Joel Osteen (2:23)

Hold your Bible up. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about. Drop it. We all have had negative things happen to us. People did us wrong. The company laid us off. A clerk was rude to us. It's easy to go through life offended in self pity, blaming others, blaming ourselves, even blaming God. Because we're always looking back, reliving the negative. We end up carrying around all this baggage that weighs us down. One of the best things we can learn to do is drop it. Let it go. Whether it happened 20 years ago or 20 minutes ago. Carry negative baggage from yesterday into today. You won't live a victorious life if you're always reliving what didn't work out. Who hurt you, the mistakes you've made. The reason it's called the past is because it's over. It's done. It's history. Now do your part and let it go. Well, Joel, they betrayed me. They walked away, broke my heart. That's why I'm bitter. That's why I'm upset. That's why, oh, they hurt you once. Don't let them continue to hurt you by always thinking about it. As long as you're dwelling on that, it's going to keep you from the new things God wants to do. God said he would give you beauty for those ashes. He said he would pay you back for that injustice. But you have to drop the hurt. Quit dwelling on it. Quit reliving it. Move forward. There is a new beginning in front of you. But God will not release new opportunities as long as we're holding on to old hurts, old failures. You may have a lot of negative things in your past. You had a rough childhood. You lost a loved one. Your business didn't make it. You could easily go around with a chip on your shoulder, not trusting anybody. Bitter, resentful. But everything you've gone through has deposited something on the inside. You're not defined by your past. You're prepared by your past. You may not realize it, but you came out stronger, with more confidence, greater experience. If that hadn't have happened you wouldn't be prepared for the new levels that are coming your way. Don't have that poor old me, look what I've been through attitude. Heard it said, you can be pitiful or you can be powerful, but you cannot be both. You may have made a lot of mistakes. You have a lot of regrets. You blew your marriage, didn't raise your children right. You can't do anything about yesterday. Living guilty and condemned doesn't make it any better. You have to drop it. If you'll get rid of that negative baggage, you'll not only feel that heaviness release off of you, but then you'll step in to the new things that God has in store. The scripture says, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, not where the spirit of the Lord was. If you're always thinking about yesterday, last month, last year, there's no freedom there. That's where the spirit of the Lord was. This is a new day. There are new victories, new opportunities, new relationships. Quit living in what was and come over into what is. Right now. There is freedom for you. Right now. There are new beginnings. Joy, peace, victory. And crying over what happened yesterday doesn't bring freedom. Living in regrets of what you could have been, what you should have done doesn't do anything productive. Being offended, angry, upset over what didn't work out will only keep you in mediocrity. It's time to drop it and move forward. You may be a product of your past, but you don't have to be a prisoner of your past. Nothing that's happened to you is a surprise to God. Before he laid out the plan for your life, he already knew every person who would hurt you, every mistake you would make, every loss you would go through. And the good news is, for every setback, God has already arranged to come back. For every disappointment, a new beginning. For every failure, restoration. For all the ashes he has beauty. You have to put your foot down and say, that's it. I may have gone through some disappointments, I may have made some mistakes, but I'm not going to waste the time I have left worried about what I could have done better, bitter over who hurt me, upset over what didn't work out. I'm stepping out of the was and I'm coming over into the is. I'm dropping the offense, dropping the guilt, dropping the failure, dropping the hurt. I'm not living my life with any more baggage. I'm going to live my life free. Here's the key. If somebody hurt you, if you'll give it to God. He'll be your Vindicator. Or if you've made mistakes and we all have, quit beating yourself up and receive God's mercy. It's new every morning. If there are some things you don't understand, you worked hard, but you didn't get the promotion. Or you did your best, but your marriage didn't make it. Instead of carrying around that baggage, you have to be mature enough to say, God, I don't understand it, but I trust you. Not going to live bitter. I'm not going to go through life looking in my rearview mirror. I'm going to keep moving forward, knowing that my best days are still up ahead. Ecclesiastes says, better is the end than the beginning. You may have had a rough start, but you don't have to have a rough finish. Better is the end. Maybe you went through a disappointment. Somebody broke your heart. The medical report wasn't good. Don't get stuck on what happened yesterday. God is saying something better is coming. There may be some rough places in the middle, but don't stay focused on the betrayal. Better is coming. The loan didn't go through. Don't go around in self pity. Better is coming. You prayed and believed, but the medical report wasn't good. That's one report. But God has another report. He says something better is coming. Now, don't cancel out the better by living in yesterday. Reliving your hurts, your failures, the disappointments. If your mind is always in yesterday, you're going to move in that direction. You can't go forward looking backwards if you're always thinking about who hurt you, what didn't work out, Reliving your failures, calling people, telling them how bad the medical report is. You're going to get stuck. Receive this into your spirit. Better is coming. Joy is coming. Healing is coming. Breakthroughs are coming. Victory is coming. Paul said it this way in Philippians. I focus all of my energies on this one thing, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. Here's a man who wrote almost half of the New Testament. He could have said, I focus all of my energies on being a better writer, on developing my leadership skills, on impacting the culture in a greater way. He said, in effect, what's more important than all of that is forgetting what lies behind. He knew if we went through life carrying negative baggage, we would miss our destiny. Paul had a lot of adversities. He was falsely accused and put in prison. He was beaten with these rods, shipwrecked, gone without food and shelter, on and on if he had not learned this principle, he would have become bitter, angry. God, why is this happening to me? It's not fair. He felt it so strongly. One translation of that verse I quoted, he said, I have not attained it all yet, but this one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind. He was saying, I'm not all I should be, but one thing I have down, one thing I'm good at. I know how to let go of the past. He was an expert at dropping it. But sometimes we spend more energy holding onto the negative than we do letting it go. What if we were to do like Paul, and start focusing our energies on moving forward? Dropping the offense, dropping the guilt, dropping the hurt. How do you drop it? Stop thinking about it and stop talking about it. Don't relive the negative things that have happened to you. The reason some people never see the better is because they're always opening up old wounds. Every week they call their friend, can you believe what they did to me? That happened 27 years ago. They're still dragging it up like it happened yesterday. If you're going to get free, you need to not only drop it, you need to bury it. Have a funeral for it. Put it away once and for all. Make a decision, you're not going to talk about it another time. When you're tempted to just zip it up. That betrayal, that failure, that disappointment is dead. You buried it. You had a funeral. It's over, it's done, it's in the past. Now if you go dig it up, it's going to stink. It's not only going to make your life sour, but nobody's going to want to be around you. When you carry around stinky stuff, you may not realize it, but that makes you unpleasant. When you're bitter, you push people away. When you're offended, angry, living guilty, it pushes opportunities away. You have to get the stink out of your life. Leave the baggage. A couple of months ago I was coming home from a night of hope. We leave on Thursdays and come home Friday night after the event. I had forgotten to pack an extra pair of socks, so I put my socks on Thursday morning and we traveled to that city and did a book signing that night, had a lot of activity, got up the next morning, didn't have time to go to the store, so I put my same socks back on that afternoon I worked out and perspired and on that night did the three hour night of hope. Shook hundreds of hands. Afterwards. When I got on the plane to come back home that Friday night, I Was so tired. And I took my shoes off just so I could rest a little bit and put my head back. And about 10, 15 minutes later, Victoria came back to where I was sitting. She said, what in the world is that smell? Stinks so bad back here. She saw I had my shoes off. She said, joel, put your shoes back on. It stinks really bad. I said, oh, my feet don't stink. I couldn't smell anything. I'd been back there 10 or 15 minutes. But here's my point. Sometimes when we stink, we don't know it.

Joel Osteen (14:14)

When we carry around bitterness, unforgiveness, guilty, angry at our neighbor. You may not realize it, but that's stinking up your life. That's pushing people and opportunities away. Why don't you get the stinky stuff out? There's an amazing future in front of you. There's beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, dancing for heaviness. But you gotta move forward. Maybe you need to bury a mistake that you've made. You've lived guilty, condemned, down on yourself long enough. Have a funeral for it and put it behind you. No more talking about it. No more letting the accuser convince you that you're just a failure. You don't deserve to be blessed. You're unworthy. Those lies will stink up your life. Don't let the defeat play in your mind when the failure, the mistake, the guilt, the disappointment comes back up on the movie screen in your mind. Do yourself a favor, change the channel. Have the attitude. I'm not going backwards. I'm not living in regrets. I'm not rehearsing my failures. I'm moving forward. I may have made some mistakes, but I've got a promise. Better is the end. If you'll get your mind going forward, your life will go forward. How much time and energy are you giving to the negative things of your past? Hurts, wounds, failures, disappointments. You only have so much emotional energy each day. When you're spending that energy on negative things, calling a friend, talking about how bad somebody treated you, reliving your failures down on yourself. That's energy you should be using to move forward. You have to come out of what was and come into what is. Don't say another word about that breakup, that disappointment you went through. Don't tell another person about the mistake you made. That's over and done. You buried it. You had a funeral. Now don't talk about it anymore. You can't have your mind in yesterday and expect to go forward. The truth is, every person has baggage. We all have Things that could cause us to be bitter and live with a heaviness. The difference between the people who are positive, happy, expecting good things, people that are bitter, discouraged, negative, is that second group. They hold on to all the baggage. The first group have learned this principle, to drop it, to let it go. Mark, chapter 11. Jesus was talking about what we should do when somebody does us wrong. Verse 25. He said in the amplified version, forgive them and let it drop. Leave it and let it go. Notice the principle. Drop it, leave it and let it go. Maybe somebody's talking about you, trying to make you look bad. You could easily be upset, offended, try to pay them back. Why don't you try a different approach? Drop it, leave it and let it go. God will fight your battles. Well, they betrayed me, they walked away. Don't waste another minute being bitter. Drop it, leave it. Let it go. You took a step of faith, but it didn't work out. The business didn't make it. You could easily be sour. No, three simple things. Drop it, leave it, let it go. The reason it says leave it is because you'll be tempted to go pick it back up. You may drop it at first and that's good. That's the right thing. But tomorrow morning, when you think about what they said, how rude they were, you'll want to pick up the hurt, pick up the bitterness. I know people that have been picking up the same offense for 47 years. It's no longer a bag, it's attached to them. It's a part of who they are. You have to leave it. It may not have been fair, but God saw what happened. He is a God of justice. He's promised that he will make your wrongs right. When you leave it. That doesn't mean that you're weak. You're giving up. You don't care what they did to you. No. You're saying, God, I trust you to be my Vindicator. I trust you to open the right doors. I trust you to get me to where I'm supposed to be. Maybe at 10 o' clock in the morning, a co worker is rude to you, you drop it, Leave it and let it go. But when you see them at noon again, you're going to want to be tempted to pick it back up. Just say, no, thanks, I'm leaving that offense where I dropped it. I'm not carrying any negative baggage. But so many people are just the opposite. Somebody cuts them off in traffic at 8 in the morning, at noon, they're still upset. Instead of dropping it and Leaving it. They keep picking it back up again and again. Put it in their bag, take it wherever they go. Friends, life is too short to carry around negative baggage. Your destiny is too important. Your time is too valuable to go through the day weighted down by offense, by guilt, by disappointments, by hurts. You have to make this decision to not only drop it, but to leave it. Don't give in to the temptation to pick it back up. There was a man in the scripture by the name of Ahiataphel. He was one of King David's right hand men. For over 25 years, he served as an advisor and close counselor to David. But when David's son Absalom made an attempt to take the throne, Ahiataphel was one of the first ones to desert David and go with his son. He started advising Absalom, telling him what he should do to overthrow his father. Well, this revolt wasn't successful. Eventually, Absalom was killed. The scripture says that Ahiatophel was so distraught that he went out and hung himself. But why would a trusted advisor of King David for so many years suddenly turn on him? Ahiataphael was the grandfather of a lady named Bathsheba. She was the woman that David had an affair with and had her husband Uriah killed. Then David took her as his wife. Could it be that Ahiatophel turned on David so quickly because he never got over what David did to Bathsheba and to Uriah. Instead of forgiving David, dropping it, leaving it, letting it go. All those years that poisoning was simmering on the inside, on the outside he looked fine. Everything looked like it was okay. He was advising King David. But on the inside, something wasn't right. Tragically, he ended up taking his own life. And of course, what David did was wrong. Ahiah, to fel in the natural, at least had a reason to be bitter, angry, upset. But when you carry around negative baggage year after year, you're not harming the other person. It's contaminating your own life. You won't have the creativity, the blessing, the favor that you should. Like Ahiapel. What they did to you may have been wrong. It may not be easy. But for your sake, not theirs, you need to drop it. Leave it. Let it go. When you do, God will heal your hurts. God will restore your broken places. God will pay you back for the injustice. But when you hold on to bitterness, unforgiveness, guilt, actually you're not holding it, but it's holding you. That poison will lead you down the wrong Path Ahiah to Fel had everything going for him. A successful career, working for the king, respected. But because he wouldn't deal with his negative baggage, he missed his destiny. It cost him his life. Don't let that be you. Don't play games with negative baggage. Bitterness, unforgiveness, guilt. Drop it and let it go. Well, Joel, I don't understand why this happened to me. Why did these people do me wrong? Why did I come down with this illness? People ask me, why did your mother get healed and my mother didn't? We're never going to understand everything. Don't get caught up in the whys of life. The scripture says we see in part now, like looking through a glass, dimly. But one day we will see in full. One day it will be clear. But if you're always trying to figure out why everything happens, you're going to end up bitter, frustrated. The best thing you can do is just leave it alone. If God wants you to understand why He's God, he'll tell you why. But if he's not revealing that to you, you need to be smart enough to let it go. Some things God doesn't want us to know. The scripture says it is God's privilege to conceal things. If you're going to trust God, you have to accept that there are going to be unanswered questions. We have to be big enough to say, God, I don't understand why this happened, but I'm okay with not understanding why. I don't have to have all the answers. You're God and I'm not. I trust that your plans for me are for good, that you know what you're doing. Good friends of mine pastor a church in another city. One night, their teenage son was tragically killed in an automobile accident. As you can imagine, they were so heartbroken, devastated. Overnight, their world came crashing down. They're great people, strong believers. But I didn't know how they would respond. A lot of people get bitter, angry, blame God, let it ruin the rest of their life. It wasn't easy. They went through a dark time, but they came through it. And I asked them how they did it without becoming bitter. They said, we made a decision that we weren't going to exchange what we do know for what we don't know. What we do know is God is good, that he's for us, that he's loving, that he's merciful. We weren't going to let that one situation that we didn't understand cancel all that out. Maybe you've gone through some things that don't make sense. It's bothering you, causing you to be bitter, discouraged, upset. You need to do what they did. Quit trying to figure it all out and go back to what you do know. You do know God has you in the palm of his hand. You do know God wouldn't have allowed it if somehow, someway, he wasn't going to bring good out of it. The truth is, everything is not going to fit perfectly into our theology. We all need to have a file in our thinking called an I don't understand it file. When something comes up that doesn't make sense, you can't find an answer to. Instead of getting bitter, frustrated, just put it in your I don't understand it file and keep moving forward. If you make the mistake of going through life trying to figure out why everything happened, why did I get sick? Why did my loved one not make it? That's going to poison your future. 1881. James Garfield was elected the 20th President of the United States. Six months later, he was shot in the back. The doctors were able to save his life, but they couldn't find the bullet. He was recovering just fine, but back in those days, they thought if they didn't remove the bullet, it would cause them problems later on. So they did more surgeries, probing all around. Still couldn't find it. Alexander Graham Bell developed an electrical device hoping to locate it. That wasn't successful. Two months later, President Garfield died. Not from the original gunshot wound, but from the infection that came from all the probing around.

Joel Osteen (26:52)

Sometimes it's better to leave things alone. If you're always probing around your hurts, your wounds, your failures, because you're keeping it so stirred up, you're never going to get well. You have to turn it over to God, say God. I don't understand it, but I'm not going to keep probing all around God. I trust you. My life is in your hands. I'm asking you to quit looking back. God wants to do something new, but you have to let go of the old. Don't be like Ahiataphael and hold onto things that are going to poison your future. Do like the apostle Paul. Focus your energies on forgetting what lies behind. Is there something you need to drop? An offense, a hurt, a failure. There's no better time than now. Today can be a turning point. Make this decision with me. You're going to get rid of your negative baggage. You're not only going to drop it, but you're going to leave it. If you'll do this, I believe and declare God is going to give you beauty for ashes. He's going to heal your hurts. Like Ecclesiastes says, something better is coming. Joy is coming, favor is coming, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say Amen today?

Joel Osteen (28:11)

We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that you've never dreamed.

Joel Osteen (28:40)

What if every plan you set, every habit you formed and every decision you made became a pathway to see God move in your life?

Joel Osteen (28:51)

We all have hopes and dreams. Things we're believing for when you start the year in faith expecting God's goodness, you are setting the tone for a blessed new year. We'd love to send you our 2026 faith for today planner. You can write down your dreams and goals and plus use it for your everyday activities and reminders.

Joel Osteen (29:11)

It's important to feed your faith on a daily basis.

Joel Osteen (29:15)

This planner.

Joel Osteen (29:15)

It's not just a calendar. It's filled with scriptures and inspiration to help you stay encouraged and keep believing for what God has put in your heart.

Joel Osteen (29:24)

2026 is your year to see the goodness of God in greater ways. Let go of what didn't work out and get ready for the new things God has in store as our way.

Joel Osteen (29:34)

Of saying thank you for your gift of any amount. This month we would like to send you a copy of the 2026 Faith for Today Planner. Each month features a fresh theme of encouragement. A guiding scripture to stand on, room to write your goals, prayers and vision. Space for faith steps because faith isn't passive, it's active. A monthly QR code linking to a message or video to keep your spirit lifted. With the 2026 faith for today Planner, you'll be reminded that living by faith makes room for God to do what only he can do. Breakthrough in your business. God's healing touch Loved ones returning to faith. Request your copy of the planner and step into the new year with bold faith, fresh hope and daily encouragement to strengthen your spirit and face every challenge with confidence.

Joel Osteen (30:29)

No matter what's happening around you, faith can rise up in you. Keep believing and expecting a blessed 2026. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity is helping people around the world. As we finish this year, I hope you'll consider making a special year end gift to help keep the ministry strong. We so appreciate all the Champion of Hope partners for your monthly support. We wish you and your family a very merry Christmas till we see you next time. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Joel Osteen (31:04)

Be sure to request your copy of the 2026 Faith for Today Planner, visit jolostein.com or call 888-567-Joel for a special year end gift. This month we are also offering the Faith to Share Bundle. Keep one Give one Give the gift of faith, focus and fresh hope for someone special in your life. You can also request the God's Word Work Study Collection. This empowering collection includes the niv, the Message Parallel Bible, a beautifully crafted leather bookmark and pen, and how to read your Bible and enjoy it. Along with two planners, you can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567-Joel or logging on to jolostein.com today. Call or click anytime 24 hours a day. Stay organized, encouraged and full of faith all year long. Request these resources today.

Podcast Hosts (Kenny Maine, Cooper Manning, Brian Baumgartner) (32:44)

He's Kenny Maine, the funny guy from espn.

Joel Osteen (32:47)

Formerly, he's Cooper Manning, the more intelligent and handsome of the Manning brothers. And he's Brian Baumgartner. But to me, he'll always be Kevin from the office.

Podcast Hosts (Kenny Maine, Cooper Manning, Brian Baumgartner) (32:57)

Yeah, you and everybody else together. We're the hosts of the new comedy golf podcast we need a fourth from.

Joel Osteen (33:04)

Smartless Media and SiriusXM. It's like a cold beer after a round. You hear the strangest and most bizarre golf stories from our friends, athletes, celebrities and comedians. It's all about how much we love.

Podcast Hosts (Kenny Maine, Cooper Manning, Brian Baumgartner) (33:17)

Golf and how much we hate golf. New episodes are out every week.

Joel Osteen (33:21)

Listen now and subscribe wherever you get your podcast could just be anywhere. Just on a couch. Doesn't matter.

Joel Osteen (33:32)

New markdowns are on at your Nordstrom Rack store. Save even more. Up to 70% on dresses, tops, boots and handbags to give and get. Cause I always find something amazing. Just so many good brands.

Joel Osteen (33:46)

I get an extra 5% off with.

Joel Osteen (33:48)

My Nordstrom credit card. Total Queen Treatment. Join the Nordy Club at Nordstrom Rack to unlock our best deals. Big gifts, big perks. That's why you rack.

Podcast Hosts (Kenny Maine, Cooper Manning, Brian Baumgartner) (33:57)

Bob Evans Creamy Mac and cheese and buttery mashed potatoes are made for those holiday moments you just can't plan for. Like when the neighbors burnt their holiday meal and you invited them over. Or that time when everyone's flights home were canceled and they stayed an extra two days. So when there is no plan, say hello to plan B. O B. When you bring out the Bob, you can take comfort this holiday season knowing you'll always have something delicious on the table, no matter what. What the holidays bring. When you need comfort, bring out the Bob, available now in your refrigerated section.