Podcast Summary: Joel Osteen Podcast
Episode: Count It All Joy | Victoria Osteen
Date: December 20, 2025
Host: Victoria Osteen (with mentions of Joel Osteen)
Length of meaningful content: 01:44 – 12:15
Overview
In this uplifting episode, Victoria Osteen delivers a message centered on finding joy amidst trials and trusting God's plan through challenges. Drawing from James 1:4 and Romans 15:13, Victoria encourages listeners to stop focusing on struggles and instead, “count it all joy,” recognizing that difficulties are meant to build strength, perseverance, and deeper faith. The episode explores how mindset and belief shape outcomes during difficult times, offering actionable spiritual wisdom to help listeners transition from survival mode to a posture of faith-fueled growth.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Going from "Struggle to Struggle" versus "Strength to Strength"
- Victoria opens with the reminder that God desires us to ascend “from strength to strength, from glory to glory” and not simply hop from one struggle to another. (01:44)
- Emphasizes that struggle is common: “One day we’re doing good, the next day we’re struggling,” but God’s intention is always for our growth, not just endurance.
The Power of Rest Amidst Trials
- “If you’re struggling today, you need to hear this one word: rest. Just rest. …We're not going to get to where we need to be any quicker if we worry, if we struggle, or if we’re frustrated.” — Victoria Osteen (02:17)
- Resting in God’s peace becomes vital to endure and build persistence.
Scriptural Foundation: James 1:4 — Count It All Joy
- Victoria reads and expounds on James 1:4, encouraging listeners to “consider it all joy when you go through trials of many kinds.” (03:12)
- Trials and Challenges
- They’re not meant to “decrease us,” but “increase us.”
- Trials are to build faith and produce perseverance, making us better equipped and “not lacking anything.”
- “The key to counting it all joy is joy.” (04:12)
Where (and how) to Find Joy
- “We don’t find the joy in the trial… we are supposed to find the joy in the God who is the source of all strength.” — Victoria Osteen (04:28)
- Joy isn’t circumstantial: Unlike happiness (which ebbs and flows), joy is described as “abiding in us,” a gift from God.
- Choice in Perspective:
- “When I’m facing a difficulty, I have a choice. I can consider it joy or I can consider it hardship.” (05:02)
- If we focus on hardship, “I’m going to begin to complain and lose any joy I ever had.”
- If we focus on God’s ability to bring “something good out of me,” we will find strength and transformation.
Mining the Gold Within
- “God wants me to find the good in myself. He wants me to mine the gold within me. …He is refining us into pure gold.” — Victoria Osteen (06:02)
- Every difficulty is a step “up”: “Because the only way to go higher is to step up.”
- Are you “stepping over or stepping up”? (06:24)
Willpower vs. God’s Power
- “When facing difficulty…it’s going to take more than your willpower. It’s going to take God’s power.” (07:00)
- Joy is “God’s calm delight, the rest in Him, the peace in Him.” (07:22)
- What we believe about circumstances determines whether we emerge “tattered and torn” or “built up.”
Passing the Test
- “God wants you to pass the test. Any good teacher wants you to pass the test…to see what you’ve learned.” (08:00)
- Purpose of Trials:
- Perseverance, wisdom, character-building.
- Don’t Chase the Problem, Chase the Promise:
- “We’re chasing the problem instead of chasing the promise. The promise is in us. God has put everything we need to accomplish on the inside of us. We just got to dig it out.” (09:00)
The Role of Belief
- Refers to Romans 15:13: “The God of all hope will fill you with joy and peace in believing.”
- What do you believe about your trial?
- “If you are for me, who dare be against me. …I have all power to overcome, being built up because of Jesus Christ.” (10:15)
- Joy is not mere happiness:
- “The true test of our faith…the test that’s going to build our character and perseverance is found in the trials of life.” (10:56)
Final Encouragement
- “If you’re going to go through it, grow through it. …God doesn’t want you to get beat up in the trial. He wants you to be built up. Don’t let the enemy steal your joy. Remember, it abides on the inside of you. It’s a gift that’ll take you from strength to strength. Amen.” (11:20)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “If you're struggling today, you need to hear this one word: rest. Just rest.” — Victoria Osteen (02:17)
- “Trials were never meant to decrease us. They were meant to increase us…to build our faith up.” — Victoria Osteen (03:40)
- “We don’t find the joy in the trial… joy is a gift from Almighty God.” — Victoria Osteen (04:28)
- “When I’m facing a difficulty, I have a choice…I can consider it joy or I can consider it hardship.” — Victoria Osteen (05:02)
- “God wants us to pass the test. Any good teacher wants you to pass the test. They don’t give you a test to fail.” — Victoria Osteen (08:00)
- “Don’t chase the problem, chase the promise. The promise is in us.” — Victoria Osteen (09:00)
- “If you're going to go through it, grow through it.” — Victoria Osteen (10:56)
- “Don’t let the enemy steal your joy. Remember, it abides on the inside of you. It’s a gift that’ll take you from strength to strength.” — Victoria Osteen (11:20)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 01:44 — Victoria Osteen’s main message starts: God’s desire for us to go from strength to strength
- 02:17 — Emphasis on “Rest” amidst struggle
- 03:12 — Citing and unpacking James 1:4
- 04:12 – 04:28 — Distinction between joy and happiness; “Find joy in God”
- 05:02 — We choose whether to see trials as joy or hardship
- 06:02 — “Mining the gold within;” God refines us
- 07:00 — Need for God’s power, not just willpower
- 08:00 — The trial as a test to build perseverance
- 09:00 — Chasing promise, not problems
- 10:15 — The role of belief during trials
- 10:56 — “If you’re going through it, grow through it.”
- 11:20 — Final exhortation: “Don’t let the enemy steal your joy.”
Takeaway
Victoria Osteen’s message in “Count It All Joy” encourages listeners not to wait for perfect circumstances to find joy, but rather to trust God in the midst of every trial. By shifting our focus from struggle to God’s promised growth, and by believing that everything we need is already deposited within us, we can move from strength to strength and experience enduring joy—no matter what we face.