Joel Osteen - Your Time Is Coming
- Watch
- Audio
- Donate
- Contact Us
I want to talk to you today аbout: Your Time Is Coming. We all have things that were believing for: a dream to come to pass, problems to turn around. At one time we knew it was going to happen, we stood in faith, but when it's been a long time and we don't see anything improving, it's easy to get discouraged and think that it wasn't meant to be. But just because you've given up doesn't mean that God has given up. God doesn't abort dreams. The delays, the detours, the disappointments didn't stop God's plan. What he started in your life he's going to finish.
The scripture (Isaiah 14:27) says, "What God has purposed, who can annul it"? It may seem like what you're believing for could never come to pass, it's too late, the odds are against you - God is saying, "Your time is coming". He has not forgotten about you, he has seen the lonely nights, he's seen the unfair situations, the times you're doing the right thing and not getting the credit, the illness isn't improving, the child isn't doing better. Voices whisper, "It will never change". Don't believe those lies, healing is coming, promotion is coming, freedom is coming. God has already put it on the schedule, the date has already been ordained.
Psalm 102:13 says, "There is a set time for favor". You keep honoring God, doing the right thing and you're going to come in to some of your set times, times that God will show out in your life, times that you will see explosive blessings. You were struggling in your finances, you didn't see how you could get ahead and suddenly you're promoted, suddenly your business takes off, suddenly you get that scholarship. The medical report says that you'll never get well, but suddenly your health turns around, suddenly you break that addiction, suddenly your child gets back on course. What happened? You came in to your set time.
If you could see what God has on your calendar you wouldn't worry about the clients you lost, you wouldn't lose sleep over that family member, you wouldn't get discouraged over that legal situation. You may have some obstacles that are not changing, you're praying and believing, but instead of complaining, living discouraged, all through the day, "Father, thank you that my time is coming. I'm not moved by what I see, I'm moved by what I know, that you've already set the time to favor me, you've already set the time to heal me, you've already set the time to turn this around". Get your hopes up. It's not too late. You didn't miss your chance. You wouldn't be alive if God didn't have something amazing in your future.
David was 17 years old when the prophet Samuel came to his house to choose one of his father sons as the next king of Israel. David had seven older brothers, they were bigger, taller, had more experience. David's father, Jesse, didn't bother to bring David in from the shepherd's fields. He thought "David is not king material, he's too small, too young, not as talented as his brothers". Samuel looked at the other brothers and said "It's none of these, do you have another son"? Jesse had David come in. When Samuel saw him, he said, "That's the next king of Israel".
People judge by the outside: by your appearance, your nationality, your education, but God looks at the heart. Don't be discouraged if people write you off, promotion doesn't come from people, it comes from God. God sees: you have a heart after him, he sees your sincerity, your integrity, your spirit of excellence. What's on the inside is more powerful than what's on the outside.
David was anointed to be the next king, but he didn't go to the palace, he went back to the shepherd's fields where he was before and took care of his father's sheep. He was anointed before he was appointed. He knew big things were in him, he knew he was going to leave his Mark, but month after month he was stuck in the lonely shepherd's fields, doing what seemed like a menial job: feeding sheep, cleaning up their waste, shoveling manure. He could have thought, "God, you said I would be the king. You had Samuel anoint me, why am I still stuck out here? I have so much more in me". But David understood this principle, that his time was coming, that what God promised was already on the schedule, that the date had already been set.
And even though David was doing a menial thing, taking care of sheep, he kept being his best. Nobody was watching him, he didn't have a supervisor, he wasn't clocking in. He could have slacked off done just enough to get by, but David went the extra mile to watch over those sheep. He fought off wild animals, kept him from harm, made sure they had food and water - he had a spirit of excellence. And because he proved to God he would be faithful taking care of sheep, God trusted him to take care of his people. If you're not faithful in the wilderness, how can God trust you to be faithful in the Promised Land?
Like David most of the time you will be anointed before your appointed. You'll have the promise, the dream, the calling, but you won't go straight to the throne, you'll go back to the shepherd's fields. How you respond when you're anointed, but not appointed will determine whether you make it to the palace. You have to be your best right where you are. You may have bigger things in you, you know you're going to lead that department, you're going to teach that class, you're going to run that business. The promise is in your heart, you've been anointed so to speak, but you're doing something much smaller than what's in you. Will you give it your all even though you're overqualified for that position? Will you serve others even though you have more experience than them? If you'll pass the test of being faithful in the small, then God will trust you with much.
Saul was the king of Israel. He struggled with bouts of depression, he had these tormenting spirits that came against him. His staff told him that when these attacks came, he needed someone to play music and it would help him feel better. Saul agreed and asked them to find someone. They said, "We know a young man named David, the son of Jesse, he's an excellent in playing the harp". The scripture says: Saul sent a message to Jesse, saying "Send me your son David the shepherd". Here David had been overlooked, felt like he was forgotten, people discounted him, his father didn't believe in him, but now the king was asking for him by name.
People don't determine your destiny. And someone may have put you at a disadvantage, you keep doing the right thing and your time is coming, promotion will come calling your name, opportunity will come looking for you, the right people will come tracking you down. God knows how to vindicate you, he knows how to cause you to stand out.
Imagine Jesse hearing the knock on the door, he answers it and it's the king's right-hand man, standing there dressed in their military uniforms, holding their armor. Jesse thought what in the world are they doing at my house? Am I in trouble? Have I done something wrong? The main man speaks up and says, "King Saul wants your son David to come serve him in the palace". Nobody in David's family paid attention to him, they didn't give him any credit, but now the king was calling for David. I'm sure Jesse nearly passed out, word quickly spread throughout the neighborhood, "The king asked David to come work for him". Now David is the talk of the town, esteemed, honored, looked up to. In one moment he went from the background to the foreground, from being discounted to be an admired.
You may have had unfair things happen: people left you out, tried to discredit you - God saw what happened, he's keeping the records, he hasn't forgotten about you. May seem like you're falling behind, you could never reach your dreams now, it's too late, you've been stuck out in the shepherd's fields for too long. No, you know your time is coming. Keep doing the right thing when the wrong thing is happening, keep being good to people that are not being good to you, you're going to come in to one of these set times where God catapult you ahead. Sometimes God does things gradually, little by little, but there are moments where God will thrust you 20 years ahead. He'll not only make up for lost time, but he'll accelerate things.
David went overnight from working in the shepherd's fields, the lowest position, to working with the king the highest position. He didn't have to make it happen, try to manipulate things, talk people into helping him - the king sent for him. Like with David you're going to see opportunity that comes looking for you, that puts you years down the road. You're going to think: how did I get here? I didn't have the qualifications, I wasn't next in line? This should have taken me my whole life, but suddenly God is going to thrust you ahead. Get ready for some set times of acceleration.
Hebrews 10:35 says, "Don't cast away your confidence for it will be richly rewarded". It's easy to hear this and think, "Joel, this is never going to happen for me. I've had a lot of bad breaks, I have big obstacles in my path, I'm way behind where I should be". That kind of thinking is going to limit your life, that's casting away your confidence. God is saying, "Your time is coming. I'm about to do something unusual, something uncommon. I'm going to thrust you ahead. I'm going to free you from that addiction you've struggled with for years. I'm going to vindicate you and pay you back for the wrongs. I'm going to take you from insignificant, mediocre, to influential and powerful".
Now you have to get in agreement with God. If you'll start thanking him that your time is coming, talking like it's going to happen, believing that it's on the way, that's what it means to not cast away your confidence. When you do this, God promises it will be richly rewarded. Look at how good God is: not just rewarded, that would be fine, but God will exceed your expectations, he'll make things happen that you didn't see coming.
Now, don't get talked out of your dreams. You may feel like David, you're stuck out in the shepherd's fields, nobody pays attention to your gifts - you're in prime position to be catapulted to a new level. People may not pay attention, but God sees you, he's the one that matters, he controls the universe, he's already scheduled your set times a favor, set times of healing, set times of acceleration. There are moments in your future that are going to cause you to stand out, moments that will catapult you to a new level, moments where favor will come looking for you.
There's a young man that attends here. He had a dream to become a physician. He graduated from college with honors, he applied to 40 medical schools, but only three contacted him back. He interviewed with them, unfortunately he was turned down. He was so disappointed, this was always what he wanted to do. He had put all of his time and energy and focus into getting into medical school, but now that door had closed and he didn't understand it. He had worked so hard, but instead of being sour, he kept believing that his time was coming. He knew: God didn't bring him this far to leave him.
When things happen that aren't fair, you don't understand, you have to trust that God is still in control and that he knows what's best for you. His ways are not our ways, he doesn't always take us down the path that we thought. There will be times that doors closed that don't make sense, people that should be for us are not around, we're doing the right thing but the wrong thing keeps happening. None of this is a surprise to God. He's already lined up the brakes you need, the open doors, the right people, the healing, the baby, it's already on your schedule.
This young man attended a seminar for students wanting to get into medical school. One option they mentioned was working for the armed services. When he heard that, something ignited on the inside, he knew that's what he wanted to do. He met a gentleman there that took an interest in him and went out of his way to put in a good word for him. Recently this young man received the news that he was accepted into the armed forces of medical school. He would not only receive a full scholarship, not have any costs for his medical education, but that he would be paid a very substantial salary while he attended college.
What happened? He came in to one of his set times. If God had not closed those other doors, if a school would have accepted him earlier, he would have never seen this opportunity that was more than he could imagine. He never dreamed he would come out of medical school with no debt, being paid the whole time. Someone would have paid me? I would have stayed in college. If you won't cast away your confidence, God will richly reward you. You may have gone through some disappointments, things didn't turn out the way you've hope - you don't know what God is up to. The reason he closed those other doors is because he has something better.
Don't be discouraged by what didn't work out, stay in faith, your time is coming. The right opportunity is on the way. It's going to be better than you thought. That person that walked out of your life, it wasn't fair, it was painful, but it didn't stop your destiny. They left only to make room for someone better. God has beauty for those ashes. You haven't seen your best days. Keep moving forward when you don't understand, keep being your best when it's not fair.
This is what Joseph did. How could he have a good attitude year after year after being betrayed by his family, sold into slavery, put in prison for something that he didn't do? Deep down he knew his time was coming, he knew what God spoke to him as a teenager, the dream that was put in his heart would come to pass. He didn't know how, when, or where, all he knew was God is faithful and that the set time was already on the calendar. He didn't cast away his confidence.
He had plenty of opportunities to, he'd had a lot of bad breaks, but when you understand that God is ordering your steps, that nothing can happen to you without his permission, then you won't fall apart when a pandemic hits, you won't live bitter when somebody does you wrong, you won't give up on your dream when life throws you occur. You know, it's all a part of God's plan. That setback is only setting you up to go further. God had the solution before you had the problem. He's already set the time to turn it around, set the time to open the right door, set the time to bring you out promoted, vindicated, healthy and whole.
One day the Pharaoh, the leader of the country had a dream that he didn't understand what it meant. The scripture (Genesis 41:14) says, "Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He was hastily brought from the dungeon in the Pharaoh's presence". Just like with David king Saul said send me David to the palace, the Pharaoh said send me that prisoner, send me that slave named Joseph. Both times the promotion came looking for them. You don't have to look for the blessing, the blessing is going to come looking for you. Joseph was brought to the palace hastily: he wasn't expecting it, it was an ordinary day, nothing special and suddenly he was in the palace. He didn't see it coming, wasn't any sign of it. He woke up a slave in prison, he went to bed that night the prime minister.
God has some of these suddenness in your future, you don't see anything improving, everything looks the same, and you come into a set time, it's going to happen hastily, in a hurry, quickly things turn around, quickly the door opens, quickly your health improves. It may be difficult now, but you don't know any moment you could get a call like Joseph did. Send me Julie, send me William, send me maria, that's how you stay in faith. You have to keep this hope in your heart, knowing that God has already lined up these set times for you.
If you only look at your situation in the natural you'll get discouraged, because God puts dreams in our hearts that we can't accomplish on our own. We don't have the resources, the connections, the experience. This is so we'll have to depend on him. We face challenges that we can't overcome by ourselves, a sickness, an addiction, people that are more powerful. It looks like we're stuck, but deep down you have to know, the forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. You may feel outnumbered, at a disadvantage the sickness seems bigger, the addictions stronger, keep reminding yourself - your time is coming. One touch of God's favor, one set time and things will suddenly change. Nothing can stand against our God: no sickness is too great, no addiction too strong, no enemy too powerful.
I talked to a gentleman that was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The doctors only gave him 18 months to live. He heard me tell how my mother quoted healing scriptures when she was sick with cancer, how she defied the odds. Instead of accepting it and thinking his life was over, he started quoting these scriptures and thanking God that he was restoring health back unto him. The Psalmist said (Psalm 112:4), "When darkness overtakes the righteous light will come bursting in".
When you're in a tough time, seems like there's no way out, the odds are against you, it's easy to live worried, fall apart, but you have to remind yourself that God has already set the time for light to come bursting in, he's already set the time for healing, set the time for breakthroughs. Bursting means it's going to happen suddenly, you didn't see it coming. You can't explain it, it's out of the ordinary.
When I spoke with this young man he said that yesterday was the end of the 18 months, that's how much time he was given to live. He went back to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor said we can't explain this, we don't know how it happened, but we can't find any cancer in your brain, you are perfectly well.
When you come in to your set time, God will make things happen that you couldn't make happen. He can do what medicine cannot do. He's not limited by what limits us. We're natural, he's supernatural. You may be in darkness, but instead of complaining about the darkness, being depressed by the darkness, try different approach, "Father, thank you that your light is about to come bursting in. Thank you that my set time per favor, set time for healing, set time for deliverance is on the way". Don't cast away your confidence, God is bigger than what you're facing. You may not see how it can work out, logically there's no way, the good news is you don't have to figure it out - all you have to do is believe.
When you believe, all things are possible. When you go through the day saying, "Father, I don't see a way, but I know you have a way. It doesn't look possible to me, but I know you can do the impossible". Like this man you'll see these times where God will show out in your life. It may not have happened yet, but I believe, you are closer than you think. You are close to your breakthrough, you are close to things turning around, you are close to that child getting back on course. You wouldn't be hearing this if you weren't about to see one of your set times.
1st Samuel chapter 1 there was a young lady named Hannah, she was barren and not able to have children. Her husband was married to another woman as well named Peninnah, she had baby after baby, didn't seem fair. Hannah kept praying and believing, but the scripture says the Lord had shut her womb. The good news is: the same God that shuts wombs can open wombs. Just as God shuts doors, he can open doors. Year after year went by with no sign of a baby, Hannah was very discouraged. She went to the temple fell on her knees and asked God to give her a child.
The prophet Eli saw how distraught she was and asked what was wrong? She explained how she couldn't have children, she was asking God to open her wound. Eli said (1 Samuel 1:17), "Cheer up, the God of Israel has granted your request. You're going to have a baby". Eli said in effect, "You're about to come in to one of your set times, you're about to see God do something that you've never seen".
Here's the key: Hannah believed what he said. She went back home a different person. She had a smile on her face, a spring in her step. She didn't have the baby yet, all she had was the promise that her time was coming. A year later she went back to the temple with her baby boy, that she named Samuel.
Sometimes like with Hannah and the other wife, it seems like everybody is being blessed except you, everybody's getting married except you, everybody seeing promotion except you. It's like the favor has been shut off. But don't be discouraged about what hasn't happened yet, your time is coming, your baby is coming, your healing is coming, your joy is coming. God is about to open up your womb. You're about to see things that you've been believing for a long time, promises you thought would never happen, dreams that you've let go of - you are close to your set time a favor. Now, I've done what Eli did, I've announced what God said. You have to do like Hannah and say, "Yes God, this is for me".
Let this seed take root in your spirit, don't let it just be another encouraging message, let it ignite your faith, let it come alive on the inside. You are on the verge of seeing God do something amazing. It's not far off, it's not way off in the distance, you are close to your breakthrough, you are in the final stretch. Now don't cast away your confidence, this is not the time to get discouraged, this is not the time to talk defeat, this is a time to stir up your faith, turn up your praise, talk like it's in round. All through the day. "Father, thank you that my time is coming. Thank you that you're the way-maker, the promise keeper, the miracle worker".
If you'll do this, God said you will be richly rewarded. Now I believe and declare light is about to come bursting in, God is about to surprise you, he's going to do something that you've never seen, something that will thrust you to a new level. Negative situations are about to suddenly turn around. Like with Joseph and David, promotion is going to come looking for you, the right people, healing, breakthroughs, vindication, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus name.