Joel Osteen - A Shift Is Coming
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God is bringing a supernatural shift into your life where one touch of His favor can accelerate your destiny, propelling you far beyond your own efforts. Drawing from stories like Jacob blessing Ephraim and God providing quail, the preacher declares that because you’ve honored God, He will cross His hands to give you undeserved promotion, healing, and breakthroughs in a fraction of the time.
Coming Into a Shift
I want to talk to you today about how you are coming into a shift. One touch of God’s favor can put you 50 years down the road. You can be at a lower position in the office. You are going along, being your best, honoring God, and suddenly things change. One good break, one idea, one person that likes you. You look up and find yourself at the top. You did not see it coming. Things just fell into place. That is God shifting things in your favor.
God can cause opportunity to find you. He has unexpected blessings where suddenly you meet the right person. Suddenly your health improves. Suddenly you are able to pay your house off. What happened? You came into a shift. God breathed in your direction. What used to be a struggle is not a struggle anymore. What should have taken years happened in a fraction of the time.
Get Ready for the Shift
Now you may feel like you are stuck today. You could never accomplish a dream, never overcome a problem. It has been too long. You have missed too many opportunities. God is saying, «No, get ready, I am about to shift things.» Doors are going to open for you that have not opened in the past. The people that were against you are going to suddenly change their minds and be for you.
That problem that has dogged you for years, looked like it would never change, is going to suddenly turn around. This is the year of the shift because you have honored God. He is going to put you in a position that you could have never attained on your own. It is not just your education, not just your talent or the family you come from. It is the hand of God shifting you to a new level of your destiny.
A Prophesied Shift Is Coming
And I am not just trying to make you feel good today. I am prophesying a shift is coming. A shift in your health, a shift in your finances, a shift in a relationship. It may not look like it in the natural, but we serve a supernatural God. He is about to breathe in your direction in a new way. The enemies you have seen in the past, you will see no more.
The addictions, bad habits that are holding you back are being broken, and God’s favor is being released in a new way. It is going to propel you forward. What should have taken you 40 years to accomplish, God is going to do in a split second. The shift is acceleration. The shift is going beyond where you could go on your own. The shift is overcoming what a medical report says is impossible.
Examples of God’s Shift
The shift is seeing that wayward child change his mind and get back on the right course. The shift is having your best year when the circumstances say you should have a down year. The shift is seeing Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our provider, not only provide, but do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond.
Now, our attitude should be, God, I am ready. I am taking the limits off of you. I am enlarging my vision. I may not see a way, but I know you have a way. I declare I am coming into a shift. Now, those doors that were closed in the past, you need to go check again. Things have shifted.
Pursue Your Dreams Again
The dream you had to start a new business, to go back to college, to take that mission trip, may not have happened the first time, but that is okay. It has prepared you for this time. Do not give up on it. It is a new day. Things have shifted. Pursue it again. When God breathes in your direction, people change their minds. Closed doors suddenly open. The no’s turn into yeses. The not now’s into it is your time.
I declare I am coming into a shift. I am enlarging my vision. I may not see a way, but I know you have a way. Things have shifted. The doors that were closed in the past, you need to go check again.
One Shift Away from Breakthrough
In the same way, all God has to do is shift the direction and you will go from the back up to the front. The truth is, you are one shift from seeing a dream come to pass. One shift from paying your house off. One shift from seeing your health improve. One shift from meeting the right person.
You say, «Joel, you are just getting people’s hopes up.» You are right. You cannot have faith if you do not first have hope. When you go out with the attitude, «God, I believe things are shifting in my favor this year.» That is not just being positive, that is your faith being released.
This Is the Year God Acts
God says to the angels, «Listen to what they are saying. They believe I am all powerful. They believe I can do the impossible. Let me move this person out of the way. Let me open up this new door. Let me line up this new relationship. Let me turn that negative situation around.»
It says in Isaiah that this is God’s year to act. Not next year, not five years, not in the sweet by and by. This is the year God is going to shift things in your favor. He is getting it all lined up. What you could not make happen on your own, God is going to cause you to accomplish.
Jacob Crosses His Hands
It is going to be bigger than you thought. It is going to happen quicker than you imagined, and it is going to be more rewarding than you ever dreamed of. In Genesis chapter 48, there is a story of when Jacob was an old man, very close to death. His son Joseph came to visit him and say his goodbyes. He and his father were very close.
Joseph was Jacob’s favorite child. He was the youngest son, the one that Jacob gave the coat of many colors to, if you remember. At one point, Jacob thought Joseph was dead, lived very sadly, until he found out indeed Joseph was alive and living in Egypt. They reunited, and now Jacob, the father, was about to pass.
Blessing the Younger Son
Joseph was standing before him with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, Jacob’s grandsons. Jacob said, «Joseph, I am going to bless your sons as if they were my own children.» The right hand in those days always gave the greatest blessing. It belonged to the firstborn son. That was the tradition.
So Joseph put his oldest son, Manasseh, in front of Jacob’s right hand, and his younger son, Ephraim, in front of his left. Jacob was nearly blind. He could not see. When he went to give the blessing, Jacob crossed his hands and put his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim, and his left hand on Manasseh, the older son.
Joseph said, «No, Dad, you cannot see. I had them lined up. I put Manasseh in front of your right hand. He deserves it. Give him the greater blessing.» Jacob said something very interesting. It gives us insight into our God. He said, «No, Joseph, I have crossed my hands on purpose.»
God Crosses His Hands for You
«Ephraim may have come second. He may have been in the back. He does not deserve it, did not qualify for it. He is not next in line, but I am shifting him to a new position. I am taking him from the back up to the front. I am going to give him what he does not deserve.» That is the way our God is.
He has shifts in your future that will put you in a position that you did not earn, you did not qualify for, you were not next in line, you did not have seniority, but God, just like He did with Ephraim, is going to cross His hands and say, «I am going to move them up from the back to the front.»
From not being qualified to suddenly being qualified, from being looked down on, disrespected, to being honored and seen with influence and credibility. In fact, some people will be bothered by it. They will think, «That is not fair. I worked harder. I have more seniority,» but the fact is it is just the goodness of God.
Undeserved Favor and Acceleration
God said because you honor Him, He would give you houses that you did not have to build. You would reap from vineyards that you did not plant. That is God crossing His hands, giving us what should have taken years to earn.
God is saying to you what Jacob said to Ephraim, «I am going to bless you on purpose. I am going to move you up. I am going to accelerate your dreams. I am going to give you what you did not deserve. I am going to shift you into a position that you could have never gotten to on your own.»
Now we can all make excuses. «Joel, this is not for me today. I am not qualified. I have made too many mistakes. I do not have the talent, the size, the personality, the confidence.» God says, «I know all that. I created you, but I am about to cross my hands and bless you in such a way that everyone will know it is me and not you.»
Biblical Examples of Shifts
Now do not talk yourself out of it. Moses said, «God, not me. I stutter. I cannot go speak to Pharaoh.» God said, «Moses, do not worry about it. I am crossing my hands. I am giving you what you need.» Gideon said, «God, I come from the poorest family. I am the least one around here. I cannot lead this army.»
God said, «Gideon, do not worry. I am crossing my hands. You are coming into a shift. I am going to move you from the back to the front.» David could have said, «God, I am too small, too young, too inexperienced. There is a whole army of talented, successful, confident warriors that can go face Goliath.»
God said, «David, I know that. I could have chosen them, but I am crossing my hands. I am moving you up from the background to the foreground, from the shepherd field to the battlefield, all the way to the throne.»
Expect Unprecedented Favor
Esther could have said, «God, I cannot go in there and speak to the king. He is not going to listen to me. I am an orphan. I do not have any influence.» God said, «Esther, do not worry. I have got you covered. I am crossing my hands. I am going to give you respect, credibility, honor that you did not deserve, you did not work for.»
What am I saying? A shift is coming. Whatever level you are at, God is about to cross His hands and put you at a position you could have never gotten to on your own. He is going to give you what you were not in line to receive. Now why do you not start expecting unprecedented favor? Believe for God to do something new in your life.
I know many of you can say, like me, that God has been good to you. You are blessed and healthy and have a good family, a great job, and that is all perfect, but can I tell you, you have not seen anything yet. God has shifts in your future that if He showed you now, you would not believe it. It is exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond.
From Second Gear to Overdrive
You think you are hitting on all cylinders, but if you only knew what God has in store, it is like you are in second gear. You are making progress. You are healthy. You are moving forward, but God is about to shift you out of second, past third, past fourth, into overdrive. You are going to see the surpassing greatness of God’s favor.
Because you have honored God, living a life of excellence and integrity, God is going to take you beyond your training, beyond your education, beyond your income, beyond where anyone in your family has gone. This shift is going to put you at a place where you look back and say, «Wow, God, you have amazed me with your goodness.»
God Shifts the Wind for Provision
When the Israelites were in the desert headed toward the promised land, they had manna to eat each day. It was something like bread. After a while, they got tired of it. They complained to Moses that they did not have any meat to eat. God told Moses what the people were saying.
God said, «Moses, I am going to give you meat not for one day or five days or 20 days, but for a whole month.» Moses said, «God, that is impossible. There are two million people out here. Even if we butchered all of our flocks, all of our herds, we would not have that much meat.»
God answered back, «Moses, is there any limit to my power?» He was saying, «Just because you do not see a way, Moses, does not mean that I do not have a way. All I have to do is shift a few things around, and I can bring it to pass.»
Quail Came to Them
That is what God did. In Numbers 11:31, God shifted the wind and brought quail in from the sea and caused it to fall into their camp. Notice how good God is. They did not even have to go out and hunt or fish. The quail came to them. They just went out of their tent, picked up as many as they wanted.
What am I saying? God knows how to shift things so that blessings come to you. The right people search you out. Good breaks find you. I have a friend. He works for a professional sports team. He was not raised in church. He started watching our program. He gave his life to Christ.
He decided to get into a good Bible-based church. All he had were very casual clothes. T-shirts and jeans, tennis shoes. He went to a church and they were very accepting like ours. It does not matter what you wear. But he had a desire to dress up to go to church.
Blessings Chase You Down
He had never owned a suit before. Went up to the mall and looked at some different suits, but they were more than he wanted to spend. He could certainly afford it. He was just very frugal. And one day he was out running an errand and he randomly met this man. They struck up a conversation.
This man found out how my friend worked for this professional sports team. The man told how he loved to go to the games whenever he could get a ticket, but most of the time they were sold out. My friend is very generous. He said, «A lot of times I have extra tickets. I will call you and you can come to a game.»
The man attended a game and afterwards he was thanking my friend. He said, «You have been so good to me. I want to do something good for you. I own a clothing store. I want to make you a custom-made suit.» Last time I talked to my friend, he said, «Joel, I have 16 custom-made suits that this man has given me. Eight sports coats, a tuxedo. My whole closet is filled with dress clothes.»
Friends, when you honor God, when you are good to people, kind, compassionate, merciful, the blessings will come looking for you. Like the quail, you do not have to go after them. God will shift things to cause the right people to come across your path.
Not by Might, but by God’s Spirit
God will put you at the right place at the right time. So provision, opportunity, it comes to you. Zechariah said it this way, «It is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.» That word «spirit» in the Hebrew means breath. It is saying it is not going to happen just by our talent, just by our connections, just by who we know.
It is going to happen because God breathes in our direction. God shifts the winds and blows healing, promotion, restoration our way. How are you going to get well? The medical report says it is impossible. No, God is breathing healing your way. Health, wholeness, restoration is headed toward you.
How are you going to accomplish your dreams? You may not know the right people or have the money or feel like you have the talent. No, God is breathing ideas, resources, the right people. If you will stay faithful and just keep honoring God, like my friend, suddenly things will change.
A Testimony of Sudden Healing
Suddenly, you come into abundance. Suddenly, your child straightens up. Suddenly, you get well. A few years ago, one of our faithful members had a major stroke. He was only in his mid-50s, but he was paralyzed on the whole left side of his body, could not walk or talk. The prognosis was not good.
He was told that with intense therapy, he might be able to regain his speech, but he would never be able to walk again. For two years, he had no feeling on the left side of his body. He was in a wheelchair, had to have constant care. It did not look good, but this man had been coming to Lakewood.
He knew God could breathe in his direction. He knew all God had to do was shift the winds and blow healing and restoration his way. One morning, he woke up, and suddenly he began to have feeling on the left side of his body. The doctors, the therapists, the nurses, they were amazed. They could not understand it.
Long story short, three weeks ago, he walked into Lakewood with no help for the first time since he had had that stroke. He spoke just as clearly as I am speaking to you. He did not stumble when he walked. He did not limp. He walked like nothing had ever been wrong.
This Is Your Year of the Shift
What happened? He came into a shift. God breathed in his direction. What he could not do in his own power, in his own strength, suddenly became possible. Some of you have struggled in an area. You have been in health, your finances, with a relationship for a long time, and you keep wondering, «Is it ever going to change?»
God is saying, «Yes, a shift is coming.» I am going to shift you out of sickness into health. I am going to shift you out of lack into abundance. I am going to shift you out of struggle into ease. I am about to cross my hands and give you what you did not deserve.
Now, you need to get ready. This is the year of the shift. As you have been faithful and honored God, I believe and declare God is going to put you at a position you could have never gotten to on your own. Doors are going to open for you that have not opened before.
What should have taken you 40 years to accomplish, God is going to do in a split second. You are coming into acceleration. Suddenly, a dream comes to pass. Suddenly, a promise is fulfilled. Suddenly, the negative turns around. You need to get ready for the surpassing greatness of God’s favor.
2013 is going to be an exceptional year for you and your family. You are going to come into these shifts. In Jesus' name, if you received that today, can you say amen?