Joel Osteen - Surrender the Outcome
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I want to talk to you today about surrendering the outcome. We all have goals and dreams and promises we’re standing on, and we have our idea of how it should work out and when it should happen. This door will open, and this person will show up. This will start to improve, but God’s ways are not our ways. His plans are higher and better than our plans. Much of our frustration comes from trying to control the outcome.
If you’re only going to be happy if God does it your way, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. God doesn’t always take you the shortest route; He can see dead ends that you can’t see. He knows the motives of people and what they’re really up to. We think they’d be good for us and that we need their favor, but God can see how they would hinder our destiny, so He’s keeping them away. We can be frustrated, thinking, «God, where are You?» But God is not ignoring you; He’s protecting you. He’s keeping you from heartache and pain.
If you’re going to stay in peace, you have to learn to surrender the outcome. You have to trust that God knows what’s best, that His plans for you are for good. If it’s not happening the way you thought, that means He has something better. There’s nothing wrong with telling God what you want, what you’re believing for, but the key is to leave the timing and the way it happens in His hands. Hold tightly to your dreams but hold loosely to how it’s going to happen.
I had someone tell me recently, «Joel, God let me down. I prayed, I worked hard; He didn’t come through for me.» They had their mind set on one way, the way they wanted, but we can’t see all that God can see. Sometimes it’s a divine delay. God’s not doing it now because everything is not ready, or a divine detour. He caused you to take that turn you weren’t expecting because it’s leading to something greater. Just because it hasn’t happened your way doesn’t mean that God has forgotten about you. He let you down? I don’t understand. The problem is you’re trying to be God. You’re trying to control things you can’t control. You have to turn the outcome over to Him. Our part is to believe, to obey, to trust. His part is to get us to our destinies.
See, the scripture says God didn’t lead the Israelites the shortest route to the promised land because they weren’t prepared for war. They would have been defeated by their enemies. What they thought was a delay was really God protecting them. They were frustrated, asking Moses, «Why’d you bring us out here to die?» But the whole time they were in the plan of God. They couldn’t see it because they had their idea of how it would work out. If you’re going to stay in peace, you have to learn to surrender the outcome. God is going to do things in your life that you don’t have planned, that you didn’t see coming. Quit trying to control things you were never meant to control. Trying to force the door to open and manipulate that person to like you and being frustrated because you’re not seeing the results.
The right approach is, «God, this is what I want. This is what I’m believing for. But God, my commitment to You is not dependent on the results. Whether You answer this prayer the way I want or not, I’m still going to honor You. Whether my business takes off or not, whether my health turns around, whether I get that scholarship or not, God, I’m still going to praise You. I’m still gonna have a smile. I’m still gonna be my best.» That’s real faith; that’s showing God that you trust Him. Not conditional faith: «If God does everything I want, then I’ll be happy. If He comes through on my timetable, then I’ll serve Him.» That’s going to keep you from your destiny.
God is working in ways that we don’t understand. «Well, Joel, I was being my best at work, but the company didn’t promote me. I was next in line, but I got passed over.» That feels like rejection, but the truth is God is your doorkeeper. Because you’re honoring Him, He’s controlling the doors in your life — what opens and what closes. That’s not rejection; it’s direction. God is keeping you in His plan. He opens doors that no man can shut. What He has in store, when it’s the right time, no person can stop. No bad break, no company, no government. He has all power. If you want to save yourself a lot of frustration, surrender the outcome. Quit trying to control how it’s going to work out, when it’s going to happen, and who needs to show up. You’re putting God in a box, telling Him what to do and how to do it. No offense, He doesn’t need your help; He’s God.
When you surrender the outcome, you’re saying, «God, I trust You. You know what’s best for my life. You’ll get me to where I’m supposed to be.» This takes the pressure off. But too often, we’re trying to control the outcome and force the door to open, straining, manipulating. The scripture says God has already written every day of your life. He has things planned that you can’t see. But if your faith is based on what you thought would happen, «God didn’t answer my prayers, that situation didn’t work out,» that’s going to limit you. You’re disappointed, but God is working behind the scenes, keeping you in His best plan. He may be leading you on a longer route on purpose, or you’re concerned about the opposition, but God is using it to do a work in you, getting you prepared. Or that problem you hoped would be resolved by now, God hasn’t delivered you from it; He’s going to take you through it. It’s going to be a greater testimony.
You don’t understand it now, but when it’s all said and done, you’re going to come out with greater influence, greater honor, and greater resources as an example of God’s goodness. That wouldn’t have happened if God would have done it your way. Why don’t you surrender the outcome? All those things you could be worried about, why isn’t this happening? Turn it over to Him. Do your best and then rest. «God, I don’t have to have my way to be happy. I trust You. I know Your way is better.»
This is what the three Hebrew teenagers did. They lived in Babylon, and King Nebuchadnezzar had created this idol and ordered them all to bow down and worship. Well, these teenagers only worshiped Jehovah; they wouldn’t bow. Some of the people were upset, and they ran and told the king, «We got these troublemakers, these teenagers that won’t bow.» Well, the king flew into a rage. He was so angry; he called them together and said, «I’m going to give you one more chance. If you don’t bow down, I’m going to have you thrown into a fiery furnace.» They said in verse 17, «King, we’re not going to bow. If you throw us into the furnace, we know our God is able to deliver us. He will rescue us from your power.» I love their faith; I love how they declared it: «We know God is able to deliver us. We know He’s all-powerful. We’re not afraid of you.» They were bold and confident.
But the next verse is the key: «But even if He doesn’t deliver us, we’re still not going to bow down.» Their commitment wasn’t based on getting the results they were hoping for. They didn’t say, «God, we’ll serve You as long as we don’t get thrown into that furnace. We won’t bow as long as You change the king’s mind.» That’s conditional faith. «As long as You answer my prayers, change my spouse, open this door, turn my health around, then I’ll give You praise.» But true faith is when you surrender the outcome. «God, I know You can deliver me, but even if You don’t, I’m still not going to bow. I know You can heal me; that’s what I’m believing for. But even if You don’t, I’m still going to honor You. I know You can bring my child back home. You can increase my business. But even if it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to live bitter. God, I trust You. I know Your plans for me are for good. Whether You take me through it or deliver me from it, I’m going to stay in peace with a good attitude, knowing that it’s all working together for my good.»
What am I saying? Don’t be a fair-weather believer. If God does what you want, you get the results you were counting on, then you’ll be happy. Then you’ll pursue your dreams. Then you’ll put God first. God is looking for people like these teenagers that will surrender the outcome, that are committed to Him whether He delivers you from the fire or you get thrown into the fire. People that aren’t swayed by what they thought, what they had planned, what they hoped for. You don’t get bitter. You don’t give up on your dreams.
Think about Job. In the middle of all of his troubles, his whole world fell apart. Yet he looked up to the heavens and said, «Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.» I would rather die in faith, trusting, believing, thanking God for His goodness, than to die bitter, complaining about the results. «God, why didn’t You keep me out of the fire? Why didn’t my prayer get answered? Why is it taking so long?» If you don’t learn to surrender the outcome, life’s going to be frustrating. You’ll end up discouraged because God’s ways are not our ways. There are doors you may want open, but God is keeping them closed because what you want is too small. It will limit your destiny. There are situations you won’t change right now. You’re uncomfortable; you’re having to stretch and deal with difficult people. You can’t see it, but God is using that to do a work in you. He’s getting you stronger, more confident, because He’s about to do something you haven’t seen.
Now trust Him with the outcome. Quit being disappointed because things haven’t gone your way. The king didn’t change his mind; you didn’t get delivered from the difficulty. Let’s be like these teenagers: this bad break, this delay, this sickness didn’t weaken my faith. I know God is still on the throne. I know my life is still in His hands. He wouldn’t have allowed it if it was going to stop your purpose. Leave the results in God’s hands. Leave the way He’s going to do it and when He’s going to do it up to Him.
I’m sure these teenagers prayed, «God, please keep us out of the fire. God, please change the king’s mind.» They had feelings; they had emotions. They didn’t want to go into the fire. But they understood this principle: we can’t control the outcome. We can’t make things go away, make this situation work out. One thing we can control is our attitude. «I’m not gonna live worried, upset, striving. God, You know what’s best for me. I believe You’re working behind the scenes. What You have purposed for my life will come to pass.» That takes the pressure off. That’s how you stay in faith—not basing your commitment on whether God comes through for you, on your timetable, the way you had planned. Our plans are limited, but God is unlimited. Our ways are natural, but God is supernatural. He has things planned for you that you haven’t seen, heard, or imagined.
So that door closed that you wanted so badly to open—what if you knew God was about to open something better than you’ve ever dreamed? That’s why it did not work out. Or you got thrown into the fire, so to speak. God could have delivered you; He’s done it before. This time it didn’t happen. You don’t know what God is up to. You may be in the fire. The good news is God controls the thermostat. He won’t let you face too much heat. He knows what you can handle.
The king was so upset he had them heat the fire seven times hotter than normal. They threw the teenagers in, hands and feet bound. A few minutes later, the king came over to check on them. He looked through the furnace door; he was puzzled. He said, «Didn’t we throw three men in bound? I see four men loosed, and one looks like the Son of God.» Those teenagers 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.» Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire; other times, He will make you fireproof and take you through the fire. You have to leave how He does it in His hands.
If God would have kept them from the fire, just changed the king’s mind, they wouldn’t have had the influence, the favor. We probably wouldn’t be talking about them. None of us like to go through difficulties, things we don’t understand that are not fair. It’s tempting to think, «God, where are You? We know You can deliver us. We know You can heal, free, promote.» This is what separates the people that get stuck and the people that see God show out in their lives. One group is trying to control the outcome; the other has learned to surrender the outcome. One is only going to be happy if God does it their way: «God, if You keep me out of the fire, if You meet my demands.» The other says, «God, I trust You. You’re my doorkeeper. You’re my defender. You’re my way maker. I’m not moved by the delays, the detours, the disappointments. I know it’s all serving Your plan.»
A few years after I began pastoring, the church was growing, and we needed a larger auditorium. We couldn’t build where we were because the streets weren’t big enough; they couldn’t handle that many people. So we found this 100-acre tract of land right off the freeway, just a few miles from the other location. I talked to the owner, and he said the property had been on the market for over 20 years, and he had never had one offer. I knew God had saved that for us. He told us we didn’t need to drop the contract right then; we could do the preliminary drawings and the soil samples while we were waiting for the legal work to be done. I was so excited. We had this perfect piece of property. A couple of months later, we went to close on it. His secretary walked out and said, «I’m sorry. The owner sold the property last night.» I couldn’t believe it. The man gave us his word, then changed his mind. I went home so discouraged, told Victoria how unfair that was and how there was no more property. We had looked everywhere; now we were stuck.
She said, «Joel, listen to me. God is still in control. The reason He closed that door is because He has something better. We’re not going to complain, be sour. We’re going to stay in faith knowing that He’s up to something that we can’t see right now.» She started preaching one of my sermons back to me. I didn’t want to hear that; I wanted to be depressed. But when we try to control the outcome, we’re going to be frustrated because God’s ways are not our ways. My way was to find property and build; that’s what I’d seen my father do time after time—build sanctuary after sanctuary. But God is going to do something new in your life—things that your family has never seen. Now do your part and stay open. Don’t put God in a box. God closed that door because my thinking was too small. What God had planned was much bigger, something I couldn’t fathom.
I grew up watching the Rockets play basketball here. I had season tickets right over there. This was the premier facility in our city. I had to let go of what I had in mind and trust that God’s ways are better. About a year later, the compact center became available. By the grace of God, things fell into place, and here we are today—something more than I ever imagined. But I’ve learned now to surrender the outcome. When the door closes, when there are delays and detours, things I don’t understand, I know now that God is up to something that I can’t see.
And yes, I was aggravated at that man; he sold that from out from under us. He didn’t keep his word; he betrayed us. The fact is it wasn’t his fault. He was a pawn in the hands of God. God caused him to shut the door. If he’d sold us the property, we would’ve been too far down the road to get the compact center. Some of the things that you’re disappointed over, wondering why they didn’t work out, why is there such a delay, why won’t my business grow—if you’ll stay in faith one day, you will see what God was up to. It will be better than what you had in mind.
There’s a man in the scripture named Saul. He was highly educated in Jewish law and greatly respected; he had a brilliant mind, fluent in several languages. He was passionate about keeping the Jewish tradition, so much so that he led the charge to persecute followers of Christ. He was the biggest enemy of the church. He was standing by, giving his approval, when Stephen was stoned to death for his faith. But on the road to Damascus, he had this dramatic conversion. The light shined down, the voice spoke to him, and he became a believer. His name was changed to Paul. Well, he had this same passion, this same fire to share the message of Jesus. The problem was the disciples wouldn’t accept him. They knew how he was so against the church; they weren’t convinced that he had changed. They were still skeptical.
I’m sure Paul thought, «God, You know my heart. You’re the one that changed me. My intentions are to help believers, to be an asset, but they won’t let me in.» It didn’t seem fair. Why would God have him go through this supernatural conversion and then be rejected by the people he’s trying to help? Well, since the Jewish believers wouldn’t accept him, Paul started going to the Gentiles to spread the message of Christ. Without the disciples rejecting Paul, Christianity wouldn’t have come to the Gentiles. Paul saw it as rejection, but really it was direction. It was God closing the door to push him into the purpose that He had planned.
Jesus said in Acts 9, «Saul is a chosen vessel to bear My name before the Gentiles.» Saul had all this Jewish education and influence, but God’s ways are not our ways. God said, «I’m going to use you to reach the Gentiles.» If the Jewish believers had accepted Paul, that would have been easier for him, more comfortable, but Paul wouldn’t have had the impact. We wouldn’t have half the books in the New Testament. If Paul would have gotten discouraged, saying, «God, these people won’t accept me. I don’t understand it.» No, Paul knew how to surrender the outcome.
Maybe like him, you could be upset because the door closed, the problem hasn’t turned around, or people misunderstand you. Well, stay in peace. The outcome is not your job; that’s God’s job. Our job is to trust Him, to obey, to do the right thing when we’re not seeing the results we want. God’s ways are not our ways. Sometimes He uses rejection, delays, and storms to move us into our purpose. Quit fighting everything that doesn’t go your way. When you surrender the outcome, this takes the pressure off because God has not forgotten about you. He has seen everything you’ve been through—what’s taken longer than you thought, what didn’t work out.
Like Paul, you’re going to come into opportunity, favor, and influence that will only happen because God took you that way. It was all necessary. Everything is serving His plan. Years later, Paul was on a boat headed toward Rome. He was a prisoner on his way to see Caesar. On this three-month journey, they encountered a huge storm. For 14 days, they didn’t see the sun nor the stars. It got so bad, the waves so high, they started throwing things overboard, trying to stay afloat. The scripture says that all hope was gone that they would be saved. They got to where they couldn’t steer the ship anymore; the wind was too strong.
Verse 15 says they took down the sails and let the wind blow the ship wherever the storm wanted it to go. Instead of fighting it, trying to force it somewhere, they surrendered the outcome. An angel had told Paul that he would stand before Caesar. Paul could have thought, «God, what’s going on? I’m supposed to be going to Rome, but I’m on this boat with no sails, being blown by the wind.» It seemed like he was out of control, but God was ordering his steps. He caused the winds to blow that boat to a small island. It ran aground and broke apart, and they all jumped overboard and swam to land.
Well, there was a small group of natives that lived there, and the main leader was very sick. Paul prayed for him, and he was healed. Everyone gathered around, and Paul shared the message of Christ. Many on the island became believers. The storm looked like a bad break, but really it was a divine detour. It was God taking Paul to those people in need. Paul wasn’t bitter; he wasn’t complaining, «God, why am I in this storm? Why am I shipwrecked?» It’s not what he had planned, but he learned this principle to surrender the outcome. His faith wasn’t dependent on getting the results he was hoping for; he realized God’s ways are better.
There are times in life when the winds are blowing, the waves are high. We’re trying to steer our ship, force this to happen, make this work out, manipulate these people. But at some point, you need to do like the captain: take down your sails. Let that storm take you wherever the winds blow. God will never take you somewhere and not sustain you. Quit fighting everything. Be upset over who left, discouraged over the delay, or frustrated because of the setback. Come back to a place of peace. The outcome is not up to you. Our job is to stay in faith, to believe, to do the right thing. God is the one who controls the winds. He wouldn’t have allowed that storm if it wasn’t going to move you into your purpose.
Let’s have an attitude like these teenagers: «God, I know You can deliver me, but even if You don’t, I’m still gonna trust You. I’m still gonna be happy. I’m still gonna pursue my dreams.» This takes the pressure off. This can save you a lot of frustration. Trying to control things you can’t control will wear you out. Do yourself a favor: surrender the outcome. Let go and let God. If you’ll do this, I believe and declare that like these teenagers, you’re gonna see the fourth man in the fire: supernatural breakthroughs, healing, provision. Like Paul, the rejection leading to direction; the storms blowing you into purpose, promotion, favor-the fullness of your destiny-in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?