WEBVTT - God Works All Things For Your Good | Joel Osteen 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:03.280 Thanks so much for listening to the podcast today. Want 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:05.040 you to know that Victorian and I are praying for 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:07.880 you and your family this summer and just asking God 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:11.039 to bring you more peace and joy and victory than 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.760 you've ever seen before. Know that God's for you has 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:15.560 got you in the palm of his hand, and I 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:18.680 hope you enjoy the message today. Well God bless you 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.160 always our joy to come into your homes. We loved 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.680 you and we know God has great things in story. 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.120 If you're in our area, I hope you'll stop by 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:29.000 and be a part of one of our services. I 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:30.800 promise you it will make you feel right at home. 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:33.080 But thanks so much for tuning in. Thanks again for 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.040 coming out today. I like to start with something funny, 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:38.919 and I heard about this husband and wife. They'd been 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.360 arguing and now they were giving each other the silent treatment. 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.040 The man had to catch a flight early the next day, 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:47.360 and he needed his wife to wake him up at 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:50.720 five in the morning. Not wanting to break the silence, 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:52.920 he wrote a note and put it on her side 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:55.880 of the bed that said, please wake me up at five. 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:59.400 The next morning, he got up at eight. He missed 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:01.640 his flight. He was so upset, he went in to 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:04.360 ask why she didn't wake him up, and he noticed 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:06.319 a piece of paper on his side of the bed. 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.120 He opened it up. It said, get up, it's five 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:13.959 all right, Hold up your Bible. Say it like you 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.039 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:19.520 says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.679 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.039 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:30.039 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.800 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.400 I want to talk to you today about how God 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:41.800 works all things for our good. And every person goes 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.119 through disappointments and things that don't seem to make sense. 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:48.240 It's easy to get discouraged and think, why did this 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:51.280 happen to me? Why did my loved one not make it? 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.480 Why did this person treat me wrong? Why did I 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.880 get laid off? Had a man recently tell me how 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:00.760 he lost his job after so many years, and he 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.720 just didn't understand it. He said, Joel, I gave that 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:07.600 company my best, was always there on time, I was loyal. 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:12.040 It's just not right. We have to understand even though 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:16.240 life is not always fair, God is fair, and he 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:20.360 promises in Romans eight twenty eight that all things work 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:25.359 together for our good. I believe the keyword is together. 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:29.200 In other words, you cannot isolate one part of your 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:32.280 life and say, well, this is not good. It's not 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.640 good that I got laid off. It's not good that 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.320 my child got sick. It's not good that my relationship 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:41.160 didn't work out. Yes, that's true, but that's just one 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:44.560 part of your life. God can see the big picture 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:49.160 that disappointment is not the end. Your life doesn't stop 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:53.400 because of one setback. That's simply one piece of your puzzle. 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:57.120 There's another piece coming that's going to connect it all. 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:01.480 It's going to work together for your good. My children 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:03.840 and I used to love to make chocolate chip cookies, 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.360 and we'd been doing it so long, since they were 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:08.280 two or three years old. We didn't even have to 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.919 look at the directions anymore. We knew exactly what they took. 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.600 So Jonathan would go get the brown sugar and the eggs, 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:19.799 and Alexander would grab the flour, the bacon, soda, the vanilla. 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.160 I'd get the bowls and the mixer. We were very 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:26.920 precise to put in the exact right amount and the 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.000 exact order it was called for. You had to have 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:32.920 separate bowls, and at one point you mixed the contents 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.920 of the smaller bowl into the larger bawl. You beat 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.440 one egg in at a time, and if you really 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:41.400 want it to taste good, it's very important how much 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.680 goes in and when it goes in. I remember one 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:48.040 time we forgot to put the bacon soda in. I thought, 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.520 no big deal, just a little tea spoonful. How could 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:54.320 that matter in such a large bowl. But when we 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.840 got those cookies out, they were as flat as could be. 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.920 They didn't rise one bit. They were tasteless. Nobody would 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:08.080 eat them. It was like something Victoria had cooked. I know. 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:11.800 I got to go out to eat today. Victoria's a 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:17.039 great cook. She is a master of the microwave. What 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:21.320 was the problem with our cookies? An ingredient was left out? 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:26.279 A small amount made a huge difference. And some people 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.600 are bitter on life because they haven't waited for all 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:33.760 their pieces to come together. God has promised a great 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:37.440 plan for you. He has predestined you to live in victory. 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:40.719 And when things happen that you don't understand things that 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:44.200 don't make sense. Don't get stuck there. God has some 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.719 more ingredients come in your way. You may feel like 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:51.360 your life is kind of flat today. Flatten your finances, 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.680 flatten your career, flatten your marriage. But all God has 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.919 to do is add some of his bacon soda that'll 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:00.920 cause you to rise to a new level. You've probably 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:04.600 seen that chef on television, Chef Emerald. When he adds 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.920 an ingredient, he always says, bam. Just imagine God puts 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.000 a little bit of favor BAM, A healing BAM, a 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:16.240 good break BAM. Some of you are lonely. All God 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:20.160 has to do is BAM, a divine connection. Have you're 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:24.039 at odds with the child? BAM, supernatural restoration A. I 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.520 don't know about you, but I'm expecting some bams in 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:32.880 my life. I'm expecting God to add the right ingredients. 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.800 That means the right people, the right opportunities, the right 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:40.120 breaks at just the right time. You may have had 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.600 some disappointments. Life may not have treated you fair, but 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.320 you wouldn't be alive if God didn't have another victory 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:50.480 in your future. That setback was not the end. That 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.480 breakup you went through years ago. It may not have 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.720 made sense, but there's another piece coming that's gonna pull 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.280 it all together. Don't be impatient. It's not over until 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.239 God says it's over. And the fact is we all 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:07.000 have things that if we isolate them, we don't understand. 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:10.440 But if you will just keep pressing forward, one day 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:13.080 you will look back and see how it all played 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:16.520 into a master plan that God had designed for your life. 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:21.039 But the problem is when we isolate these negative experiences 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.200 and we wonder why something has happened to us, it 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.480 causes us to get better. And I know people right 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:31.000 now that are mad at God. They're soured on life, 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:35.400 no joy, no enthusiasm. It's because they went through a disappointment, 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:39.200 went through something unfair, and instead of believing that God 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.880 was still in control, believing that it was going to 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:45.680 lead to a new beginning, they isolate that incident and 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:48.280 they think, well, why did God let this happen to me? 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:52.039 But everything is not going to make sense on its own. 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.040 We have to have a deep inner trust, a confidence 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:59.039 down in here that says, I know God has a 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.000 great plan for my life. I know He is directing 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.080 my steps. And even though I may not understand this, 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:08.760 I know it's not a surprise to God, and somehow, 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.600 some way, He's gonna work it out to my advantage. 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:15.400 Imagine one day we decided we don't have time to 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:18.800 make the chocolate chip cookies. Let's just get the ingredients 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:22.520 out and eat them separately. Jonathan, go ahead, you start. 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:25.680 Here's a cup of brown sugar. Here's a teaspoon of 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:28.440 vanilla to wash it down with. Here's a raw egg. 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:32.120 Here's your two cups of flour. Now, Jonathan, you officially 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:36.360 have chocolate chip cookies on the inside. Somehow it's just 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:39.880 not the same. The key is it all works together. 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.960 It's got to be just the right mix, put in 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.119 just at the right time if it's really gonna taste good. 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.520 In the same way, you can't isolate one part of 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:52.880 your life and think, oh, this doesn't taste good. My 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:56.120 life is sour, Joel. I went through a divorce, or 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:58.680 I lost a loved one that was so close to me. 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.400 I started a business that didn't make it. I've been 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.960 through so much. No, that's just one ingredient. It's not 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:07.440 supposed to taste good by itself. It's got to be 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:11.080 mixed together. When you go through disappointments, when your in 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:15.840 slow seasons, don't get discouraged. All your ingredients are not 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.840 in yet. Remember a little bit of bacon soda can 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:23.560 make a huge difference. That means just a little break, 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:27.760 Just meeting one new person, just getting one new idea, 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:31.480 just one touch of God's favor can turn the sour 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:35.960 into sweet, the sorrow into joy, the morning into dancing. 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.760 I read about a young man. He wasn't wanted by 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.560 his parents. He was given up for adoption at six 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.760 weeks of age, and when he turned two, he developed 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.800 a mysterious illness that kept him from growing properly. First 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.920 they thought it was something like cystic fibrosis, they rule 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:55.640 that out. For six years, he was in and out 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:58.839 of the hospitals trying to find what was wrong. Eventually 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.360 he got a little better started growing, but he was 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:05.199 still very small. His dream in school was to play 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:09.920 sports baseball, basketball, football, but he was way too small 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:12.719 to make matters where some of the kids bullied him, 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.960 made fun of him, called him names. Didn't look like 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:19.880 God had a plan, didn't seem to make sense. But remember, 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:23.440 it's not over until God says it's over all. He 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:27.439 needed was a few more ingredients. Being left by his 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:32.480 parents being rejected. That isolated on its own is very distasteful. 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.200 Spending years in and out of the hospital, that alone 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:39.199 can be very discouraging, But that's not the end of 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:43.160 the process. When God begins to add some of his ingredients, 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:46.640 when he mixes in a spoonful of his favor and 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.480 a cup of his goodness, and he sprinkles a few 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:53.240 of his supernatural breaks, then all of a sudden, what 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:58.600 was very distasteful by itself, mixed together with the right ingredients, 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:02.560 becomes very tasteful. And even though he couldn't play those 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:05.800 kind of sports, he knew that wasn't the end of 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.440 his story. He knew God didn't make any mistakes. He 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:13.160 started going to ice skating lessons with his sister. It 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.480 wasn't long before the coach noticed he was an extremely 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:21.400 gifted skater. Long story short, he started training for the Olympics. 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:25.280 All the experts told him he was too small. You 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.640 don't have a chance. You're just wasting your time. But listen, 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.600 you are not who people say you are. You are 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:36.920 who God says you are. Scott Hamilton went on to 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:43.319 win every national and International Skating Championship for four straight years, 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:47.559 including the nineteen eighty four Olympic gold medal. And in 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.920 the natural, you may not see how you could accomplish 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.640 your goals. You don't see how you could fulfill what 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:56.880 God's put in your heart. But not today. All of 0:10:56.920 --> 0:11:00.640 your ingredients are not in. When we're making those cookies, 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.320 our favorite thing is to put the chocolate chips in. 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.320 That's what gives them the flavor and makes them look 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:09.560 so tasty. Some of you today, you haven't had your 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:13.520 chocolate chips put in yet. Why are you soured on life? 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.360 You don't know what God has in your future. Get 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:20.079 your joy back, your vision back. Quit dwelling on all 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.040 your disappointments and why you went through what you went through. 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.960 Gonna shake that off and have the attitude. I've had 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:29.040 my flour put in. I've been through the mixing process. 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.640 Now I know I'm close to those chocolate chips. I 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.559 know just a few more ingredients, and God's gonna bring 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:38.880 it all together and cause it to work out for 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:49.440 my good. One time, when Moses was leading the people 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:52.800 of Israel, they'd been traveling through the wilderness day after 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.760 day without any water. They were so thirsty they didn't 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.480 know if they could make it. They finally came to 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.679 this river. They were so excited their dream had come true. 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.360 They rushed over there to drink it. But when they 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:10.679 tasted the water, it was bitter. They couldn't drink it. 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.480 It was too sour. Have you ever come to a 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:16.040 place in life where you thought it would be your 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.800 dream come true? You thought you would have finally accomplished 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.480 a goal, but all of a sudden something didn't work out. 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:26.160 You spent years building a business, maybe even working there. 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:29.000 You're ready to retire, only to find that it's not 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.840 going to happen. It's not going to last. I talked 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:34.920 to a young lady. She was so excited about having 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.800 a baby. It was her first child, and she and 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:41.840 her husband were getting the nursery already, everything prepared. But 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:45.360 unfortunately she wasn't able to carry the child full term. 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:49.640 She had a miscarriage. Those waters were bitter. In nineteen 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.400 eighty one, our family was looking forward to having a 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.000 big Christmas together. It was going to be a fun 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:58.760 time of family and friends. But on December the eleventh, 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:01.720 we got the news that my mother had terminal cancer 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.600 and given just a few weeks to live. What we 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.840 thought would be a season of celebration ended up being 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:11.360 a very bitter season. That's what happened to these people. 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:14.400 There was no water to drink. They were so thirsty, 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.360 and they begin to complain to Moses. They got so 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:21.040 discouraged they thought it was all over. But no, God 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.240 still had a plan. And God told Moses to put 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.000 a certain kind of tree in the water. And when 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:31.800 he did, those bitter waters were turned into sweet. Now 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.800 the people could freely drink as much as they wanted. 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:39.360 What is God saying when life turns out bitter, when 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:43.080 things seem unfair, I'm not at a loss. I still 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.040 have an ingredient that I can put in that can 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:50.160 turn your bitter waters into sweep. You may not understand 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.920 why you went through what you went through, but don't 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:55.880 try to figure it all out. Faith is all about 0:13:55.960 --> 0:14:00.520 trusting God. When you don't understand things, some people get 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.720 so caught up on why God didn't answer their prayers, 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:07.200 things like God, you could have healed my loved one. God, 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:09.560 you could have restored my marriage. God, you could have 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:12.160 kept me from getting laid off. Listen, here's what I've 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.400 learned don't ever put a question mark where God has 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:19.000 put a period. When something is over and done, let 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.160 it go and move on to the next chapter in 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:27.000 your life. It may be bitter, but God has another ingredient. 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.360 There's something in your future that's going to turn the 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:34.000 sour into sweet. I know a gentleman that worked for 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.600 many years for a major newspaper. He was getting close 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:39.960 to retiring, but at the last minute they had to 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:44.280 let him go. Those waters were bitter. He understood this principle. 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:48.000 He didn't get soured on life go around complaining. He 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:51.320 stayed in faith, believing that God would open up another door. 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.880 His dream was always to write books, and he had 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:57.120 done a few here and there on the side while 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:59.640 he was working as a reporter, but he never had 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.680 to cur to really step out and do it full time. 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:05.600 But not long after he was laid off, he got 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.440 a call from a publishing agent asking if he was 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:11.600 available to work on a major book with the well 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:16.000 known author. He took that opportunity and today he's living 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:19.000 his dream. He's doing what he always wanted to do. 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.440 He told how if he had not been laid off, 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.600 he wouldn't have been available. That agent would have never 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:29.440 called him. What am I saying? God has another ingredient. 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:33.120 When one door closes, God's going to open up another door. 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:35.720 If you will stay in faith, it'll be a bigger 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:39.520 and a better door. Now. I found sometimes like this, gentleman, 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:42.200 if we don't have the courage to take a step 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:44.920 of faith, God will give us a push to get 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.520 us out of our comfort zone. Those bitter waters may 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:51.920 be a blessing in disguise. No, it's not good that 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.840 you lost your job, but it could be good if 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.240 it causes you to stretch to the next level, or 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:58.960 if it causes you to go back to school, go 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.080 back to college. It's not good that you get a 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.000 bad report about your health, but it can be good 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.920 if it causes you to get back in shape. It 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.200 wasn't good when my father went to be with the Lord. 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:13.440 We prayed, we believed the waters were bitter, But really 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.280 it was those bitter waters that forced me out of 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.200 my comfort zone. That's when I really stepped into my 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:24.080 divine destiny. And the symbol for the word the symbol 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.520 for the word crisis in Chinese is made up of 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:32.960 two words danger and opportunity. In every crisis and every 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:37.160 loss and every disappointment. There's both danger to get bitter, 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:41.840 to stay sour, to settle where we are, and there's opportunity. 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.520 We can grow, we can step out in faith, we 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:48.760 can stretch to the new things that God has in store. 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:51.280 I've talked to a lot of people that went through 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:56.080 Hurricane Katrina. They lost everything. I told them, you can 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:59.520 accept the hand that you've been dealt, seeing this as 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.320 an opportunity to meet new friends, to live in a 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:05.240 new city, to have a new job. Or you can 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:08.560 fight it. You can resist it, get bitter, live with 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.240 a chip on your shoulder. The choice is up to you. 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:16.840 There's both danger and opportunity in every crisis. There's a 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:21.240 couple that's here every weekend, find people, faithful people. They 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:25.000 lost their teenage daughter to cancer. We prayed and believed 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.199 with them for many, many years, and she made it 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.760 a lot longer than she was supposed to. But one 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:32.200 day she went home to be with the Lord. As 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:36.000 you can imagine, that was some bitter waters. They didn't 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:39.800 understand it. Even though it was difficult, they committed it 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:44.600 into God's hands. Today, that couple is a shining example 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:48.520 of how God can turn the sour into sweet. Every 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:52.560 time I see them, they radiate God's goodness. Whenever I 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.359 meet someone that's lost a young person, they're the first 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.320 people I think of. I always ask them to call. 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:02.280 They went through a major crisis. I can't think of 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:07.720 anything bigger. They face danger. They could easily be negative, bitter, 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.960 angry people blaming God why did this happen? But know 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:15.919 in that crisis, they saw the opportunity. They saw a 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:20.399 chance to receive God's grace, and today they're helping others 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:24.000 to make it through. God wants to show his grace 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:27.840 through you. When you go through a crisis, and instead 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.480 of getting bitter, you believe that God is still in control. 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.200 You stay hopeful and believe that He's going to open 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.399 up a new door. Then you, too will become a 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:41.080 face of grace. You will not only see God's goodness 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:44.119 in a greater way, but you will inspire others to 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.480 keep moving forward into the good things God has in store. 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.000 I love the way Job put it. Though he slay me, 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.919 yet will I trust him? The reason Job had this 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:59.280 unwavering trust was because he knew God was still on 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:02.919 the throne. When we go through things that don't make sense, 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.359 things that we don't really understand. We've got to be 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.239 able to say with job, I'm not worried about it. 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:12.720 I know God is still in complete control of my life. 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:15.639 I know He's got me in the palm of his hand. 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:18.760 This may look like the end, but I know God 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:22.359 has a new beginning. These waters may be bitter right now, 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:25.320 but I know God has another ingredient that's going to 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.720 turn them into sweet. Weeping may endure for a night, 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.080 but I know a secret joy is coming in the morning. 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:37.520 The scripture talks about how all of our days have 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:42.600 been written in God's book. He's already recorded every part 0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:45.720 of your life, from the beginning to the end. God 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:50.920 knows every disappointment, every loss, every challenge. The good news 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:56.320 is your story ends in victory. Your final chapter concludes 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:00.840 with you fulfilling your God given destiny. Here's the when 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:03.920 you go through a disappointment, when you go through a loss, 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:08.320 don't stop on that page. You've got to keep moving forward. 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.440 There's another chapter in front of you, but you've got 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:14.560 to be willing to walk into it. Sometimes we get 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.320 so focused on what didn't work out, why I went 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:20.040 through that divorce, and why I didn't get that promotion 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:22.879 that I worked so hard for. Listen, you've been on 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.359 that page long enough, you've reread that chapter four hundred 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:28.959 and fifty times. Let it go and move into the 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.400 new chapter God has in store. You may not understand 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:36.400 everything you went through, but if you just keep pressing forward, 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:39.840 not letting the bitterness take root, you will come to 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:42.960 a chapter in your future that'll pull it all together, 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:46.600 a chapter that'll cause it to make sense. Was talking 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:49.480 to this couple not long ago. They have a son, 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.560 and they've always had a good relationship with him. In fact, 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:56.120 they used to work together, but somehow they got crossways, 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:59.560 and now this son won't speak to them. He moved 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:02.280 to another city. They don't even have a phone number, 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:03.880 they don't know how to get in touch with them. 0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:07.760 So you can imagine they're just very concerned, very discouraged. 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:10.960 I told them what I'm telling you. That is not 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:16.240 your final chapter. There's another chapter coming somewhere in your future, 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:20.119 is a restoration chapter. It may be a month, or 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:22.560 a year, or ten years. But don't get stuck on 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:27.120 that page. Keep praying, keep believing. That chapter will come 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:29.920 to an end. The bitter waters will be turned into 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:33.520 suite and you'll see that relationship restored. You gotta get 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.120 a vision for it. You gotta let the seed take root. 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:39.320 Some of you are ready to go to a new chapter, 0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:41.840 but you've got to be willing to let go of 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:45.760 the old. What's behind you is not near as important 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:49.119 as what's in front of you. Everything you've been through 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:52.399 was to get you prepared for where you are right now. 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:56.960 Those disappointments, those challenges were never meant to destroy you. 0:21:57.320 --> 0:22:00.680 They were meant to strengthen you, to build you character, 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:04.120 to give you the fortitude you need to accomplish your 0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:07.720 God given destiny. You may have had unfair things happen, 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:10.880 things that you don't understand, but let me tell you 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:12.919 have come too far to stop. 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:13.240 Now. 0:22:13.880 --> 0:22:16.080 You need to dig your heels in and say, I 0:22:16.160 --> 0:22:18.520 may not understand it, it may not have been fair, 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:21.240 but I am not getting stuck on this page. I 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:24.239 know God has another chapter with my name on it, 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:27.600 and that chapter is full of blessing, full of favor, 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:32.440 full of victory. Our little daughter Alexandra used to love 0:22:32.520 --> 0:22:35.480 to put puzzles together, and when she was about five 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:37.920 years old, every couple weeks we'd go buy a puzzle 0:22:37.960 --> 0:22:40.280 and sit down and work on it, and sometimes it 0:22:40.320 --> 0:22:43.639 would take us two or three days, and invariably we 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:46.920 would find a piece of that puzzle that didn't look 0:22:47.000 --> 0:22:49.960 like it was gonna fit anywhere. We would try every 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:54.320 option that we could see here and there, but still nothing. Finally, 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:57.560