Loading summary
Boost Mobile Advertiser
The official language of football is trash talk, late night group chats, memes and unbelievable highlight clips. That's why Boost Mobile brings you our new Global Connection Plan, the first plan ever made for WhatsApp. Get unlimited data, talk and text, international roaming and calls to over 100 countries for just $40 a month. $40 price includes $5 a month autopay discount. After 40 gigabytes of premium high speed data, speeds will be lowered. Coverage not available everywhere. Visit Store or BoostMobile.com for details.
Joel Osteen
When Kohler, global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, asked me to be their ambassador for timeless, elegant, durable cast iron, I said I'm in. Soon after I was in their Kohler Wisconsin foundry watching molten iron poured enamel applied by hand and the beautiful finished pieces ready to ship.
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
Since 1883, Kohler cast iron has been crafted by incredible artisans and seeing it firsthand gave me a whole new appreciation for for their craftsmanship.
Joel Osteen
Now I'm proud to lend my stamp
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
of approval to my favorite Kohler Cast Iron products for their durability, beauty and enduring style.
Joel Osteen
Shop my curated picks@kohler.com as the Kohler Cast Iron Ambassador, I say long live Cast Iron. Hi, it's Colin Coward from the Colin Coward Podcast. Every goal starts with incest and as Official partners of U.S. soccer, this team is ready to deliver Sensodyne Dentist recommended defense of your sensitive teeth Centrum fueling your day with science backed nutrients Advil of course, Powerful inflammation fighting pain relief Voltaren Arthritis Gel helps penetrate deep, keeps the joints moving and tums ready to counterattack with fast heartburn relief. Learn how Halion can assist your game day goals@halionassist.com Colin hey, thanks again for being with us today. Always my honor to be able to share God's word with you and hopefully inspire you and encourage you. And if you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll share it with a friend. Pass it along. Let's inspire some other people as well. But know that we love you. It's going to be a blessed day for you. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes and if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in today and thank you again for coming out. I'd like to start with something funny and I heard about this pastor. He was in the lobby after service greeting people. He saw a man that he hadn't seen in A long, long time. Pulled him to the side and said, brother, you need to join the army of the Lord. The man said, what are you talking about? I'm in the army of the Lord. Pastor said, well, how come I only see you at Christmas and on Easter? He whispered back, because I'm in the Secret Service. Hold up your Bible. 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 trusting God to do it his way. We all have dreams that we're believing for and situations we want to see turn around. But too often we put God in a box and tell him how to do it, when to do it and who to use to do it. The only problem is God's ways are not our ways. God doesn't always do things the logical way. God uses unorthodox methods. He's unconventional, may not always make sense to our mind. If you have these preconceived ideas of how you're going to be promoted and how you're going to get well, it will limit what God can do. You have to stay open. Let God out of your box. You may only see one way that it could happen. It's obvious you need to get that promotion so you'll have the funds to accomplish your dreams. You've worked at the company 20 years. You deserve it. But for no reason, you get passed over. If you're not careful, you'll get discouraged and start thinking it's never going to happen. I missed my opportunity. God is not fair. No, what you don't realize is God closed that door on purpose because. Because he has something much better in front of you. Just because it's the logical way doesn't mean that it's God's way. Just because it happened that way before doesn't mean it's going to happen that way next time. Stay open. If you're narrow minded, you can miss God's best. Our attitude should be, God, I'm letting you out of my box. You can do anything in my life. You can do it anytime. You can use any person that you want. God, I trust you to do it your way. When I look back over my life, I can see times where God used people to help me that I never dreamed he would use when we were trying to acquire this place, the former Compact center, the city council members had to vote on it. There were two men that were very influential, very well connected, but they didn't have any kind of religious background. They loved to party, loved to have a good time. They were great people. They just weren't on my list of who I thought God would have chosen to help us. And what's interesting is we didn't pursue them, they pursued us. One of the men told me, joel, this is my personal mission. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Lakewood gets the Compact Center. My first thought was God, is this right? This is like oil and water. We don't come from the same type of background. It's easy to make narrow minded judgments and think, God can't use her, she's a sinner. God can't use him. He likes to party. God can't use them. They don't even believe in God. No. The longer I live, the more I realize God can use whoever he wants to use. God can save whoever he wants to save. God can bring good out of whomever he wants to bring good out of. In the Old Testament, God used Rahab the prostitute to save the people of Israel. God used a donkey to speak to the prophet. God used Pharaoh's daughter to take care of baby Moses. In other words, God used the enemy to take care of one of his children. Friends, God is God. He can do whatever he wants to do. Don't put him in a box and and miss your miracle. If it had not been for those two men, we may not be in our beautiful facility today. And I found a lot of times God is answering our prayer. It's just not the way that we expected. When our son Jonathan was about 4 years old, victorious started praying that God would bring a young boy into his life so that they could be good friends. His cousin used to live down the street from us. They played practically every day together. When my dad went to be with the Lord, they moved to another city. And now Jonathan didn't have anybody close in the neighborhood to play with. And Victoria prayed month after month, even year after year, that God would send the right person. When Jonathan was about 12 years old, one of our main guitar players, a young man named Michael, took a great interest in Jonathan and started teaching him how to play the guitar. They became good friends. Michael was always mentoring Jonathan, pouring into him. Jonathan is 17 now. A couple of years ago, Victoria said, joel, I realize now God did answer my prayer. He just didn't answer it in the way I expected. I prayed for God to send somebody into Jonathan's life. I thought it would be a little boy. But instead, God sent a grown man. My point is, you have to stay open as to how God answers your prayer. It may not be the way you had planned. God may not use the people you were expecting. It may not happen on your timetable. But this is what faith is all about. God, I trust you. You know what's best for me. You know what I need. You know when I need it. And you know who I need. And some of you today are a little discouraged because things haven't worked out the way you had planned. But you need to take another look. Maybe God has answered your prayers, just not the way you thought. Or maybe what you were asking for wasn't God's best and God loves you too much to answer that prayer. Or like in our case, maybe God has given you something better, but because you're so set in seeing it happen your way, you don't recognize it right now. What if God knew that if he answered Victoria's prayer and brought a little boy, that Jonathan would have been so busy, so preoccupied. He had never developed that skill of playing the guitar. God knows what he's doing. He can see the big picture for your life. And if you're only going to be happy if God does it your way, you're not really trusting. You've got to come to the place where if it doesn't work out the way you had it planned, you're still in peace. You know, God is still on the throne and he will still get you to where you're supposed to be. John, Chapter nine. Jesus was traveling through a town and he noticed a man that had been blind since his birthday. Never been able to see it. Jesus went over to the man and he was so excited. The blind man had heard that this healer was in town, this man who could perform miracles out of all the people in the city. Now Jesus is standing before him. No doubt someone has told him how Jesus touched a blind man's eyes and he could see. Or how Jesus has spoken the word and a little girl was healed. Or even how he commanded a dead man to come back to life. There were many different methods Jesus used to heal people. And I'm sure this blind man was expecting Jesus to do something like he had done before. It was perfectly quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Great anticipation. The blind man is waiting to hear Jesus speak a word of healing. But instead, all he hears is Jesus spitting on the ground. Imagine what was going on in his mind. I thought he was going to pray for me. I thought he was going to touch my eyes. Why is he spitting? Jesus made mud out of the dirt and the spittle and he placed it on the man's eyes. He's already blind. Now he's really not going to be able to see. He's got mud in his eyes. Jesus was unconventional. There was no precedent for this ever happening before in the scripture. Elijah never did it. Elisha, Moses. This was the first instance this method had ever been used. The blind man could have said, get this off of my eyes. This doesn't make sense. This isn't going to do any good. No, he didn't have God in a box. He stayed open. Jesus instructed him to wash it off and when he did, he could see perfectly clear for the first time. My question today Are you open for God to use a new method to bring your dreams to pass? What if God answers your prayers differently than you were expecting? What if he doesn't use the people that you thought he would use? Are you going to do like this blind man and stay open and say, God, I trust you. Do it your way? Or are you going to have God in a box and miss your miracle?
Boost Mobile Advertiser
The official language of football is trash talk, late night group chats, memes and unbelievable highlight clips. That's why Boost Mobile brings you our new Global Connection plan, the first plan ever made for WhatsApp. Get unlimited data, talk and text, international roaming and calls to over 100 countries for just $40 a month. $40 price includes $5 a month auto pay discount after 40gb of premium high speed data speeds will be lowered. Coverage not available everywhere. Visit Store or BoostMobile.com for details.
Joel Osteen
Upgrade to Elite Checking from America's Christian Credit Union and earn up to 4% APY plus everyday perks and access to your paycheck up to two days early with early pay. Don't settle. Choose checking that rewards you and aligns with your values. Visit americaschristiancu.com forward/iheart minimum balance of $0.01 required to earn advertised APY early pay not guaranteed. APY equals annual percentage yield, membership eligibility required and CUA insured.
Ashley Akinetti
This is Ashley Akinetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast. Did you know that over 70% of new parents are combo feeding? They're using both breast milk and formula to feed their baby. Whether you're exclusively formula feeding, combo feeding, or just want to back up in the pantry, Bobby is the formula that I trust to deliver safe complete nutrition to my baby's bottle. Both of my children use Bobby. We loved it so much. Had the best experience with this brand. They're incredible. The customer service what they stand for Bobby's organic European style formulas are crafted with clinically backed ingredients and designed for easy digestion just like breast milk. I did a lot of research before formula feeding and I loved what I saw from Bobby. Every single batch goes through 2000 plus safety and quality checks before leaving their owned US manufacturing facility. If you want to feed with confidence too, head to hi bobby.com that is high h I b o b b I e dot com to find your baby's new favorite formula.
Joel Osteen
What's interesting is Jesus did all this on the Sabbath. He not only used an unconventional method, but he broke religious rules. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, they were very upset when they heard what had happened. They had the blind man brought before them and they questioned him again and again. Then they got his parents and brought them in and said, hey, we want you to tell us how can your son see? We know he's been blind. We've seen him begging on the street corners. Are you telling us this man, Jesus healed your son? They were afraid. They didn't want to get in trouble. They said, we don't know how he can see. He's a grown man. He's old enough. Don't ask us, ask him. They called the blind man back in a second time and said, tell us what happened. Don't you know this man Jesus is a sinner? He said, I don't understand all the doctrine, all your religious laws. I don't even know much about Jesus. All I can tell you is I was blind, but now I can see. It's hard to argue with a changed life. One reason God does it his way and not our way is so that he will get all the credit. The blind men were saying. In effect, you can argue doctrine, you can debate whether or not he's a sinner, you can try to deny it, dismiss it, discredit it. But I am living proof of a good God, a God of mercy, a God who can do the impossible. But it all started when he was willing to let God do it his way. He didn't have God in a box. When my father went to be with the Lord Back in 1999, after pastoring Lakewood for 40 years, we didn't know what was going to happen to the church. We had, of course, prayed that God would send the right person in the natural. That would be somebody that had experience pastoring a large church, somebody that had gone to seminary and had a proven track record. But God doesn't always choose the way we choose. Man looks on the outside, God looks on the heart. And I knew down deep I was supposed to step up and pastor the church. But I thought, I've never ministered before, never been to seminary. I don't have the training, the qualifications. I'm too young, too quiet, too shy. Thought of all these reasons as to why I must have heard God wrong. I had to do what I'm asking you to do. I said, God, this doesn't make sense. To my mind, this seems way far out. But God, I'm not going to put you in a box. I know your ways are better than my ways. You know what I can do and what I can't do. I may not feel qualified, but when you breathed your life into me, I. I know you equipped me, empowered me, anointed me. I may feel weak, but with you I know I'm strong. I took that step of faith. I never planned on being a minister, never knew that this was even in me. This happened 13 years ago. The ministry has grown in ways that we never dreamed of. In fact, some people are still scratching their heads thinking, how in the world did that happen? He doesn't have the training, the qualifications, the experience. I can say, like the blind man, I don't understand it all. I can't explain it. I can only tell you I spent 17 years behind the scenes running the cameras. Now I'm in front of the camera speaking to the world. It's the goodness of God. And it's easy for me to give God credit. I remember where I came from. Every time I stand up to minister, I'm still amazed at God's goodness. If you're going to reach your highest potential, you have to stay open. Don't get stuck in a rut. God is an out of the box God. His plan for your life will not always be logical or reasonable or what you had planned. But if you will stay open, it will be much bigger, much better, much more rewarding than you ever even imagined. God wants to thrust you to new levels. He wants to not only bring you out of that difficulty, he wants to catapult you out. God is going to open doors for you that no man can shut. You have not touched the surface of what God has in store. But here's the key. It's not going to happen by traditional means. It's not going to happen by logical ways. It's Going to be supernatural. That way God will get all the credit. Nobody will be able to doubt God's hand of favor and blessing on your life. Now again, don't limit God by thinking it can only happen this way or that way. God has a thousand ways to do it. The question is, when they show up, are you going to be open and say, God, this is not what I had planned. This is not what I was expecting. This is not who I thought you would use, but God, you know what's best for me. You've opened this door to going to do my part and walk through it now like the blind man. You may be criticized, people may find fault, they may not understand you. You may even break one of their religious rules. But you've got to be more interested in pleasing God than you are in pleasing people. There will always be people that try to squeeze you into their mold and tell you you're not enough of this or not enough of that or too much of this. Not talented, not qualified. Let it go in one ear and out the other. You are not who people say you are. You are who God says you are. But some of you today, you have God in a little bitty box. You don't see how you could ever send your children to college or how you could get out of debt, how you could accomplish your dreams. Listen, our God is an all powerful God. Your job is not your source. God is your source. And as long as you stay connected to him, supply line, everything is going to be all right. He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, your provider. Now don't get stuck in a rut. Don't be narrow minded and miss what God wants to do. My sister Lisa and her husband Kevin tried for several years to have a baby with no success. Lisa went through all the fertility treatments, different surgeries, still nothing worked out. Finally the doctor told her there was nothing more that he could do and she wasn't going to be able to have a baby. Lisa was very discouraged, very heartbroken. She had prayed and believed, but still it didn't work out. The truth is, God is a sovereign God. His plan for us is always good. But his plan may be different than our own plan. He is the potter. We are the clay. You should pray, believe, stand in faith. But in the end, you have to be mature enough to accept what God has destined for your life. Not defeat, not mediocrity. I'm talking about staying open. Lysa told how she was consumed with having this baby. That's all she thought about. All she prayed about, she wasn't going to be happy unless God did it her way. When you do that, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. A much better approach is to just be honest and say, God, this is what I want. This is what I'm believing for. But, God, you know what's best for me. However it works out, God, I trust you. I'm still going to be happy. You have to put having to have it your way on the altar. And that's what Lysa did. She said, God, I'm not going to ask you for this baby ever again. You already know what I want. Instead of begging you, telling you how to do it and when to do it, God, I just want to thank you that your perfect plan for my life will come to pass. What did she do? She let God out of her box. She got rid of her preconceived ideas. About three months later, she received a phone call from a friend of ours that runs a home for teenage girls that are in need. Nancy Alcorn from Mercy Ministries. Nancy told how there was a teenager about to give birth to twins and wanted to know if Lisa and Kevin would be interested in adopting those babies. When they heard that, something came alive on the inside, they said absolutely yes. Today, Lisa and Kevin have three beautiful children, as happy as can be. But here's the point. God did what he promised, but he did it in an unconventional way, not the way Lisa had planned. Now, I'd love to tell you God will always do it your way, but that's not reality. But I can promise you, God's way will always be the best way. You may not understand, may not seem fair, but God knows what he's doing. I'm asking you to trust him. Quit being frustrated because it didn't work out your way. What if you knew if God answered your prayer the way you wanted, that it wouldn't be his best, or that it wouldn't last, or that it wouldn't be healthy, you would gladly let God do it his way. And some of you would enjoy life a whole lot more if, like Lisa, you would put that dream on the altar and say, God, I'm tired of fighting it, tired of trying to make it happen my way. Living, frustrated. God, I trust you, knowing that at the right time, your plan for my life will come to pass. See, it says in Psalms, delight yourself in the Lord, and God will give you the desires of your heart. When you're trusting God to do it his way, there's a rest you're not struggling, fighting, upset. You're at peace. You know, God's way is the best way so you can relax and enjoy your life while God is in the process of bringing those promises to pass. 2 Kings 5:There's the story of a man named Naaman. He was a captain in the Syrian army. Very influential man. But he had leprosy. And one day a young lady that worked for him house said Naaman, if you'll travel to Israel and see the prophet Elisha, he'll pray for you and I know you'll be healed. He took her advice and went a great distance all the way to Israel. Showed up at Elisha's house. But when he got there, Elisha didn't even get up and go to the door to meet him. Elisha sent his assistant, go tell Naaman if he'll go wash in the Jordan river seven times, he'll be healed of that leprosy. Well, Naaman was offended. He had traveled all this way. He's an important military man, and Elisha didn't even have the courtesy to come to the door to speak with him. Plus, he didn't want to go wash in the Jordan River. That was a dirty river. Naaman had his own plan. He said in verse 11, I thought Elisha would come out and wave his hand over me and cure me of my leprosy. Two words that almost kept him from his miracle. I thought he had a preconceived idea of how it was going to happen. The young girl said, naaman, if he'd asked you to do something difficult, you would do it. Why don't you do this simple thing? She talked him into it. He went and washed in the Jordan river. When he came up the seventh time, his skin was perfectly clean. I was wondering how many of us miss God's best. Because we thought it would happen another way. I thought I would give birth to my children, not adopt them. I thought I would get well without the treatment. I thought I'd get that promotion. That's how I'd be blessed. No, stay open and let God do it his way. When Victoria and I were first married, we lived in this townhome. It's a very beautiful place. We bought it for a great price and felt very blessed. A couple of years later, we had a desire to buy a house. We put the townhome on the market. It sold very quickly and we found this nice house that we really wanted. It was in our price range and we thought, this is the perfect house for us. We made an offer on it and didn't hear anything back. A couple of weeks later they responded and didn't accept it. So we made a better offer. Very close. Just a few thousand dollars off. Victoria and I were praying and believing. Our heart was set. We knew this was the right house for us. Month later our realtor called back and said they had sold the property to somebody else. We were so discouraged we thought God, how could that happen? We prayed, we believed. A few months later we were out looking around. We found this old run down beat up house. But it was in a nice neighborhood close into the city. It's on a beautiful lot with big trees. But the house had been abandoned for a couple of years. Windows were broken out, no doors on it. Had a leak in the kitchen, foundation problems, floors as crooked as can be. It didn't make sense to our mind. But in our spirit we felt an incredible peace. Victoria looked at me and said, joel, this is the house for us. Let's buy it, fix it up and live in it. It didn't seem logical here. We had just come out of a beautiful townhouse. This was just the opposite. Not a step up. It looked like a step down. But God's ways are not our ways. We could have been narrow minded and thought we are not even going to entertain this old piece of junk. After all, Victoria comes from a well to do family. They have a high end jewelry store. When Victoria was for it, I knew that was a sign from Almighty God. Plus it saved me a lot of money. We bought the house, fixed it up, living in it.
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
6.
Joel Osteen
Six months later a man knocked on our door unannounced. A builder. He said I'd like to buy this property and build two houses on it. Said, I'm sorry, property's not for sale. He said let me ask you, how much did you pay for it? I told him what we paid. He said how about I pay you double? I said like I said, we'd love to sell it. We sold that old run down beat up house and got a brand new house on the same piece of property. Friends, God knows what he's doing. Trust him, let him do it his way. You may not understand it at the time, it may not make sense, but one day you will see what God was doing. His plan will be better than your plan. When I look back over my life like Naaman, I have a lot of I thoughts. I thought we would buy a new house, not an old run down beat up one. I thought I would be behind the scenes my whole life. Not out here in front of people. I thought we would build a new sanctuary when Lakewood needed more room, not move into the former compact center where the rockets used to play. The common denominator in all of my I thoughts is that God's plan was much better than my plan. What God had in mind was much bigger, much more rewarding anything I dreamed of. I'm asking you to trust Him. Our attitude should be God, I'm wide open. Do anything you want, anytime you want, use anyone you want. I'm not set on having it my way. God, I know your plan is the best plan. If you will stay open and let God do it his way, God will open doors for you that no man can shut. Favor is going to thrust you years ahead. You will see promises fulfilled, dreams come to pass. Now believe and declare. You will overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy and become everything God's created you to be. If you receive it, can you say Amen today? 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, wash me clean. 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 of.
Boost Mobile Advertiser
The official language of football is trash talk, late night group chats, memes and unbelievable highlight clips. That's why Boost Mobile brings you our new Global connection plan. The first plan ever made for WhatsApp. Get unlimited data, talk and text, international roaming and calls to over 100 countries for just $40 a month. Forty dollar price includes five dollar a month auto pay discount after 40 gigabytes of premium high speed data speeds will be lowered. Coverage not available everywhere. Visit Store or BoostMobile.com for details.
Joel Osteen
Upgrade to Elite Checking from America's Christian Credit Union and earn up to 4% APY plus everyday perks and access to your paycheck up to two days early with early pay. Don't settle. Choose checking that rewards you and aligns with your values. Visit americaschristiancu.com iheartra minimum balance of $0.01 required to earn advertised APY early pay not guaranteed. APY equals annual percentage yield, membership eligibility required and CUA insured.
Ashley Akinetti
This is Ashley Akonetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost I Miss podcast. Did you know that over 70% of new parents are combo feeding? They're using both breast milk and formula to feed their baby. Whether you're exclusively formula feeding, combo feeding or just want to back up in the pantry, Bobby is the formula that I trust to deliver safe, complete nutrition to my baby's bottle. Both of my children used Bobby. We loved it so much, had the best experience with this brand. They're incredible. If you want to feed with confidence too, head to hibobi.com that is high h I b o b b I e dot com to find your baby's new favorite formula
Joel Osteen
it's easy in life to wear labels. Mistakes we've made, what people have said, disappointments we've faced. Those labels can diminish our sense of value and cause us to forget who we really are. Have a new book called Made by Know It, Receive it and Live It. It'll help you see yourself the way God sees you. Valuable, talented, Worthy. A masterpiece. You've been fearfully and wonderfully made and I'd love to send you my new book plus the Made by God T shirt from our good friends at Copperfield. When you know who you are and whose you are, a child of the most high, you can live with confidence and step into who you were created to be.
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount this month we would like to send you a copy of Joel's brand new book Made by God. Know it, receive it, live it. You were not made by your mistakes. You were not made by what people said. You were not made by your hardest season. You were made by God on purpose, with purpose and nothing can change that. This powerful book will help you silence the labels life has put on you and finally see yourself the way God sees you. Valuable, Talented. A masterpiece. And when you are Request your copy. We also want to send you the exclusive Made by God T shirt from our friends at Copperfit. A daily reminder you can wear as a declaration of who you are and whose you are. Set down what was never yours to carry. Request your copy today.
Joel Osteen
You are not your past. You are not labels life has put on you. You are made by God on purpose, for a purpose and and nothing can change your value. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day, believing you're going to have a blessed summer. And thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity helps us take this message of hope to people around the world. A special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we meet again. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
Be sure to request your copy of May Made by God plus your exclusive Copperfit Made by God tea available this month by visiting us@jolostein.com or call 888-567-JOEL. With an additional gift, you can also receive the complete Made by God Designed With Purpose collection featuring the Made by God tee, the Designed with Purpose hat, and the Made by God tote. Each piece is more than something you wear or it is a declaration, a statement of faith, a daily reminder that your life is not random. God has a plan for you. Wherever your day takes you, you will carry a message that speaks life not only over yourself, but to everyone around you. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567-JOEL or logging on to jolostein.com to call or click anytime 24 hours a day.
Joel Osteen
This episode is brought to you by Bobcat. They started the compact equipment industry through grit, determination and a whole lot of think we can't do that. Watch us. They set standards, broke records, empowered people to build bigger and higher, to dig deeper through, to make the impossible possible. We've all been there with doubters telling us what we can't do. Who cares what they think? We don't need their permission or forgiveness. We just get things done. So go ahead and doubt me, judge me, challenge me. But when the time comes, watch me. Bobcat
Boost Mobile Advertiser
it's called soccer. It's called football.
Joel Osteen
Soccer Foot ball Domino's Best deal ever.
Boost Mobile Advertiser
Lets you get any pizza including including stuffed crust with any toppings for 9.99. Okay, we can agree on that. Yeah, fully. So pineapple.
Joel Osteen
Don't ruin it.
Boost Mobile Advertiser
Get any pizza including stuffed crust with any toppings for 9.99. Finally, something everyone can get behind. And if the refs disagree, that's between them and Domino's.
Joel Osteen
Which means the only thing left to fight over is who's ordering.
Ashley Akinetti
Dom.
Joel Osteen
Price is higher for some locations. Excludes XL and specialty pizzas.
Boost Mobile Advertiser
Select this offer from $6.15 to $7.26 online only.
Joel Osteen
Size availability varies by crust type. Max 7 toppings 6 for pan and
Boost Mobile Advertiser
New York style crust.
Joel Osteen
Minimum purchase required for delivery. Prices, participation, delivery area and charges may vary.
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
Here's something good on Women's health and
Joel Osteen
longevity is brought to you by Seneca and our partner, LifeMD. LifeMD believes every woman should have access to affordable prescription medication and personalized care
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
that understands the whole woman.
Joel Osteen
Through virtual care and insurance supported options,
Joel Osteen Ministry Announcer
LifeMD is making expert women's healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Original Airdate: July 16, 2026
Host: Joel Osteen
Produced by iHeartPodcasts
In this episode titled “Trust God To Do It His Way,” Joel Osteen encourages listeners to surrender their expectations and allow God the freedom to work in their lives as He sees fit. Emphasizing faith, humility, and openness, Joel illustrates—through personal stories, biblical examples, and memorable anecdotes—that God’s plans often unfold in unexpected, unconventional ways. The central message: God works beyond our logic and our preferences; His way is better, even if we don’t understand it at first.
[03:09] Joel begins by challenging listeners not to "put God in a box," cautioning that insisting on a particular process or person for our breakthroughs can limit God’s work in our lives.
“We all have dreams…But too often we put God in a box and tell him how to do it, when to do it, and who to use to do it. The only problem is God’s ways are not our ways.” (Joel Osteen, 03:30)
Insight: Clinging to our own logic, expectations, or timelines can lead to disappointment and missed blessings.
[05:45] Joel recounts how Lakewood Church obtained its venue: two unlikely supporters—neither religious nor on Joel’s “list”—became their passionate advocates.
“We didn’t pursue them, they pursued us…My first thought was, ‘God, is this right? This is like oil and water—I never dreamed God would choose them to help us.’” (Joel Osteen, 06:20)
Biblical Parallels: Joel cites Rahab the prostitute, Pharaoh’s daughter, and even a donkey, showing God uses unexpected vessels for His purposes.
“Victoria said, ‘Joel, I realize now God did answer my prayer. He just didn’t answer it in the way I expected.’” (Joel Osteen, 09:09)
[15:00] After his father passed, Joel never expected to be pastor—he had no seminary background or ambition for ministry—but felt an inner prompt to take the role.
“I thought, I’ve never ministered before, never been to seminary…I had to do what I’m asking you to do: Say, ‘God, this doesn’t make sense to my mind. But I’m not going to put you in a box.’” (Joel Osteen, 15:40)
Result: Lakewood’s ministry grew beyond anything Joel or his family imagined.
“God did what he promised, but he did it in an unconventional way—not the way Lisa had planned.” (Joel Osteen, 24:50)
“It didn’t make sense to our mind. But in our spirit we felt an incredible peace.” (Joel Osteen, 27:46)
The Healing of the Blind Man ([John 9], 13:35-18:15)
“Jesus was unconventional. There was no precedent for this. The blind man could have said, ‘Get this off my eyes, this doesn’t make sense.’ …But he didn’t have God in a box. He stayed open.” (Joel Osteen, 11:13 and 18:06)
Naaman’s Healing ([2 Kings 5], 25:33-29:07)
“Two words almost kept him from his miracle: I thought.” (Joel Osteen, 26:47)
On Remaining Open:
“Our attitude should be, God, I’m letting you out of my box. You can do anything in my life, you can do it anytime, you can use any person that you want. God, I trust you to do it your way.” (Joel Osteen, 04:58)
The Power of Testimony:
“‘I don’t understand all the doctrine...All I can tell you is, I was blind, but now I can see. It’s hard to argue with a changed life.’” (Joel Osteen, retelling the blind man’s response, 14:37)
About Surrender:
“A much better approach is…God, this is what I want, this is what I’m believing for. But God, you know what’s best for me. However it works out, God, I trust you. I’m still going to be happy.” (Joel Osteen, 23:09)
On God’s Supernatural Provision:
“Your job is not your source. God is your source. And as long as you stay connected to Him, the supply line, everything is going to be all right. He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, your provider.” (Joel Osteen, 19:53)
Summary Vision:
“God’s plan for your life will not always be logical or reasonable or what you had planned. But if you will stay open, it will be much bigger, much better, much more rewarding than you ever even imagined.” (Joel Osteen, 17:43)
| Timestamp | Segment Summary | |---------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:09 | Introduction of main theme: do not restrict God by your expectations. | | 05:45 - 07:45 | Testimony of Lakewood Church acquiring the Compact Center through unlikely advocates. | | 08:00 - 10:05 | Jonathan’s story: how prayer for a young friend led to an unexpected mentor. | | 11:15 - 13:15 | Biblical examples: Rahab, Pharaoh’s daughter, the donkey—God uses anyone for His purposes. | | 13:35 - 18:15 | The healing of the blind man by Jesus with mud and spit—challenge to stay open to unconventional miracles. | | 15:00 - 17:43 | Joel’s personal account of becoming a pastor despite feeling unqualified. | | 19:53 | Reminder: God, not your job or the expected channel, is the ultimate provider. | | 20:00 - 24:50 | Lisa’s infertility journey resulting in unexpected adoption—advice on surrendering outcomes to God. | | 25:33 - 29:07 | Story of Naaman: healing comes through an unexpected (even unappealing) avenue. | | 27:00 - 29:21 | Osteen’s own house story: an unglamorous purchase leading to double the return—lesson in recognizing unexpected provision. | | 29:21 - 32:00 | Closing encouragement: trust God’s ways, remain open, and believe for His best. |
Joel’s Challenge to Listeners:
“God, I’m wide open. Do anything you want, anytime you want, use anyone you want. I’m not set on having it my way. God, I know your plan is the best plan.” (Joel Osteen, 30:45)
Blessing & Declaration:
Joel declares favor and breakthrough over listeners, urging them to trust God beyond their own logic:
“If you will stay open and let God do it His way, God will open doors for you that no man can shut. Favor is going to thrust you years ahead. You will see promises fulfilled, dreams come to pass.” (Joel Osteen, 31:38)
For listeners facing uncertainty:
Stay open. God’s answers may come in ways you never would have chosen or imagined, but if you trust Him, you’ll realize His plans are always greater.