Joel Osteen — All Is Well
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I want to talk to you today about all is well. It's easy to go through life worried about the future and frustrated because a dream has taken so long and upset because somebody did us wrong but instead of complaining about the difficulty, instead of being sour because your plans didn't work out, you need to remember these three simple words, "All is well".
God is still on the throne. He's directing your steps. He wouldn't have allowed it unless he had a purpose for it. When you're tempted to get discouraged, keep reminding yourself, all is well. "I lost my biggest client. I'm not stressed over it. I know something better is coming. All is well. I was cheated in a business deal. That's all right. God is my vindicator. All is well. Prayed for my loved one, but they didn't make it. I'm not bitter, I know they're in heaven rejoicing where there is no pain. All is well".
When you have this all-is-well attitude there's a peace, a rest. It takes the pressure off. You don't live on a roller coaster. You know all is well when you're on the mountaintop and all is well in the valley. All is well when business is great and all is well when it's not so great. You have a made-up mind. You know God is bigger than any obstacle.
As long as you stay in faith, nothing can keep you from your destiny, that's what three hebrew teenagers did in the scripture, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. They refused to bow down to the king's golden idol. They were about to be thrown into a fiery furnace.
They could have complained, "God, it's not fair. We're doing your will and look what happened". No, they said to the king, "We're not going to bow. We know our God will deliver us but even if he doesn't, we're still not going to bow". They were saying, "All is well if it goes our way and all is well if it doesn't go our way. All is well if our prayers get answered and all is well if they don't get answered".
The king had them thrown into that furnace. It should have instantly killed them. He came back and checked a little later, said to the guards, "Didn't we throw three men in bound? I see four men loose and one looks like the Son of God". When you know all is well, the creator of the universe will make things happen that you could never make happen, and like these teenagers, you may be in a situation where you don't see a way out.
You could be discouraged, upset, stressed. No, you need to start declaring all is well. "I'm struggling in my marriage, but I'm not living stressed. All is well. I'm dealing with this addiction, not where I thought I'd be in life, but I'm not discouraged. God is still working on me. I'm not a finished product. All is well. I never thought I'd be facing this legal problem, this sickness, this divorce, this bankruptcy, but I can tell you? All is well. I'm at peace. I know God is in complete control".
Maybe you're single, you thought you would have met somebody by now. Let me encourage you, all is well. God already has the right person lined up for you. They are in your future, now stay in agreement with God. Don't go around thinking, "Oh, it's never going to happen". No, have this attitude, all is well.
Maybe your child made some poor choices. Worrying is not going to help. Losing sleep doesn't make it better. All the through the day let this phrase play in your mind, "All is well". You'll hear the voice, "What if he doesn't change"? Answer back, "All is well". What if he gets in more trouble? "All is well". What if it doesn't work out? "All is well".
Replace the thoughts of worry with, "All is well". Maybe the medical report wasn't good, it would be easy to let those words play all day long. "You're not going to make it, learn to live with it". No, turn off that recording, put on this new recording, "All is well. The number of my days God will fulfill. Nothing can snatch me out of his hands". Or perhaps a legal situation, you don't like it, it wasn't fair, but all is well.
It says in Psalms, "The trap the enemy set for me, they will fall in themselves". When you meditate on this simple praise, "All is well," you're saying, "God, I trust you. You're bigger than this problem. You can turn any situation around". It's interesting the hebrew teenagers were doing the right thing when the wrong thing happened to them.
Being in God's perfect will doesn't mean we won't have difficulties. You can't reach your destiny without opposition, unfair situations, people doing you wrong. When things come against you, it's easy to think, "Joel, all is not well. Look at these difficulties". No, the truth is, the enemy wouldn't be fighting you unless he knew God had something amazing in your future. You can stay in faith. You can declare all is well knowing that that opposition is a sign that something great is coming.
In fact, the scripture says, don't be surprised when you face various trials. Don't get bent out of shape because life through you a curve, you had an unexpected challenge. Sometimes we face difficulties, not because we're doing something wrong but because we're doing something right.
Jesus told a parable about this in Matthew chapter 13, a farmer went out and planted wheat in his field. He sowed good seed. He was doing the right thing but at night while he slept, an enemy snuck in and planted weeds in his soil. When it came time for harvest, the weeds popped up with the wheat. He thought, "Where did this come from? I didn't sow these seeds".
Anytime you're doing the right thing, honoring God, being productive, helping others, don't be surprised if you find some weeds among your wheat. Like this farmer, doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. We think, "I've been loyal to this company for 20 years, how could they treat me badly? I raised my child right, now he's veering off course. I just don't understand it". Those are simply weeds that enemy has sown into your field.
The good news is those weeds cannot keep you from your destiny. If that trouble was going to stop God's plan, he would have never permitted it, and what I've learned is, the weeds always pop up right before the harvest. Your business slows down, a child acts up, you have trouble in a relationship, don't panic, you are close to your breakthrough. Your harvest is about to come, that's why the weeds are popping up, and instead of falling apart, "God, why did this happen"?
No, our attitude should be, "It's no big deal. It's just another weed. I didn't sow it. I don't have to reap it. God said he would take care of it for me". If for some reason you were to lose your job, don't panic, that's just a weed popping up. You stay in faith and God will give you a better job. If the medical report is negative, don't get discouraged, see that sickness as a weed. It cannot stop you. You're a child of the most high God. You have the most powerful force in the universe breathing in your direction.
Maybe somebody walked out of a relationship, did you wrong, caused you a lot of pain. Next time you see them, under your breath just say, you don't need them to become who God's created you to be. I didn't say, say it to their face, now.
This parable ends with the workers asking the farmer, "Should we go pull up the weeds"? He said, "No, just wait and at the right time, they will be destroyed". God is saying that to us, the weeds that pop up, the unexpected challenges, the sickness, the trouble at work. You don't have to fight those battles. Don't spend all your life trying to pull up the weeds. You can't fix everything in your own strength. If you're constantly trying to straighten this person out, fix this problem, make this situation resolve, you'll be frustrated.
The scripture says, "Those who have believed enter into rest". At some point you got to say, "God, I'm trusting you to take care of my weeds". You keep honoring God, being your best and God will move the wrong people out of the way. God will restore what's been stolen. God will straighten out the situation at work, at home for you. The battle is not yours, the battle is the Lord's. Be still and know that he is God.