Joel Osteen - Rest From Your Enemies
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Many struggles like depression, addiction, or lack are passed down generationally, but God wants to give us rest from these enemies by breaking the cycle. Through stories of Samson, King Asa, and the sons of Levi, the message urges us not to accept dysfunction as normal but to rise up, remove negative strongholds, and set a new standard for our families.
Enemies Passed Down
I want to talk to you today about «Rest From Your Enemies.» We all have things that come against us and try to keep us from our destiny. Most of what we struggle with did not start with us. It was passed down—things like depression, addictions, anger, divorce.
Studies show how that can get passed from generation to generation. If your mother was depressed, there is a good chance you will have to deal with depression. If your father was an alcoholic, had anger issues, was not faithful to his wife, those are traits that can affect you.
Just like a lady that is on drugs and gives birth to a baby—that baby can have the same addiction as the mother. There is no fault of the baby’s; it is just life.
Breaking the Cycle
The good news is there is a way to put a stop to it. What you are dealing with may not have started with you, but it can stop with you. God wants to give you rest from those enemies. He wants to put an end to what is limiting you.
But there is something we have to do. As long as we accept dysfunction as the norm, it will never change. If you see that addiction, that depression, that lack and struggle as your lot in life, you will not only get stuck, but you will pass it on to the next generation.
Samson’s Story
And this is what the Israelites did. In Judges 15, the Philistines had been ruling over them for 40 years. An angel appeared to a young lady and said, «You are going to have a son. You are to name him Samson. He is going to have supernatural strength. He will deliver the Israelites from the Philistines.»
And as he grew up, you could tell there was something different about Samson. Every time they tried to bind him, he would break those cords. He was a huge threat to them.
So the Philistines circled the Israelites' camp and were about to attack. The men of Judah went out and said, «Hey, why are you coming against us? We are not bothering you. We are your slaves.»
Tied Up by Friends
They said, «We have come to get Samson. He is causing us trouble.» Instead of recognizing that Samson had been raised up to deliver them from the Philistines—instead of saying, «Yes, this is a new day. We are not living in mediocrity anymore. We are done being ruled by this enemy"—the Israelites were so comfortable in dysfunction, they went to Samson and tied him up.
He was not tied up by the enemy. He was tied up by his friends. They said in verse 11, «Samson, do you not realize the Philistines rule over us? Why are you making it even worse?»
They were saying, «This is our lot in life. It has been this way for 40 years. You really think something is going to change? Just accept it.»
Don’t Tie Up Your Breakthrough
How many times is God sending us a Samson? But we think like the Israelites: «I will always be lonely, Joel. I have been this way for years. I will never break this addiction. I have had it a long time. I will never get out of debt. My family always struggles.»
As long as you accept the dysfunction—and even when God sends you a way out, even when a Samson shows up—you will talk yourself out of it. Because they were stuck in their thinking, they tied up the one that was sent to deliver them.
Are you tying up your breakthrough, so to speak—tying up your healing, your promotion, your abundance? Because the dysfunction is so familiar—it has been that way so long—you think it is normal to live depressed, addicted, angry, lonely.
A New Day to Break Free
This is a new day. You may have been ruled by those things for years. They may have been passed down by previous generations, but that is not your destiny. God sent me as a Samson. He is using my voice to tell you it is time to break free. It is time to rise higher.
What has limited you in the past does not have to limit you in the future. You can break that addiction. You have the most powerful force in the universe breathing in your direction.
You can rise out of lack, struggle, not having enough. You have seeds of greatness. You were created to lend and not borrow.
Royal Blood and Favor
You can be free from depression, low self-esteem, insecurity. God crowned you with favor. He put a robe of honor on you. You have royal blood flowing through your veins.
Do not let limited thinking keep you from your destiny. You cannot think, «This is the way it is always going to be,» and expect to rise to the next level.
And this is where the Israelites missed it. They were so afraid of the Philistines and so convinced they were going to rule them their whole life, they went to Samson—their friend, their deliverer—and tied him up.
Supernatural Strength
When the Philistines saw that he was bound, they went over to get him—thought, «Finally we can relax.» But the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson. He broke those cords like they were threads. He picked up the jawbone of a donkey and wiped out over a thousand Philistines.
What is interesting is he broke the chains not of his enemies but of his friends. God was showing us sometimes the people closest to you—the ones that raised you, your family and friends—may tell you, «Just settle where you are. Do you not know these things rule over us? You will never get your degree. You will never meet the right person. You will never break that addiction.»
Like Samson, they cannot keep you chained up. God has put a supernatural strength on you to fulfill your destiny.
Limited Vision of Others
Your family, your friends, your neighbors—they do not know what is in you. They cannot keep you from rising higher. They may be good people; they are sincere, but their vision is limited.
Do not fall into that trap. God has called you to be a Samson—to deliver your people, to set a new standard for your family, to break chains that have held you back.
Sometimes it is not our enemies that are limiting us. Our friends have tied us up. Everyone close to you may not be for you. They can say discouraging things: «Just settle there. Depression runs in this family. Your dad was broke; your granddad was broke. You are going to be broke too—no offense.»
But they are trying to tie you up. Are you going to accept the dysfunction, settle for mediocrity, or are you going to say, «I do not think so. I am better than this. I know the power that is in me is greater than any force that is trying to stop me»?
Born to Make a Difference
When God breathed His life into you, He destined you to leave your mark. He gave you the power to break chains that have held your family back for generations. He anointed you as a Samson to take new ground.
Do not let mediocrity become the norm. It may have been that way as far back as you can see. You have to draw a line in the sand and say, «The buck stops with me. I am not going to live tied up.»
My relatives may have been bound. My friends may be fine with dysfunction. My coworkers may be okay with living depressed, angry, addicted. But not me. I am going to be a Samson. I am going to break chains. I know I was born to make a difference.
Be the First One
Somebody has to be the first one in the family to not be addicted, to not get a divorce, to not live paycheck to paycheck, to not go around angry and offended. Why can it not be you? Why can you not set a new standard? Why can you not raise great children? Why can you not have an exceptional career?
You are a Samson. You have been equipped. You have been empowered. God has called you to deliver your people.
King Asa’s Bold Action
In 2 Chronicles 14, a young man named Asa became the new king of Israel. His father had died, and now he took the throne. He inherited a land that was filled with idols, pagan shrines, monuments to different kinds of gods.
His father passed down compromise, dysfunction, mediocrity. That is what he had seen growing up. That was normal to him.
He could have continued it on—thought, «This is the way it has always been. Dad was fine with these idols. Everybody likes worshiping these different gods. I am not going to rock the boat.»
Stopping What Was Passed Down
But Asa understood this principle: just because something gets passed down does not mean you have to continue it. Just because somebody close to you has chained you, so to speak, to compromise, dysfunction, does not mean you have to stay bound.
He knew he was anointed to be a Samson—that he could break chains, that he could take new ground. The scripture says Asa removed the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars. He chopped down the Asherah poles where the people worshiped.
Asa did not accept the dysfunction. He did not let what was passed down limit his life. He took responsibility—said, in effect, «This compromise did not start with me, but it is going to stop with me.»
Rest From Enemies
He did not make excuses, think that he had a reason to live that way. He was a difference maker. He was not passive. He did not do it quietly. He smashed the pagan shrines; he pulled up those altars. He was serious about fulfilling his destiny.
And because he did this, verse 6 says the Lord gave him rest from his enemies. If you want rest from your enemies, you have to do like he did and get rid of negative things that have been passed down.
As long as you are accepting it, you are going to struggle—the bad attitude, the anger, the addiction. Most likely it did not start with you. Will you be the Asa and remove it?
Be a Difference Maker
Will you be the one to rise up and say, «I am not going to let this anger rule my life anymore. I am not going to accept lack and defeat and struggle as my destiny. I am not going to learn to live with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem»?
I am going to be an Asa. I am going to smash those strongholds. I am going to pull down those wrong mindsets. If you will become an Asa and not take what was passed down as your destiny, God will give you rest from those enemies.
Overcoming Generational Struggles
I talked to a man that had been an alcoholic for nearly 30 years. Twenty-two years he had had a drug addiction. These are the things that keep getting passed down until someone rises up and decides to be an Asa and do something about it.
Studies show that if your father was an alcoholic, you are ten times more likely to become an alcoholic. That is a spirit going from generation to generation. Ninety percent of the people in prison—one of their parents was incarcerated.
Somebody has to rise up and break the negative cycle.
A New Creation in Christ
And the reason people tell you that if your father struggled, you will struggle is because they are looking at the wrong father. When you gave your life to Christ, you became a new creation.
There may be a lot of negative baggage in your bloodline, but now you have a heavenly Father. You are not limited by the natural. You have a supernatural force to help you overcome.
This gentleman was not a religious person. He was not raised in church. But one day he got so low, he was so desperate, he said, «God, please help me.»
A Miraculous Breakthrough
He went to a bookstore to try to find a book on overcoming addictions, and he pulled one off the shelf. This other book fell on his foot—it was very strange. He did not know what caused it to fall.
He picked it up, and it was my book. He had never seen me. He did not know who I am. But he started flipping through it, reading some passages, and something began to come alive on the inside.
He took it home and learned what I am telling you—that just because something was passed down does not mean you have to continue it. He read that book in three days and said from that day forward he never touched another drug, never touched alcohol. He was set completely free.
Remove What Holds You Back
What happened? He became an Asa. He did not accept the dysfunction as the norm. When you make that decision that enough is enough—you are not going to live addicted, angry, letting things rule you—then God will help you overcome what you could not overcome on your own.
Joshua said it this way: «You will not defeat your enemies until you remove these things.» Are there some things you need to remove?
Asa had to remove the idols that were not pleasing to God. This man had to remove the alcohol, the drugs that were destroying his life. My father had to remove a poverty mindset that he was raised with. If he had not done that, I would not be standing here.
Put a Stop to It
You may need to remove the anger, the jealousy, the regrets. When you say like this man, «God, I cannot do this on my own. Help me break this addiction. Help me resist this temptation. God, help me get rid of this bitterness.»
When you humble yourself and ask God to help you and then take bold steps like Asa to remove what is holding you back, God will make things happen that you could never make happen. He will give you rest from those enemies.
Here is the key: what you do not put a stop to will eventually put a stop to you. If you do not put a stop to that bad attitude, it is going to stop you.
Clean House
If you do not put a stop to the anger, the addiction, the regrets, they will keep you from your destiny. If Asa had not put a stop to the dysfunction that was passed down, his life would have been a constant struggle—always uphill.
The Message translation says Asa cleaned house. Do you need to do some house cleaning? Are you allowing some things to stay that you know are not good?
My challenge is put a stop to it before it stops you. Do not let a critical attitude keep you from your purpose. Everybody in your family may be that way. Recognize that is not normal. Do not learn to function in the dysfunction. Remove it, and God will take you to a new level.
Remove Limited Thinking
Do not let a lack mentality, a poverty mindset keep you in mediocrity: «Joel, I will never have enough. Nobody in my family is successful.» God wants to give you rest from that enemy of lack, that enemy of not having enough.
If you will get rid of the limited thinking and start having a prosperous, more-than-enough mindset—knowing that favor is surrounding you like a shield—then God will open the windows of heaven. He will cause opportunity, blessing, increase to chase you down.
But too often we think what is on the outside is stopping us. I believe if we will look inside and get rid of what we know is not good, then we will see God’s favor in new ways.
The Stinky Cheese Story
There was a grandfather that fell asleep one afternoon in the family room. His grandchild decided to play a trick on him. They took some real strong-smelling cheese—it was very potent, smelled very bad.
While he was sleeping, they snuck over and carefully rubbed it on his mustache right under his nose. In a few minutes he woke up and thought, «Something really stinks in here.»
He left that room and went into the kitchen and thought, «Boy, it stinks in here too.» Went to his bedroom—same thing. «Why does it smell so badly?»
Finally he went outside hoping to get some relief from the stinking. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and said, «Man, the whole world stinks.»
Remove the Stink
This is what happens when we hold on to things that we should get rid of. If you will remove the bad attitude, the stink will go away. If you will remove the compromise, giving in to temptation, the stink will leave.
As long as you are allowing it to stay, it is going to follow you everywhere you go. If you live guilty, in regrets, beating yourself up for past mistakes, that is going to stink up your office, stink up your attitude, stink up your relationships.
Why do you not remove the regrets? Why do you not get rid of the guilt? You cannot do anything about the past, but you can do something about right now.
Remove Self-Pity and Offense
Maybe you need to remove the self-pity. You have had some tough breaks, went through a loss, somebody did you wrong. If you stay focused on that, your life is going to stink.
You may not realize it, but when you stink, other people can smell it. When you are offended, bitter, angry, nobody wants to be around you. That stink is going to push away new relationships, new opportunities.
Why do you not remove it? It may have been passed down. You have a good reason to feel the way you do. It has soured your life long enough. Do not let it continue to sour you.
Don’t Let Seeds Take Root
The truth is we all have some stinky stuff—some dysfunction, some regrets. I have learned the people that keep moving forward, the people that keep enjoying their lives, are the people that are good at removing the stink.
Complaining about the stink only makes it stink even more. If you stay focused on the stink—you are angry at the people that hurt you, always thinking about how they did you wrong—the problem is that seed can get in you. You can become the very thing that you do not like.
When the scripture tells us to not take an offense, it is not just so we will not be offended, so we will not get sour. If we take the offense, the seed will get in us. We can become what they are.
Breaking a Curse
That is why it is so important to remove it. Let it go. God will be your vindicator. God will make up for what you did not get—how you were raised, what was passed down. That does not have to keep you from becoming who you were created to be.
A friend of mine grew up in a home where his father was not faithful to his mother. He saw his dad run around on his mom, and this young man became very hurt and confused by it. Over time he got to the point where he hated his father. He would not be around him, would not speak to him. He could not wait till he got old enough to leave the house.
He went away to college and eventually got married and had several children of his own. A few years later he started running around on his wife—doing the same thing to his kids that he hated so much about his father.
That is what happens when we hold on to things that we should let go of. The seed can get in us.
The Sons of Levi
You have to do like Asa and say, «I am removing it. I am not living angry, offended, letting this dysfunction affect me and my children. I am going to be a difference maker. The buck is going to stop with me.»
There was a young man in the scripture named Levi. He had a lot of issues. He was angry; he was dishonest; he deceived people.
One time somebody took advantage of his sister—it was a big deal. He was very angry. He went to the city where it took place. He said to the leaders, «Everything will be fine. We will forgive you if all of the men will be circumcised. Once you do that, then we will make peace—act like it never happened.»
They agreed. The men were circumcised. While they were healing—when they could not defend themselves—Levi and his men came in and wiped out the whole town. He had deceived them.
Generational Deception to Blessing
What is interesting is Levi’s father was Jacob. You remember Jacob was a deceiver. He cheated his brother out of his birthright—tricked him into trading his whole inheritance all for a bowl of soup.
Now Jacob’s son Levi was just like him. But if you go back one generation, Jacob’s mother Rebekah was the same way. When her husband Isaac was near death and about to give the blessing that belonged to their firstborn son Esau, Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau.
She came up with the plan to trick Isaac—he could not see; he was almost blind. She told Jacob to dress up like Esau. They made sure he smelled like his brother. Then she said, «Now, Jacob, go in and tell your father that you are Esau.» He did this and received the blessing that belonged to his brother.
But the deception, the dishonesty started back with Rebekah—got passed down to her son Jacob. He was dishonest. Now Jacob’s son Levi was the same way. It looked like that was going to continue to get passed down.
Who Is on the Lord’s Side?
But one day Moses was up on a mountain. He had just received the Ten Commandments, and when he came down, the Israelites were having a wild party. They had made a calf out of gold that they were worshiping.
When Moses saw it, he was furious. Here God had just delivered them out of slavery, parted the Red Sea—now these two million people were worshiping an idol.
Moses pulled out his sword and said, «Who is on the Lord’s side?» Of all the people there that day—the leaders of the different tribes of Israel did not say anything. Joshua did not say anything. Aaron did not say anything.
The scripture says the sons of Levi spoke up and said, «Moses, we are on the Lord’s side.» They were saying, in effect, «This is a new day. We are not going to be defined by our past. You are not going to let how our father lived, how our grandfather lived, what our great-grandmother did—we are not going to pass that dysfunction down in our family line. We are going to take a stand and do what is right.»
From Curse to Blessing
That day they broke a generational curse and started a generational blessing. Because of that decision, God said from now on all of the priests will come through the tribe of Levi.
In the book of Genesis they were cursed by their grandfather. In the book of Leviticus they were the most blessed, honored people.
This is what happens when you get rid of negative things that have been passed down. You will not only have rest from your enemies, but you will set a new standard for your family.
It all starts when you remove what is holding you back. Do you need to remove anger, remove dishonesty, remove a wrong mindset? It may not have started with you, but it can stop with you.
Rise Up Today
There may be a lot of negative baggage in your bloodline. God is saying today, «Who is on the Lord’s side?» If you will rise up and say, «That is me. I am a difference maker,» then I believe and declare like the sons of Levi, God is going to promote you and honor you.
Like Samson, you are going to break chains that have held your family back for generations. And like King Asa, God is going to give you rest from your enemies. In Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?