Joel Osteen Podcast

Episode: "Keep Digging"

Host: Joel Osteen
Date: December 29, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Joel Osteen explores the crucial theme of perseverance through adversity with his trademark optimism and faith-centered perspective. Through the biblical story of Isaac re-digging wells, personal anecdotes, and spiritual encouragement, Joel inspires listeners to "keep digging" despite setbacks, disappointments, and opposition—believing that these challenges are often setups for greater blessings ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Framing the Message

• Joel opens with his customary humorous anecdote, a lighthearted story about three men facing a river and the importance of wisdom and resourcefulness (02:09).

  • Quote: "The next man prayed, 'God, please give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to make it across.' And poof. God turned him into a woman... She looked at the map, hiked five minutes upstream and walked across the bridge." (02:30)

• He sets the stage for the message with his familiar affirmation:

  • "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..." (03:10)

2. The Main Message: Keep Digging

• Joel emphasizes perseverance in the face of dreams deferred, unfair treatment, or closed doors:
  • Quote: "But sometimes you have to go through closed doors before you get to open doors. You have to pass through injustice and things that are not fair." (04:02)
  • Encourages listeners to avoid getting stuck in bitterness over disappointment, affirming that none of these things can stop God’s plan.

3. The Story of Isaac: Wells, Adversity, and Abundance

• Joel narrates Genesis 26, where Isaac faces famine and opposition yet chooses to stay where God tells him. Despite setbacks, his perseverance leads to abundance.

  • Isaac's Three Wells (07:00–16:30):
    • Well #1 – Argument: Isaac re-digs his father’s well; local shepherds claim it. Isaac relinquishes it, taking the high road.
      • Quote: "Have the attitude, God, they're not taking it from me. I'm giving it to them. Sow it as a seed." (11:15)
    • Well #2 – Opposition: Isaac digs another well; again, it’s contested. He lets go without strife.
    • Well #3 – Rehoboth (Abundance): Isaac digs a third well; there are no disputes. He names it Rehoboth ("wide open space"), signifying a place of rest and abundance.
      • Quote: "Rehoboth means abundance, overflow, more than enough." (15:51)

• Key Insight: "Sometimes we’re holding onto the way we think it’s going to happen... Maybe there’s strife and contention because God is stirring things up to keep you from settling for less." (11:55)

4. Tests, Setups, and Letting Go

• Joel teaches that opposition and adversity are tests—preparation for greater blessings:

  • "It takes a strong person to take the high road. You’re not losing, letting them get the best of you. It’s not over." (13:40)
  • "That well is not your source. God is your source. He has ways to promote you that you’ve never thought of." (14:25)

• Isaac’s journey is a metaphor for listeners’ own setbacks and the encouragement not to give up before their own "well number three."

5. Personal Testimonies: Lakewood Church and the Osteen Family

• Joel shares a candid story about Lakewood Church’s journey to acquiring its current sanctuary, experiencing their own “well number one” and “well number two” before receiving something greater, the Compaq Center.

  • Quote: "I can see now it was all a part of God's plan to take us to the fullness of our destiny." (21:45)

• He recounts his father’s experience of being pushed out of a church due to conflict, starting Lakewood from an abandoned feed store, demonstrating faith through pain and eventual abundant blessing.

6. Encouragement and Call to Action

• Joel encourages listeners who are facing disappointment, urging them not to settle or grow bitter:

  • Quote: "God has not brought you this far to leave you. He’s seen the disappointments, the injustice, the lonely nights. That’s not how your story ends. Rehoboth is coming—a wide open space." (26:44)

• Reiterates the importance of faith, forgiveness, and expectation during trials.

• Notes that the breakthrough ("well number three") is often just ahead for those who keep believing and "digging."

7. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "[God] will vindicate you better than you can vindicate yourself." (12:44)
• "When you come into your Rehoboth, you won’t think about the injustice, the betrayal, the delay. You’ll be so overwhelmed, all you can say is, Look what the Lord has done." (20:38)
• "If Isaac was here, he would tell you: get your shovel out. Dig one more well. You've seen opposition, you've seen conflict. But well number three is Rehoboth." (23:08)

Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:09 – Joel’s opening joke and signature Bible affirmation
• 04:02 – Introduction of the main theme: perseverance through adversity
• 07:00 – Retelling the story of Isaac in Genesis 26
• 11:15 – Letting go and sowing disappointment as a seed
• 14:25 – God as the ultimate source rather than circumstances
• 15:51 – Arrival at Rehoboth—the wide, abundant place
• 20:38 – Realizing how setbacks can serve God’s purpose
• 21:45 – The Lakewood Church testimony
• 23:08 – Final encouragement: dig one more well
• 26:44 – Assurance that Rehoboth—a season of rest and abundance—is on the horizon

Conclusion: The Message Recapped

Joel concludes with a powerful prayer and an invitation to faith, affirming that opposition is not the end, but often a prelude to God's greatest blessings (“Rehoboth”). He calls on the audience to persist, forgive, and remain expectant, reminding them that tough seasons prepare them for overflowing abundance and purpose.

If you’re facing closed doors, disappointment, or unfair treatment, this episode serves as a faith-fueled reminder: keep digging, your breakthrough is closer than you think.