Joel Osteen Podcast

Episode: "Living A Resurrected Life"

Host: Joel Osteen
Date: November 28, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Joel Osteen Podcast, Joel offers encouragement for listeners who are facing life’s adversities. The central message is about “Living a Resurrected Life”—moving beyond victimhood, setbacks, and disappointments to embrace a victor mentality shaped by faith. Joel draws parallels between personal challenges and the resurrection story, showing how setbacks can become setups for greater things ahead when approached with the right perspective and faith.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Importance of Perspective: You Are Prepared, Not Defined by Your Past

• Joel stresses that everyone faces challenges: “[You] are not defined by your past. You were prepared by your past.” (03:27)
• He encourages listeners not to dwell in self-pity or a victim mindset, but to shake off bitterness and stay future-focused.

"Every challenge you've been through… God deposited something on the inside. Your character was being developed, strength was being increased, vision was being enlarged." (04:25)

2. Nothing Happens to You; Everything Happens For You

• Joel reframes adversity:
  “One of the best things I’ve ever learned is nothing in life happens to me. It happens for me.” (05:10)
• He asserts that God allows adversity for a purpose and, if we keep the right attitude, it leads to growth and opportunity.

3. The Resurrected Mentality

• Joel introduces the idea that all must go through the stages of death, burial, and resurrection—not just suffering loss, but coming out stronger.
• He challenges listeners: "If you’re going to live this resurrected life, you have to have a resurrected mentality." (09:38)

4. Personal Stories and Practical Application

• Joel shares stories of setbacks, including:
  • A business leader’s attempt to block Lakewood Church from acquiring the Compaq Center, which ultimately fueled Joel’s determination.
  • Facing a stressful lawsuit after selling his house, only to see later how it prepared him for bigger challenges with the church.

“That man doesn’t know what he did for me… God used him to light a new fire on the inside.” (15:53)

5. Let Go of the Past—Move Into Your Resurrection

• Joel notes how many people never move past disappointment:
  “But you’ll never get to your resurrection… if you don’t get past the death and the burial.” (18:47)
• He advocates for regrouping, focusing on new visions, and trusting God has something better.

6. Lessons from Jesus’ Journey: Gethsemane, the Cross, and Resurrection

• Joel draws on Jesus’ most difficult moments as proof that even the Son of God faced times of agony and silence.
• He reminds listeners that if Jesus fell under the weight of his cross, “you don’t have to be strong 100% of the time.” (25:57)
• Forgiveness and letting go are highlighted, paralleling Jesus’ words: “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” (28:19)

7. Adopting a “Now” Faith and Expectation

• Drawing on the story of Lazarus, Joel tells listeners not to wait for “someday,” but to have faith that “now” is the time for resurrection and new beginnings.

“No, we have to get out of that one day mentality. And let’s start believing that today God’s going to do something great.” (28:54)

8. Surrender Disappointments as Seeds

• Joel advises not to become bitter over lost opportunities or relationships, but to “sow them as a seed,” trusting God to bring a greater harvest.

“Don’t have a victim mentality … I’m giving it to you as a seed, trusting that you will bring me a harvest.” (23:44)

9. Victory Beyond Adversity

• Joel wraps up with a call to step into new seasons, leaving failure, disappointment, and injustice behind.

“Remember, you are not defined by your past. You are prepared by your past… If you’ll live this resurrected life, you … will have a victor mentality. And even when things come against you, you’ll still have a smile on your face.” (29:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overcoming Trials:

  “This valley is temporary. I’m not going to die with these problems. This too shall pass.” (21:52)

• On Why Adversity Stays:

  “If God were to take it away, you wouldn’t be prepared for what he has in store.” (17:20)

• On Forgiveness:

  “He forgave his enemies, and then he committed his spirit into his Father’s hands.” (28:19)

• The Victor vs. Victim Mentality:

  “You are not happening to me, you are happening for me.” (13:09)

• On Making Peace with Failure:

  “I did my best, I gave it my all… I am not going to sit around the rest of my life and mourn over something that I cannot change.” (19:58)

Important Timestamps

• 01:34 – Joel opens with lighthearted humor and sets the tone.
• 03:27 – Moving from victim to victor mentality.
• 09:38 – Introduction of the “resurrected mentality.”
• 15:53 – Story about resistance to Lakewood Church’s expansion and the lesson it taught.
• 17:20 – Why adversity is allowed to persist.
• 21:52 – David’s example: “This too shall pass.”
• 23:44 – Surrendering losses as seeds for a better harvest.
• 25:57 – Jesus falls under the weight of the cross; embracing humanity’s weakness.
• 28:19 – Jesus’ act of forgiveness on the cross.
• 28:54 – A “now” mentality: faith and expectation in the present.
• 29:25 – Final exhortation: Move forward with a victor mentality.

Summary

Joel Osteen encourages listeners to “live a resurrected life” by not letting adversity, loss, or the past define them. He reframes hardships as necessary preparation for greater victories and calls for a mindset shift from victimhood to victory. Through personal anecdotes, biblical parallels, and memorable affirmations, Joel instructs his audience to have a resurrection mentality—one centered around trust, gratitude, persistent faith, and the conviction that God is working in all circumstances for their ultimate good.