, but this was a divine setup. Peter said, «Let me be clear. This man was healed by the power of the name of Jesus, the man you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.» Those leaders didn’t know what to do with Peter and John. They had seen a great miracle. They couldn’t deny it. They said in verse 17, «Perhaps we can stop this from spreading any further. We’ll warn them to not speak in the name of Jesus anymore.» They called them in and said, «No more teaching, praying, or talking about that name.»
Peter and John had to make a decision: Are we going to shrink back, be intimidated, and let these people silence us? I can imagine the Spirit of God rising up on the inside, saying, «You don’t belong to shrink-back people. You belong to those who have courage and who have faith.» They said to the leaders, «Do you think God wants us to obey Him or to obey you? We cannot stop talking about the wonderful things we have seen.» They released Peter and John. They went to the other believers and told them what happened. They prayed in verse 29, «Lord, You have heard their threats. Now give Your servants greater boldness. Send Your healing, Your miracles in greater ways.» When they got through praying, the Scripture says, «The building where they were meeting began to shake, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.»
We are living in a time where some people don’t want to hear about God, faith, and hope. They’ve never experienced His goodness. They’ll try to silence you and intimidate you. It’s tempting to shrink back. I don’t want to be out of place. No. Let your light shine. We need to pray like Peter: «God, give us greater boldness. Let us see Your favor in greater ways.» People can try to discredit what you say, but they can’t discredit what they see. Those leaders didn’t want to believe in Peter and John. They tried to discredit him, but they could not deny that this crippled man was walking. When people see the miracles, when they see us here in the former Compaq Center, when they saw my mother live 44 years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, they can’t deny that God is going to make you an example of His goodness. He’s going to let His favor shine through you in a greater way, so there won’t be any doubt that you belong to Him.
It’s significant that this verse about not shrinking back is the last verse in chapter 10 of Hebrews. Well, chapter 11 is where all the heroes of faith are listed. God is saying, «If you won’t shrink back, you’ll make it into chapter 11. You’ll become a hero of faith, breaking generational bondages, setting new standards.» Are there areas in your life where you’ve gotten complacent and become stagnant? This is not the time to shrink back. This is the time to take new ground. You have to stir your faith. Get your passion back. You may have gone through disappointments, and a door closed, but everything good in your life is not behind you; it’s in front of you.
Don’t settle because of what didn’t work out. This is a new day. God is doing new things. You don’t belong to a shrink-back family. In your DNA is the courage of Esther, a young woman who saved the Jewish people; the boldness of David, who brought down a giant; the faith of Abraham, who believed without seeing; the endurance of Sarah, who gave birth at 90 years old; the favor of Mary, who had a child without knowing a man; the power of Elijah, who called down fire from heaven; the strength of Samson, who defeated a whole army by himself.
That’s who you are: a history maker, a giant killer. Be strong. Be courageous. And go after what God put in your heart. If you’ll do this, I believe and declare, like Barnabas, your faith is going to make you whole -healing, favor, breakthroughs. Like David, giants are about to come down. Like Peter, you will see greater favor that people cannot deny in Jesus' name. If you receive it, can you say amen?