Joel Osteen - Keep Believing For Your Loved Ones
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In this heartfelt message, Joel Osteen urges believers to persistently pray, love, and believe for loved ones who are off course, using examples like Saul becoming Paul, the Samaritan woman, the prodigal son, and Zacchaeus to show that God waits on us with mercy and asks us to wait on others, standing in the gap without judgment until they fulfill their destiny.
Someone Needs You to Believe for Them
I want to talk to you today about «Keep Believing for Your Loved Ones.» We all have someone that we are hoping will change: a family member is off course, a child that is not making good decisions, or a friend that is struggling with an addiction. We have been praying, believing, but it does not look like it is making any difference.
It is easy to get frustrated and think that we are wasting our time. But if they are going to reach their destiny, they need someone who will wait on them—someone that will keep praying, keep encouraging, keep speaking faith into their future, telling them, «You may be off course; you may be compromising, but I still believe in you. I know you have seeds of greatness; the hand of God is on your life.»
They need someone that will stand in the gap, that will believe for them when they cannot believe for themselves—someone that will cover them with mercy, not judge them, not find fault, but that will help love them back into wholeness.
Don’t Write People Off Too Soon
We write people off too easily: where they are now is not where they are going to end up. Do not judge them by the present. Before the apostle Paul was a follower of Christ, before he wrote half of the New Testament, his name was Saul, and he hated believers. He was the biggest enemy of the church.
He went from city to city, having believers arrested and even killed. If we would have seen him, we would have thought this guy does not have a chance—he is a terrorist; he is against everything we stand for. Yet God told Ananias: go pray for Saul; he is a chosen vessel to bear My name.
Some of the people we are tempted to write off are chosen vessels; they are going to advance the kingdom; they are going to do great things. All they need is someone to wait on them—someone to say, «Yeah, they are off course, but I am going to send them a text and let them know that I am praying for them. I am going to invite them to lunch—not to straighten them out, not to judge them, but to let them know that I love them, that I believe in them, that if they need anything, all they have to do is ask.»
Will you wait on someone while God is changing them?
Jesus Waited at the Well
In John chapter 4, Jesus was in Samaria waiting by a well. He had sent the disciples into the city to get food. While He was waiting, a Samaritan woman came out to get some water. Back then the Jews and Samaritans did not have anything to do with each other, but Jesus asked her for a drink of water.
She said, «Sir, You are a Jew; I am a Samaritan—why are You asking me for something?» Jesus said, «If you knew who I am, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.» She said, «Sir, please give me this water.» Jesus asked her to go call her husband. She told Him that she did not have a husband.
Jesus said, «You are right; you have had five, and the man you are living with is not your husband.» She said, «Sir, You must be a prophet. We know one day the Messiah will come.» Jesus looked at her and said, «I am the Messiah.»
This woman went back home, told everyone what had happened. The scripture says many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of her.
Waiting for the Broken
What is interesting is Jesus could have gone into the city to get food with the disciples. He was hungry, but He chose to wait at this well. Notice who He was waiting for: a woman that did not have a good reputation. He waited for a woman that had been married five times—a woman that had blown it.
I am sure people had written her off—thought this lady is messed up. When she walked by, I could hear them whisper, «There she is. Wonder who she is married to this week.» They would laugh, gossip. We look down on her because she was married so many times. The truth is this woman had been rejected by men; she had been pushed down by life.
Jesus waited for a woman that did not feel valuable—a woman that had very little self-worth. You would have thought He would wait for the mayor of the city, for someone with prominence and influence. After all, Jesus was busy; He had a lot of demands. But He chose to wait for a woman that did not have it altogether.
He did not judge her; He did not condemn her. He spoke life into her; He lifted her; He valued her.
God Honors the Overlooked
It is significant that the Samaritans did not worship Jehovah; they worshiped idols—they had stone gods that they prayed to. Jesus waited for a woman that came from a different faith—a woman that did not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The first person Jesus ever told He was the Messiah was not the religious leaders; it was not the chief priests. When Jesus wanted to announce one of the most important things He would ever say, He announced it to this woman.
Society said, «Forget about her; she is done; she does not make good decisions.» God said, «No, I am not only going to wait on her; I am going to honor her by telling her who I am.»
I think about how many times God has waited on us. He waited when we were off course; He waited when we would not forgive; He waited when we were addicted, when we were compromising, when we had a bad attitude.
He could have said, «That is it; I am done with you.» But He waited; He showed us mercy; He picked us up when we fell; He kept the addiction from taking our life; He protected us when we chose the wrong friends; He kept that accident from taking us out.
Thank God for Waiting on You
He waited when we did not believe; He waited when we ignored Him; He waited when we were bitter. Sometimes it is good to look back and say, «Lord, thank You for waiting on me. Lord, thank You for giving me another chance; thank You for cleaning up the mess I made; thank You for covering me when I did not deserve it.»
God has waited on all of us. Now He is asking, «Will you wait on someone for Me? Will you wait on that friend that is not making good decisions? Will you call them, encourage them, let them know that you care?
Will you wait on that neighbor that does not believe in Me, that makes fun of your faith? Will you stand in the gap, keep letting your light shine? Or will you wait for that family member that has been off course for years, struggling with issues?»
It seems like the more you pray, the worse they get—you are ready to give up. God is saying, «Wait on them; keep praying; keep loving; keep encouraging.»
A Long Prayer Answered
My mother prayed for a man named Bill Nash for many years. Bill was a country-western singer; he grew up in church—his parents were missionaries to Mexico. He had a strong foundation of faith, but in his teens he got off course and started running with the wrong crowd.
He ended up struggling with drugs and alcohol. Instead of singing in church, he was singing in bars and clubs. Deep down he was unhappy; he knew he was running from God, but he could not get out on his own.
Driving down the freeways, my mother would see his name on the marquees at the clubs where he was playing. Every time she would pray for him, «Lord, bring Bill back home; help him to fulfill his destiny.»
This went on for years; it did not look like anything was happening. But when you pray, things are happening that you cannot see. Your prayer may be what is keeping them from sinking deeper. Because you are standing in the gap, that is why the enemy cannot take them out.
Bill Nash Returns
One Sunday morning Bill was flipping through the channels; he came across my father on television. He was talking about how God is full of mercy—how He is bigger than any mistake. That Sunday Bill showed up at Lakewood—had not been to church in many years; sat in the very back.
Someone noticed him and brought him down to see my mother. He did not know that she had been praying all those years. That day Bill recommitted his life to Christ. The faith that was planted in him as a little boy came back to life.
Several months later Bill gave his first Christian concert at Lakewood. Now he and his wife Kim have an outreach to teenagers to help them stay on track.
Proverbs says, «Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.» You may have a child that is off course. The good news is you have trained them up to know the Lord; that faith was deposited in their spirit. The promise is in the end they will not depart from it.
Love Never Fails
Now it does not say anything about the middle. They may make some wrong turns—like Bill, there may be times you do not see how they are going to get back on track. What are you supposed to do? Wait on them; keep loving; keep encouraging; keep praying.
«Well, Joel, they will not listen to me. They do not take my advice; they will not return my call.» Do not worry—God knows how to get their attention. You keep praying, and things are happening. In the end they will not depart.
They may be off course now, but your declaration should be, «They are coming back. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.» Now you do not have to force people to change. When they are grown, you cannot make them do what is right. Do not always be trying to correct them, threaten them, teach them a lesson.
Sometimes you just need to love them. The scripture says, «Love never fails.» You can love them back on track—love them when they do not deserve it; love them when they will not listen; love them when they are making poor choices.
It is easy to write them off—think, «You know what? I am not going to have anything to do with you.» No, God waited on you—will you wait on them?
The Prodigal’s Father Waited
In the story of the prodigal son, the young man took his inheritance, left home, and wasted it all living wild—partying. He got so low he ended up in a hog pen—desperate, barely even surviving.
He decided to go back home and try to get a job as a hired servant at his father’s house. The scripture says when the father saw the son coming a long way off, he took off running toward him. Notice the father was waiting.
I can imagine several times a day he went out to the end of the driveway and looked—said, «Father, thank You for bringing my son back home. Thank You for protecting him. Thank You that he will fulfill his destiny.»
He ran out and gave his son a hug. He told his staff, «We are going to have a party and celebrate the fact that my son has come back home.» Never once did the father bring up the son’s past; he never went into an «I-told-you-so» speech—"You can live here, but you do not really deserve it.» He was full of mercy.
Give Room to Change
I have learned everyone is on a journey. Where they are now is not where they are going to be in 10 years—give them room to change. They may not believe like you; they may not have your same views—that is okay; just keep loving them.
Sometimes we think we are supposed to convict people—tell them everything they are doing wrong, straighten them out. No, the Holy Spirit’s job is to convict people; our job is to simply plant the seed.
That seed may fall on hard soil; their heart may not be open. The good news is the seed never dies. I read where a seed was found that was 4,000 years old—it had been in an airtight coffin. They planted it, and the seed blossomed; it was still alive. All it needed was the right soil.
Seeds Are Still Alive
Those seeds you have been planting in people’s hearts—they are still alive. The soil may not be ready yet, but at the right time God will soften their hearts.
Some of the people that listen to me do not believe in God; some come from different faiths. But that never bothers me—I am just sowing seeds, telling people that God is for them, that they are made in His image, that they have a purpose and destiny to fulfill. I know at the right time the seeds will take root.
What am I saying? Do not judge people by where they are now—they are in the process of changing.
I know a young lady that came from a different faith; she was raised in another country and brought up in a different religion. She had been watching us on television; the message had really helped her.
Then her work moved her to Houston; she started attending Lakewood. She would sit up at the top—as you can imagine, this was very new to her. She expected to hear about how wrong her religion was—to be condemned for how she was raised. She never heard any of that; she heard about the goodness of God, about how her sins had already been forgiven, about how she could live a victorious, abundant life.
She eventually gave her life to Christ. She said, «I came from a different faith, and it took me two years to make my journey to Jesus.» You know why that happened? We waited on her; we did not condemn her; we did not say, «Be like us or you are out.» We gave her room to change.
Love Shows You Are His Disciple
You have to give people time to become who they were created to be. Too often we want to cram things down people’s throats and make them believe, but some things do not happen overnight.
Will you wait on that friend—keep encouraging them even though they are not changing as fast as you would like? Will you wait on that neighbor that does not believe—keep sowing seeds of love, keep being good to them?
Jesus said, «The way people will know you are My disciple is by your love one for another.» Not by our doctrine, not by how many scriptures we can quote, not by how right we are—but by how much we love them.
You do not judge people; you do not look down on them because they do not believe like you—you just keep loving them; keep being good to them.
A lady told me how she had been an atheist her whole life. She did not have any kind of faith—just was not raised to believe in God at all.
God’s Goodness Draws Us
One day her daughter was in an automobile accident; she rushed up to the hospital. Her daughter was injured, but she was fine—it was not life-threatening. Later that evening the mother went back home; she was so stressed and so overwhelmed from such a difficult day.
Sitting in her driveway, she looked up and said very frustrated, «God, why did You do this to me?» She said she heard the most loving voice—not out loud, but in her heart. It said, «That was the first time you have ever spoken to Me.»
She felt a love like she had never felt—a peace that she had never experienced. That was the goodness of God overwhelming her. The scripture says, «If you will draw close to God, He will draw close to you.»
We think if someone does not have anything to do with God, God will say, «Fine, too bad—see if I ever help you.» God is not like that—He is as close as the breath you breathe. All you have to do is call out to Him; He is right there.
He is not holding your past against you; He is not upset because you ignored Him; He is not put off because you did not believe in Him. He is waiting for you; He has His arms held open wide; He is at the end of the driveway looking—thinking, «Maybe today you will come back home; maybe today will be the turning point.»
Call Them What They Can Become
Are you writing someone off because they do not believe, they are not making good decisions, they are against what we stand for? That is right where Saul was before he became the apostle Paul.
Why do not you start waiting on them—showing mercy instead of judgment? It is easy to have a holier-than-thou attitude: «I cannot believe what they are doing—what are they thinking?» Listen, if it was not for the grace of God, you do not know what you would be doing—or me either.
The longer I live, the less judgmental I am. I realize everyone did not get what I got—everyone was not raised in a healthy environment, in a home filled with faith and love, with parents and friends and family that spoke victory into me.
Some people came out of dysfunction—with people that were addicted, angry, depressed. All they have seen is mediocrity, compromise. It is tempting to judge them, look down on them—but if we were in their shoes, we could be making the same decisions.
Instead of finding fault with them, condemning them, why do not you spend that same time praying for them? They are in your life because God is counting on you to help them.
If you will start encouraging them, speaking faith into them, loving them—they will step into their destiny. And every seed you sow will come back to you; the mercy you show others is the mercy people are going to show you.
Zacchaeus: Called by Name
But sometimes we are waiting for people to change, and then we will accept them—when they start doing right, then I will have a better opinion. But God does not ask us to clean ourselves up and then we can come to Him—He says, «Come just as you are, and I will help you to get cleaned up.»
Now God waited on us when we were off course; He showed us mercy when we were not at our best. Let us take that same mercy and show it to someone else.
One time Jesus was traveling through the city of Jericho; word quickly spread that He was there, and everyone came out to see Him. They had heard of the miracles and all the amazing things Jesus had done—now the streets were packed; you could barely move.
There was a man named Zacchaeus; he was the chief tax collector. They were known for being dishonest—for cheating people, for taking advantage. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but he was so short he could not see over everyone. So he climbed up in a tree—got in perfect position.
Jesus came passing by—there were thousands of people shouting, waving, all kinds of commotion. Suddenly Jesus stopped, looked up in the tree, and said, «Zacchaeus, come down; I want to go to your house and have dinner.»
What is interesting is the name Zacchaeus means «pure one.» Jesus said in front of everyone—people that disliked Zacchaeus, people that knew he was dishonest—yet Jesus called him «pure one.»
The principle is: you have to call people what they can become before they will ever change. The scripture says, «Call things that are not as if they were.»
If you keep calling your child disrespectful, they will stay disrespectful. If you keep calling your loved one addicted, they will stay addicted. You prophesy their future.
Change what you are calling people: call your children blessed; call them respectful; call them successful. That friend that is struggling with an addiction—start calling them free, whole, victorious.
Love Leads to Repentance
Jesus could have said to Zacchaeus, «Hey you; hey guy up in the tree; hey tax collector.» On purpose He called his name—not only so others could hear it, but so he could hear it.
Everything fell silent—you could hear a pin drop; all the eyes turned up toward Zacchaeus. I can imagine he nearly passed out; he whispered, «Did Jesus just call my name?» Somebody nodded their head, «Yes.» He thought to himself, «How does He know my name?»
Sometimes we think people that are so far off course—that are making such bad decisions—God would have nothing to do with them. The truth is God knows their name; He is coming after them.
Jesus said, «It is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy.» There were city leaders in the crowd; there were priests, elders in the synagogue. Jesus bypassed all of them and said, «I want to go to Zacchaeus' house.»
He was saying, «Zacchaeus, I have been waiting for you. I knew you would be here.» He had dinner with Zacchaeus; He did not condemn him; He did not tell him everything he was doing wrong. Jesus simply loved him, showed him mercy—He became his friend.
That day was a turning point for Zacchaeus. He said, «From now on I am not going to cheat people, not going to be dishonest; I am going to start helping others.» Zacchaeus changed his ways—not because he was shamed into it, but because he was loved into it.
The scripture says, «It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance.»
A Skeptical Neighbor Transformed
God has people in your life right now because He is counting on you not to judge them, not to find fault—but to stand in the gap. And some of the people we think are furthest off course—like Zacchaeus, like Saul—they are chosen vessels.
Do not give up on that child—it has been years? Keep waiting; they are going to do something great. Do not quit believing for that neighbor—they will not give you the time of day? Keep waiting; God is in control.
A friend of mine has a neighbor that is an older gentleman. For as long as he has known him, this neighbor has been very skeptical, very cynical, negative. As a little boy he went to church, but now he would not have anything to do with God—he was bitter against the church and all that it stands for.
Year after year my friend just kept loving him, kept being good to him—as the neighbor grew older, seeing if there was anything that he needed.
One day he found out that this neighbor had been watching us on television and was going to attend our Night of Hope. My friend could not believe it—he did not see that coming.
But you do not know what God is doing behind the scenes. Just because you do not see anything happening does not mean God is not working. Those seeds you have been planting are still alive.
The morning after the Night of Hope, my friend went to the neighbor’s house; his wife had big tears running down her cheeks. She said the night before when Joel asked people to stand up at the Night of Hope for salvation, her husband stood up.
What made it more amazing is this man had had a stroke for years—he had never stood on his own. But that night by himself he was able to stand up. Today he is like a different person.
I am asking you to wait on someone. «Joel, they are off course; they are not making good decisions.» Neither was the prodigal son, but the father waited on him.
«Well, they come from a different faith.» So was the woman at the well, but Jesus waited on her. «Well, Joel, I have been waiting a long time; they are never going to change.» No, your prayers are working; things are happening that you cannot see.
Keep waiting; keep showing them mercy; keep standing in the gap. If you will do this, I believe and declare you are going to see all your loved ones come to know the Lord. Those that are off course—children, friends, neighbors—right now they are being drawn in. As for you and your house, you will serve the Lord—in Jesus' name.