Joel Osteen — Get Over It
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I want to talk to you today about "Get over it". Too many people go through life thinking somebody owes them something. They didn't have a perfect childhood, now they're offended at their parents. They got laid off after years with the company, they're offended at a boss.
Or maybe they came down with an illness, life threw them a curve, they went through a divorce, didn't get the promotion, now they're offended at God. They've got a chip on their shoulder, bitterness on the inside. "If God was so good, how could he let this happen to me"? No, God never promised that life would be fair, but he did promise if you would stay in faith, he will take what's meant for your harm and use it to your advantage.
Nothing that's happened to you is a surprise to God. The people that raised you may not have given you everything you needed, it may not have been fair, but that didn't catch God off-guard. Don't use it as an excuse to be bitter, thinking that you got cheated.
If you'll get over it, God will still get you to where you're supposed to be. The person that did you wrong in a relationship, the betrayal, the divorce, it may have been painful, it wasn't right, but if you'll get over it and quit reliving all the hurt and pain and start moving forward, then you'll come in to the new beginning God has in store.
My message today is very simple, and I say it respectfully: whatever wrong that was done, whatever is causing you to feel sour, whatever seems unfair, get over it. "Well, Joel, all my friends are married. I'm still single". Get over it. Don't let that bitterness take root. That will keep the right person from showing up. "Well, I wish I was a different nationality. I wish I came from a different family". Get over it.
God knows what he's doing, God wasn't having a bad day when he created you. You are not at a disadvantage. You have been fearfully and wonderfully made. "Well, Joel, my friends, it seems like they've got more going for them. He's more talented. She's more beautiful. I feel like I got shortchanged". No, get over it. You have exactly what you need to fulfill your destiny. "Well, they did me wrong. They left me out". Get over it, and God will make it up to you. Get over it, and God will fight your battles.
I've heard it said you can be pitiful or you can be powerful, but you cannot be both, and instead of sitting around thinking about all the reasons you have to feel sorry for yourself, the bad breaks, the disadvantages, you've got to take the hand you've been dealt and make the most of it. Nothing that you've been through has to keep you from becoming all God's created you to be.
My mother had polio as a child. She had to wear a brace on her leg. Now one of her legs is much smaller than the other leg. When she goes to buy shoes, she has to buy two pair of the same shoe because her feet are different sizes. She could have been embarrassed by that, shrunk back, tried to hide it, let it cause her to feel less than, but she never did. She knows she's been made in the image of almighty God. Growing up, that never kept her from wearing a dress.
In fact, she still wears dresses today, nearly 80 years old, still showing off her legs. That never kept her from working out in the yard, doesn't stop her from praying for other people that need healing. In spite of the, quote, "Disadvantage," she's gone on to live a full, blessed life. Why? She got over it. She didn't make excuses. She didn't fall into the self-pity trap.
And sometimes we think, "Well, if I had their life, if I had his talent, if I was born into that family, then I could do something great". No, don't compare your situation to somebody else's. You're not running their race, and it may seem like they have more advantages, they have more going for them, but God has given you the grace you need to fulfill your destiny. You're not anointed to be them. You're anointed to be you. You got to shake off any self-pity, any bitterness.
Our attitude should be, "Nobody owes me anything. I am not at a disadvantage. I didn't get left out, shortchanged, passed over, cheated. I am equipped, empowered, and anointed. All the forces of darkness cannot keep me from my destiny".
Friends, your time is too valuable, your assignment too important to go through life thinking about what you didn't get, who hurt you, and how it didn't work out. That is a trick of the enemy to get you distracted, wasting valuable energy on things that don't matter. He would love to keep you discouraged, in self-pity, blaming others, blaming yourself, even blaming God. I'm asking you today to get over anything that's holding you back: a bad attitude, an offense, what somebody did to you, a mistake you made. Don't be pitiful when you can be powerful. The Creator of the universe breathed his life into you.
Every day of your life has already been written in God's book, and the good news is your book ends in victory, and, yes, we all go through tough times, but we're not supposed to stay there. Keep turning the page and you'll come in to another victory. God knew there'd be unfair situations. That's why he's already arranged a comeback for every setback, vindication for every wrong, a new beginning for every disappointment.
Now, don't let one bad break, a divorce, a rough childhood cause you to get soured on life. If you didn't get the promotion, get over it. God has something better in store. If those friends don't accept you, they leave you out, won't give you their approval, get over it. You don't need their approval. Don't go trying to play up to them, trying to win them over. You have almighty God's approval. That's all that matters.
Maybe your business didn't make it, you had a setback, now you think, "Oh, what did I do wrong? I blew it. This is the end". No, get over it. Don't condemn yourself. You are not a failure. You took a step of faith and a door closed. That means you're one step closer to an open door. When you get knocked down, don't stay down. Get back up again. Nothing good is going to happen as long as you're down on yourself, down on life, focused on your mistakes, your disadvantages. That's going to keep you from the amazing future God has in store.
I know some of you are dealing with a sickness, and our hearts go out to you. We're standing in faith with you, but don't you dare sit around nursing your wounds, thinking, "Poor old me. I guess my life is over. I've got this disadvantage". No, dig your heels in and fight the good fight of faith. God did not bring you this far to leave you. When the going gets tough, the tough have to get going.
Get over the disappointment. Get over the self-pity. Get over the doubt. You have been armed with strength for this battle. No weapon formed against you is going to prosper. Nothing can snatch you out of God's hand. The enemy doesn't have the final say, God has the final say, and he says the number of your days he will fulfill. You keep turning that page, praying, believing, being your best, being good to other people, and you're going to come into another chapter, a chapter of victory.
Think about Job. He had a lot to get over. He lost his health, his family, his business. If anybody had a right, at least in the natural, to have a chip on their shoulder, be angry and bitter, it would have been Job. He was a good man, he loved God, he was being his best, yet his whole life was turned upside down. The scripture says, "Rain falls on the just and the unjust".
I'd love to tell you that if you have faith and you love God, you'll never have any difficulties, but that's not reality. But I can tell you when the storms come, if you've got your house built upon the rock, if you've got an unshakable confidence in God, if you know the Lord as your shepherd, the storms will come, but you will not be defeated. When it's all said and done, you may go through the fire, through the flood, through the famine, but you'll come out still standing strong.
Don't be discouraged by the storm. Don't fall into self-pity, "I don't know what I did wrong". No, you may not have done anything wrong. It may be because you're doing something right. You're taking new ground for the kingdom. You're setting a new standard for your family. The enemy's not going to roll out the red carpet and let us fulfill our destiny, but know this: the forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you.
Job could have given up on life, blamed God, thought, "Oh, just my luck. I do my best, and look what happens to me". No, right in the middle of the difficulty, when he could have been bitter and sour, he looked up to the heavens and said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him". He was saying, in effect, "No matter what comes my way, I'm not going to get bitter, angry, offended, have a chip on my shoulder. It may not be fair, but I know a secret: my God is still on the throne. He will make my wrongs right. I may not like it, but I'm going to get over it and keep moving forward".
Nine months later, Job came out with twice what he had before. When you get over it, you position yourself for double. When you forgive, even though they did you wrong, get ready for double. When you have a good attitude even though life has thrown you a curve, get ready for double. When you go through the day being your best, even though it seems like you've got a disadvantage, thoughts tell you, "You're not as talented as she is. Look at him. He comes from an influential family. You got cheated. Look at her. She's so beautiful. You're so average," no, you know better than to believe those lies. Instead of getting depressed, you shake it off, knowing that you have been made in the image of almighty God.
You have royal blood flowing through your veins. You don't let those thoughts defeat you. You don't let what people say, circumstances pull you down. No matter what comes your way, you get over it and keep moving forward. When you do that, you better get ready. God says to you what he says to Job, "Double is coming your way: double the joy, double the peace, double the favor".
Is there something you need to get over today, get over a friend that betrayed you, get over a business deal that didn't work out, get over a childhood that wasn't that great? Unless you get over it, it will keep you from the fullness God has in store. The key to the double is will you not get bitter? Will you not have a chip on your shoulder, go around thinking that somebody owes you something? It's easy to make excuses to live a sour life.
Have you noticed these days, especially, people blame the past. They blame how they were raised, "Mama didn't give me what she should have given me. My father wasn't around growing up. That's why I'm bitter. That's why I can't get along with people. That's why I can't be successful". No, what your mother or father didn't give you is not a surprise to God. Don't use that as an excuse to be sour and go through life feeling shortchanged. I say it again respectfully: get over it. Start moving forward. This is a new day.
God knew who your parents would be. He knew what kind of environment you would be raised in, and I'm not making light of it, because some people came through a very unfair situation. They didn't get the love, the approval, the support they should have, but I don't believe in giving anyone the right to feel sorry for themselves, because as long as they think they got shortchanged and life is not fair, and, "I've got this sickness, Joel, and I'm not that talented," that will keep you from the amazing future God has in store.
It may not have been fair, but if you'll have the right attitude, instead of being a setback, it'll be a setup for God to do something great in your life. But I know people 50 years old still talking about what mama didn't give them. Have you ever thought about maybe mama didn't have it to give? Maybe your father did the best he could with what he had. Sometimes we rely too much on people when we should be relying on God.
Psalm 27:10 says God adopts us as his very own children. A mother or father may not have given you what you needed, but if you'll start looking to God, he will make up for everything that you did not get. I've heard it said if you want someone to give you 100%, don't look around, look up. God is the only one that can give you everything that you need, and some people, it's not that they don't want to. They were never taught how to show love, to express approval. They never saw that modeled growing up. Now they're passing down what they've seen, and if you only look to people, you'll be disappointed.
People will let you down, and if you're not careful, you'll get bitter and resentful toward them and think, "You owe me. Why won't you give it to me? What's wrong with you"? No, maybe God is teaching you to not rely on people, but to rely on him. You got to let people off the hook. Quit trying to make someone be everything to you. No one person has 100%. No person can meet all your needs. No matter how good they are, how loving, how kind, at some point they'll fall short. You got to look up to your Heavenly Father and say, "God, I know you will give me everything that I need".
My father told how when he was in his late-40s, he started thinking about how he had had such a rough childhood. His family was very poor. At times they barely had food to survive. He went around with old, raggedy clothes, had holes in them, and one day it just hit him as being so unfair. He got a little aggravated at his parents. He thought, "Why didn't they raise me better? Why wasn't my father around to give me the support, the encouragement that I needed"?
When you open the door to self-pity, to blame, all kinds of negative thoughts will flood your mind. The enemy will be right there to egg you on, tell you, "You're right. They did you wrong. You got cheated. You should have a chip on your shoulder. You need to go straighten them out". My father was about to drive from Houston to Dallas to tell his parents exactly what he thought and how they didn't do a good job on him, and they put him at a disadvantage, and it just wasn't fair.
Before he left, God spoke to him. Not out loud, but down in here. He said, "Son, they did you wrong, didn't they"? Daddy said, "Yeah, God, they did". "They didn't give you what you needed, did they"? "No, God, they didn't". "It wasn't fair, was it"? "No, it wasn't fair". God said, "Son, how do you think you would have done if you would have been in their shoes, with no money, with no air-conditioning, no dishwasher, no washing machine, mother working 12 hours a day making 10 cents an hour, father with a fourth-grade education, lost everything on the farm during the great depression, standing in line for food? Son, do you think you may have made a few mistakes"?
When my father saw it from that perspective, he realized his parents had done an amazing job, considering the circumstances that they had. But it's easy to remember what we didn't get, and where they made a mistake, how they should have done better, and, "Why did they say that"? But most of the time, if you put yourself in their shoes, you'll find they did the best they could with what they had.
Why don't you let people off the hook? Quit expecting them to be perfect. Look to God to give you what people could not give you. If you don't, and you go through life thinking somebody owes you something, you got that chip on your shoulder, it's going to cause you to get bitter. When you're bitter, it poisons every area of your life.