Joel Osteen - God's Face is Shining On You
- Watch
- Donate
- Contact Us
In this sermon, Joel Osteen encourages believers to shift their perspective from feeling disadvantaged in life’s challenges to recognizing that God’s face is shining on them, drawing from Numbers 6 where God instructs priests to declare His blessing and favor over the Israelites. He emphasizes that this divine favor—representing power, protection, and supernatural enablement—empowers us to overcome obstacles, just as it did for Moses and Stephen, leading to the conclusion that we should live as reflectors of God’s glory, arising and shining in faith.
A New Perspective in the Desert
I want to talk to you today about «God’s Face Is Shining On You». We all go through situations that seem too much for us. We’re dealing with an illness, or raising a difficult child, or our dream looks out of reach. And it’s easy to get discouraged and think we’re at a disadvantage. That’s the way the Israelites felt. They were in the desert, some two million people trying to get to the promised land. They were grateful that they were no longer slaves, but they weren’t prepared to travel through the desert.
They didn’t have weapons and equipment to protect them. They didn’t have food and supplies to sustain them. At one point they said, «Moses, why’d you even bring us out here to die?» But in Numbers 6, God told Moses to have the priests make this declaration over the people: «May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may His face shine on you.»
They were focused on the opposition, what they didn’t have. But Moses said, «No, you have to have a new perspective. You’re not at a disadvantage. God’s face is shining on you.» His face represents His power, His favor, His protection.
Empowered Beyond Our Ability
You may think, «How can I make it through this illness? The report is not good.» Well, on your own, you’re not able. The good news is, you’re not on your own. God’s face is shining on you, empowering you, enabling you. There’s a supernatural force working in your life.
When you look at your dreams, the odds may be against you. You don’t have the connections, the resources, the funding. By yourself, it’s not possible. But you have to know you have a secret force—something that can’t be explained—causing you to succeed, to go beyond where you’re qualified. What is that? A lucky break? No. That’s God’s face shining on you, causing you to stand out, propelling you into your purpose.
Now, if you’re going to see this happen, you can’t live thinking you’re at a disadvantage. «Oh man, Joel, this problem’s too big, and I’ll never get well, and my business is not going to make it.» The scripture says, «Look up, for your redemption draws nigh.» That’s where your help comes from.
Looking Up in Times of Trouble
In those difficult times, when you don’t see a way, you have to look up by faith. Imagine God’s face shining on you, causing good breaks to find you and causing you to go where no one in your family has gone. Psalm 80—the psalmist was in all kinds of trouble, facing opposition, enemies that were bigger. He didn’t complain. He didn’t get discouraged.
He said in verse two, «God, show us your mighty power. May your face shine down on us, for only then will we be saved.» A few verses later: «God, our enemies say we’re a joke. They look at us with scorn, but God, may your face shine down on us.» Verse 12: «Our walls are broken down. Our enemies are attacking us, but oh God, let your face shine on us.»
Three times in this short chapter, they acknowledge God’s face was shining on them. They were saying, in effect, «We look like we’re at a disadvantage, but we know a secret. God is shining on us, protecting us, favoring us, sustaining us.»
The Power That Overcomes Opposition
And that opposition you’re facing can’t take you out. That sickness can’t stop your purpose. That bad break didn’t cancel your destiny. It doesn’t have that much power. The Most High God is in control of your life. His face is His favor. His face is the power to endure with a good attitude. His face is supernatural healing, promotion, things that don’t make sense.
People think, «How can you be that successful with all you’ve been through?» God’s face is shining on you. «Joel, how could you get the Compaq Center? Or how could your mother live 44 years after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer? Joel, how could your father go from poverty, no education, dropped out of high school, to pastoring great churches, impacting the world?»
That wasn’t our own ability. That was God’s face shining on us. You may not be able to see it physically, but you need to imagine by faith: God’s face is shining on you. His face is His glory, causing you to stand out, giving you influence, authority to fulfill your purpose.
Moses and the Radiant Glory
When Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert, he went up on Mount Sinai and spent 40 days alone with God, and that’s where he received the Ten Commandments. When he came down from the mountain, his face was so radiant, so bright, the people couldn’t look at him. They knew something supernatural had happened. His face was glowing with the glory of God.
The scripture says the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. That was a unique situation where he was right there with God. But notice what happened: the glory of God was so bright on Moses that people couldn’t stand to look at him. There was awe and reverence.
That’s what enabled Moses to lead the people through the difficulty and deal with all the trouble. Some of the Israelites didn’t like Moses. They wanted to do their own thing, but they knew not to mess with him. They had seen him shining with God’s glory.
Your Time to Shine
You may go through seasons where people discount you, overlook you. Don’t worry—your time is coming. God knows how to illuminate you. When His face shines on you, it’s like Moses. You’ll be radiant with the glory of God. People may not be able to put their finger on it. There’s just something about you that they like, something that gives you respect. They want to be good to you.
That’s the face of God shining on you, giving you credibility, lifting you up when others try to push you down, causing you to succeed when someone wanted you to fail, making you shine when that one relative was trying to discredit you. The more they talk, the higher God’s going to take you.
What’s amazing is this is not something that you have to do—strive and strain and manipulate. «I got to work up all this favor, make people like me, force these doors to open.» That’s not your part. Your part is to honor God, keep Him first place all through the day. Acknowledge Him in your thoughts. When you do that, His face is shining on you.
Reflecting Like the Moon
He’s the one that gives the favor, the good breaks, the strength to endure. See, Moses didn’t come down the mountain and think, «Man, I got to look impressive. I got to throw my weight around. I got to show them that I’m a leader.» He didn’t have to do any of that. It was the glory of God on him. It wasn’t his own efforts. It was God illuminating him, causing him to stand out.
Think about the moon. We look up at night, and it’s so beautiful and glowing—this big white ball shining so brightly. But what’s interesting is the moon has no light of its own. Not a single ray of light comes from the moon itself. All of its beauty, all of its radiance, is simply a reflection of the sun.
Without the sun, the moon wouldn’t be visible. We’d never see it—just a big dark object in the sky. But when the sun shines on it, the moon becomes illuminated, takes on prominence. People all over the world enjoy its beauty.
Living from a Place of Rest
That’s the way it is with us. We’re not shining in our own strength. We don’t have enough talent, experience to accomplish our God-given purpose by ourselves. If we try to do it on our own, we get frustrated—trying to make people like us, trying to force opportunities.
But when you understand that God’s face is shining on you, then you can live from a place of rest, knowing that it’s not up to you. You are reflecting the glory of God. When you stay in faith, you’ll reflect His favor, reflect His goodness. That means He’ll open doors you could have never opened. He’ll promote you when you weren’t next in line. He’ll heal you when the report says you’re not going to get well.
Now, don’t live in this striving mode and straining. Just be a good reflector. Look up: «God, I love you. I put you first place. I know your face is shining on me. You’ll get me to where I’m supposed to be.»
The Moon Doesn’t Worry
See, the moon never worries. Imagine the moon thinking, «Maybe I’m not going to shine today. I don’t have any light on my own. What if I’m not visible?» No, the moon just does what it was purposed to do, and the sun brings the illumination. The sun shines and lights up the moon. The moon’s just a good reflector.
But the moon could say, «Man, I need to create some power plants. I need to stir up some massive lights and generate electricity and wattage and visibility.» No, the moon knows it has a source. It doesn’t have to manufacture all this prominence and visibility. The sun is up there.
In the same way, we don’t have to manufacture promotion, favor, people liking us. Be still and know that He is your source. His face is shining on you. Quit trying to create all the light and just reflect His goodness.
God Makes You Shine
God knows how to make you shine. He knows how to bring out your brilliance, cause you to radiate so brightly that people notice. You don’t have to convince them. They will see the favor, the healing, the creativity. You are reflecting the goodness of God.
When I first started ministering, I felt so unqualified. I didn’t have the training, the experience. All these thoughts tried to convince me that I wasn’t enough, that I couldn’t do it, that I would fail. But when you don’t feel enough on your own ability, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Jesus said, «Of my own self, I can do nothing.» He’s the Son of God. He has all power. He was saying, in effect, «I’m reflecting the goodness of my Father. I’m empowered through His favor and through His purpose.»
Not by Might, but by His Spirit
And if I had gone by how I felt or how it looked in the natural, I’d have talked myself out of it. I had to look up and say, «God, I believe your face is shining on me. God, I don’t have enough light on my own. I don’t have the qualifications, but God, I’ll be a reflector. I’ll reflect your goodness, your favor, your mercy.»
God knows how to bring prominence. He knows how to give you ability and open doors and cause things to fall into place. That’s what the scripture says: It’s not by our might, not by our power, but by your Spirit. It’s His face shining on you, causing you to accomplish your purpose.
Now, don’t talk yourself out of it—focused on what you don’t have, what you didn’t get, how you feel not enough. The moon doesn’t have any light—not one bulb, not one generator, not one power plant. Yet it shines day after day, year after year. Why? Because the sun is its source. It’s not dependent just on what it has.
Arise and Shine
Can I encourage you? The Son is your source—S-O-N. The Most High God is shining on you. He’s making you radiant. He’s showing your brilliance. He’s causing you to stand out, to achieve, to overcome. Isaiah said, «Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is upon you.» It doesn’t say one day God’s going to shine on you. It says God is shining on you right now.
How come that sickness couldn’t take you out? God is shining on you. Why did that car barely miss you on the freeway? That’s God shining. How can you endure that trouble? You should have had a nervous breakdown, but you’re still standing. That wasn’t just willpower. That’s God’s face shining on you.
Or how were you able to have that baby? You were told by the experts you couldn’t conceive. That’s the face of God causing you to do what you can’t do on your own.
Get Your Passion Back
Now, Isaiah said, «Arise and shine.» The principle is you can’t sit around discouraged, dwelling on what didn’t work out, thinking it’s never going to change. You have to arise. That means get your passion back. Get your dreams back. Start expecting God’s favor.
Instead of complaining, you need to look up: «Father, I thank you that your face is shining on me. You’re opening the right doors. You’re bringing the right people. Lord, I recognize I don’t have to make all this happen. I’m reflecting your goodness.»
You live like that, God will cause you to shine. He’ll bring prominence.
Stories of Divine Favor
I have some friends that live in another state, and they were trying to sell their home, but the housing market was very depressed. There were a surplus of homes for sale. On their street alone, there were 12 houses on the market. It was taking an average of a year and a half for them to sell. Their realtor told them not to get their hopes up—that it’d be a long, long process.
Those were the facts. That’s all true in the natural. But God is supernatural. When His face shines on you, it’ll cause your property to stand out. God knows how to illuminate your business and illuminate you, give you contracts, promotions that don’t make sense.
Well, six weeks after this couple listed their house, the agent brought them a contract for the full price. The agent didn’t know what to say. Nothing was selling in less than a year. At closing, the buyers told this couple how they had looked at many other houses—even ones that were bigger, a better value—but they said, «There’s just something about this place that stood out. We knew it was supposed to be ours.» That wasn’t a lucky break. That was the face of God causing them to shine.
Unexpected Blessings
He’ll make your business stand out. He’ll cause your children to excel, your health to turn around. Now, don’t live striving, straining. Just be a good reflector. Believe that God’s face is shining on you. You may not see how it can work out. That’s okay. We’re limited, but God is unlimited. He knows how to get you to where you’re supposed to be.
A lady I know was refinishing a piece of furniture at home, and she was using this electric sander that she had had for years. One of the pieces that held the belt on broke off, and she put it in a bag that said Lakewood and ran up to the hardware store. This man came over to help, and she showed him the piece and asked if they carried it.
He looked at her in the strangest way and said, «No, we don’t carry that model.» But he picked up a brand new top-of-the-line sander and said, «Here, take this one. We’re going to give it to you.» She didn’t know what to think. She’d never met the man. She’d never seen him. She said, «Are you serious?» He said, «Yes. When you get to the counter, just tell them my number. It’s 555.»
God Makes You Stand Out
She thanked him and walked up front to check out. And there were several long lines with people, and she was at the back. One of the ladies at the register stopped and said to her, «Come up here. I’m going to take you next.» She pointed to herself and said, «You mean me?» She said, «Yes, you.»
She told the clerk how the man said he’s going to give that to her. The clerk said, «I don’t know if he can do that. What’s his name?» She said, «His number is 555.» The clerk said, «He can do whatever he wants. He’s the national manager.»
As the lady was about to leave, she said to the clerk, «Why’d you call me up here?» The clerk said, «I saw your Lakewood bag, and I love Lakewood.» Friends, God knows how to make you stand out. He knows how to illuminate you. She didn’t know the man, but God will cause people to be good to you. His face shining on you will bring prominence.
Keep God First Place
Again, this is not something you have to work for, try to make happen. Just keep God first place, and you’ll reflect His glory. Reflect His goodness. «I don’t know, Joel. Man, I got a lot of things coming against me. I’ve had a lot of setbacks. I think I’m at a disadvantage.» No, you need to look up. Have a new perspective.
The creator of the universe, the God who flung stars into space, has His face shining on you. You wouldn’t be hearing this if God wasn’t about to do something unusual, out of the ordinary—open new doors, turn that sickness around, bring your child back home. New levels of prominence, influence come your way.
The scripture says, «The Lord God is a sun and a shield. He bestows honor and favor.» This refers to God as the sun. One thing about the sun is it never stops shining. There’s never been a day when the sun hasn’t come up in the morning—never a time when the sun went dark, when it didn’t produce light. The sun is constantly shining.
Behind the Clouds
Now, we don’t always see it. Some days are cloudy. It’s overcast—looks gray and gloomy. But the fact is, the sun is still shining. It’s just being blocked by the clouds. At some point, the clouds will dissipate, and we’ll see the sun shining brightly in the sky.
It’s the same way with God’s face shining on us. Sometimes we don’t see it. It’s cloudy in our life. We’re dealing with an illness, went through a breakup. We lost a loved one. Feels dark. Thoughts will tell you it’s never going to change. You’ve seen your best days.
But you have to know God’s face is still shining on you. He may feel distant, but He has not left you. Behind the dark clouds, He’s shining—strength, upholding you, not letting you go under. Without His face, you wouldn’t make it through.
The Clouds Are Temporary
The good news is those clouds are not permanent. The trouble is temporary—the sickness, the loneliness. It’s just a matter of time before the clouds blow out, and you see the face of God shining on you in a new way. Now, don’t let the dark clouds fool you.
Just like the sun has always come up in the morning, God has always had His face shining on you—even when you were off course, even when we didn’t deserve it. It was His mercy that gave us another chance. His mercy had you fenced in, kept you from missing your destiny. His mercy sustained you in the hospital. His mercy protected your child. His mercy pushed back forces of evil.
In those dark times, when it’s cloudy in your life, you have to look up and say it by faith: «God, I believe your face is still shining on me. I can’t see it right now, but I know these clouds are about to pass, and I will see your favor, your healing, your breakthroughs in amazing ways.»
Stephen’s Shining Face
Acts chapter 6—there was a man named Stephen. He was full of faith and full of the Spirit. The scripture says he prayed and saw many miracles, and many people become believers. But just because you have faith doesn’t mean you won’t have opposition.
When God promotes you, some people can’t handle it. They’ll criticize, try to discredit, make you look bad. Well, Stephen had all this favor, but the religious leaders didn’t like him. They made up lies and false accusations and had him arrested.
They brought him before the council and said, «This man is causing trouble, speaking against our tradition and what Moses taught us.» Stephen was there in front of this hostile crowd, surrounded by people that didn’t like him. He could have thought, «God, where are you? If you’re shining your face, why didn’t you keep me out of this trouble?»
Glory in the Trial
But verse 15 says, «All the people stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel.» In front of this angry mob, on trial for something he didn’t do—notice what happened. The glory of God came on him so bright, the people were taken aback. He looked like an angel.
God was showing us: When you’re in difficult times, I don’t leave you. I shine brighter. When you get thrown into the fire, He comes in with you. He’s the fourth man. I can’t tell you that God’s face will keep you out of trouble, out of difficulty, but I can tell you He’ll shine brighter. He’ll give you the grace, the strength, the favor to endure.
They gave Stephen the mic, put him on trial: «What’s your defense? What do you say about these accusations?» Stephen went through a long speech, telling the history of God’s goodness—from Abraham to Joseph to David to Jesus. He ended with, «You persecuted all the prophets before me. You crucified Jesus the Messiah. Now you’re persecuting me.»
Grace to the End
They were so angry, they shook their fist in rage. But the scripture says Stephen looked up and saw the glory of God. He said, «I see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.» They were so outraged, they picked up rocks and started stoning him. This angry mob threw rock after rock.
But you never read where Stephen complained. You never read where he was in pain. The glory of God was on him so strong. He said, «Father, forgive them. Don’t hold this charge against them.» He breathed his last breath.
What am I saying? In the most difficult times, God’s face is still shining on you, giving you the grace to endure. See, there’s living grace—that’s the grace to outlast, to overcome. But there’s also dying grace—that’s the grace to go home not bitter, not complaining, not in pain, but in peace, knowing the God whose face is shining on you is the God who will receive you into His arms, the God who welcomes you to the place He’s prepared for you.
God’s Face Turned Toward You
When my brother Paul was a little boy—I wasn’t born yet; Paul is 34 years older than I am. Most people think he’s my father. But one night, Paul was in bed, about five years old, and his room was a few feet down the hallway from our parents, and they were in bed as well.
And for some reason, Paul was afraid that night. He said, «Daddy, are you in there?» My father said, «Yes, Paul, I’m here.» Thirty seconds went by. He said it again, «Daddy, are you still in there?» «Yes, Paul, I’m still here.» Another time, «Daddy, you’re there?» «Yes, Paul, I’m here.»
Minute went by. This time Paul said, «Daddy, is your face turned toward me?» My father said, «Yes, Paul, my face is turned toward you.»
Can I tell you? God’s face is turned towards you, and it’ll always be turned toward you—even when you make mistakes. God’s mercy is still there. When you’re in times of trouble, injustice like Stephen—God’s face is shining: the strength, the endurance.
When the task seems too big, you’re not qualified—like with Moses—God shining the favor, causing you to stand out, to excel. And again, you don’t have to make all this happen—striving and straining. Just be a good reflector. Keep God first place. Honor Him with your life, and you’ll be like the moon. You don’t have any light of your own, but you’ll reflect the goodness of God.
And no more thinking you’re at a disadvantage, you’re not enough. No. Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is upon you.
If you’ll do this, I believe and declare you’re about to see His face shining in a new way—doors opening, greater prominence, influence, healing, abundance, the fullness of your destiny. In Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?