God's Purpose Will Prevail | Joel Osteen

God bless you, it's great to be with you today and I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and you can come visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. Now I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this lady, she'd just gotten out of choir practice and she was so fired up she put a honk, if you love Jesus, bumper sticker on her car. At the intersection she was digging in her purse and didn't notice the light had changed. She said, I was so excited to find out the guy behind me loved Jesus. He started honking, saw her roll my window down, waved real big, said, I love Jesus too. She said, I found out a whole lot of people love Jesus. Everyone started honking. One man even screamed, Jesus Christ. She said, after we shared all that love together, I was the only one that made it through the intersection. All right, y'all, 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 God's purpose will prevail. Before you were born, God gave you an assignment, something to accomplish. He's already lined up the right people, the resources, what doors will open and what doors will close. You're not just wandering through life, hoping to get a good break.

You are walking out a divine purpose. Your steps are being ordered. Even things you don't understand, God wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't going to move you toward your destiny. Everything is serving his plan. You don't have to fight closed doors, get upset when your plans don't work out. God is behind the scenes orchestrating, maneuvering, positioning you for what he has in mind. Proverbs 19 says, you can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail. God's purpose is stronger than your plans. I don't mean that in a negative sense, but sometimes we plan things that are less than God's best. We're planning this level that we've always seen, but God is going to take you to new levels. He's going to cause you to set new standards and break barriers of the past. God's purpose is stronger than opposition and people that come against you, try to hold you back. It's stronger than the environment that you're in, or how you were raised and things you can't control. You didn't choose which family you would be born in, you didn't choose how you'd be raised, what battles you'd have to fight, negative things that were passed down. You could think you're at a disadvantage, but God knew everything you would have to deal with. What he has purposed will override all that. Just ask a lady in the scripture named Esther. She was an orphan, lost her parents, raised poor. What could she ever do that was significant? How could she leave her mark? No, God's purpose isn't limited by what you didn't get. It's not limited by how you were raised, things that put you at a disadvantage. Before Esther was born, God marked her as a person of great influence, to stand before

the king and to save his people. God knew what family she would be born in. He could have chosen someone born in royalty, in affluence. He knew she would lose her parents at a young age, have this heartache to deal with, feel like she was the least likely. What God has purposed will override injustice. It will override disadvantage, bad breaks, being left out. He's taken everything about you into account. All your circumstances, opposition, mistakes you would make, none of that has stopped what he has planned. Now, quit discounting yourself because of what you don't have. Well, if I came from a better family, Joel, we were more successful, I had a better environment, more opportunity. If I didn't have these people against me, co-workers trying to leave me out, you can't control all that. If you take on the responsibility to fix everyone and convince them to like you and force this door to open, you're going to waste a lot of time frustrated, trying to change things that you can't change. That's not your job, that's God's job. What he has purposed is not stopped by opposition, by people, by delays. He's already planned out your good breaks that will thrust you ahead and supernatural turnarounds where you'll break out of what's held you back. You'll step into levels you can't imagine. Plans may not have worked out. What you had in mind may not have happened, but God's plans are better than your plans. His dream for your life is better than your dream. You can stay in peace knowing that God's plan cannot be stopped by bad breaks, cannot be altered by opposition, cannot be overridden by mistakes.

All those things have been taken into account. God says you can make many plans. In effect, you can have many disappointments, many adversities, many delays, but don't worry. What I have purposed will prevail. What I decided before you showed up on planet Earth, what I assigned you to accomplish cannot be overridden. It will come to pass. Isaiah put it this way. The Lord of hosts has purposed it. Who can annul it? His hand is stretched out. Who can turn it back? Remember when Moses stretched out his hand and the Red Sea parted? Imagine the Most High God stretching out his hand over your life. That outstretched hand is releasing miracles. It's pushing back forces of darkness. It's defeating enemies of sickness, addictions, dysfunction, things you can't defeat on your own. Not only that, it's opening doors, parting seas, bringing you through on dry ground, making ways where there was no way. This is the God we serve, fighting for you, favoring you, sustaining you, defeating your enemies. You are not at the mercy of people, circumstances. Who's not for you? What's the economy like? What family did I come from?

His purpose overrides all those things. Sickness won't prevail. His purpose will prevail. Nothing can snatch you out of God's hands. The opposition may be stronger, people with more influence, more resources, but they are no match for our God. He created the universe. He flung stars into space. Who can stand against our God? Yes, I know, on your own, it may not be possible, but you're not on your own. There's something God put on you before you were born, a purpose, a calling, an assignment that's not just up to you. It's his sovereign will. It's something he's decided that will happen. There's nothing we can do to change his sovereign will. He will bring it to pass. Now, there's a conditional will where our choices impact our future. We make bad decisions, there are consequences, heartache, delays. We make it more difficult, but God's sovereign will, his purpose for your life cannot be changed. Just ask Jonah. God told him to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to the people, but he didn't wanna go. He got on a boat going the opposite direction, but you can't override what God has purposed.

You can run, but you can't hide. God knows how to get his way. You can do it the easy way or you can go the hard way. Jonah chose the hard way, he ran. There was a great storm, so unusual, so uncommon. The crew asked, who's on board that's causing all this trouble? Well, Jonah was man enough to admit the problem. He said, I'm the one. The crew was so grateful, so kind, they threw him overboard. That should have been the end, but God had already called an Uber. He had a whale waiting for Jonah. It swallowed him, took him to the shore and spit him out on dry ground. God said it again, go to Nineveh. This time he went. Your mistakes didn't cancel the assignment God has for you. You may delay it, you may make it more difficult, but his purpose will prevail. Now quit being frustrated over what didn't work out the way you thought. When you understand this principle, you won't fight closed doors, live stressed because that coworker leaves you out or worried about your health. Stay in peace, God is fighting for you. So many times we're trying to force things to happen and manipulate this situation, control this outcome.

That's not our job. Our job is to honor God. Keep him first place and trust him with the outcomes. When things happen that don't make sense, the right attitude is, God, I don't understand this, but I thank you that your purpose for my life will prevail. That nothing can stand against the assignment that you've given me. It's very freeing to know it's not just up to you. I gotta make my career go and make these people like me and fight this opposition, prove to them that I'm as smart as they are. That's called works of the flesh. That's trying to do it all in our own strength. That'll wear you out. There's no winning doing that. There will always be something that takes you down. joy. It's not up to you to control outcomes and strive and strain. There's a much better way to live. When you understand what God has purposed, He's going to make happen. He's going to open doors. He's going to move wrong people out of the way. He's going to cause you to shine, to stand out. Then you can stay in peace. You know He's controlling the outcomes. He's behind the scenes orchestrating things you can't see right now. Sometimes I've learned He'll take you backwards before you can go forward. He'll let setbacks happen, but what you can't see is it's setting you up for greater things. At the moment, it won't make sense. It's easy to get frustrated, think that you're off track. God, I'm doing the right thing. Why did this happen? Trust Him when you can't trace Him. Stay in peace when it doesn't make sense. God's ways are not our ways. On the way to your purpose, there will be divine delays and divine detours, God taking us a different route that we don't understand. Maybe people do you wrong or setbacks that weren't your fault. It's all a part of the plan. It's not catching God off guard. He's not reacting to this problem, trying to come

up with a solution real fast. He knows everything. It's strategic. It's positioning you for greater things. Later on, you will see how it was all necessary. It looked like it was working against you. The fact is, it was working for you. It had to happen to get you to where God was taking you. Moses was born into an environment that was chaotic and dysfunctional. The leader of Egypt, the Pharaoh, was afraid the Hebrew people were getting too big. They were multiplying so fast, they could overtake the Egyptians. So he ordered all the Hebrew boys two years old and under to be killed. Looked like Moses was born at the wrong time, under this death decree. Soldiers come into houses looking for the male babies. Well, God could have had him born a few years earlier, a few years later, then we wouldn't have this problem. But God is doing things we can't see. What we think are bad breaks and random many times are the strategic hand of God. I'm sure Moses' mother was so stressed and so upset. She's got this beautiful baby. She can't understand why this has happened. But instead of living sour, giving up, she hid baby Moses. For three months, she risked her own life trying to save her son. When he got too big, she put him in a basket and sent him down the Nile River. You can imagine letting your baby go. There were snakes, alligators, all kinds of danger. But it just so happened that Pharaoh's daughter was out taking a bath. She heard the cries coming from the little basket. When she saw baby Moses, it was love at first sight. She took him in the palace and adopted him as her own child. Well, Moses was raised in royalty. He learned protocol, leadership, how government works and how to lead large groups. None of this was random. Moses' mother could have never known that 80 years later, that little baby would be the one that would come back to the palace and deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians. When God told Moses to go speak to the Pharaoh to let the people go, Moses walked into a familiar environment. He'd grown up in a palace. He understood how everything worked. God was preparing him back as a child for what he had planned decades later. And some of the opposition, bad breaks, things you go through now won't make sense. It seems random, but you don't know what God is up to. It looks like it's setting you back, but really it's setting you up. Moses being sent down the Nile, being raised by a different family, that trouble was actually transportation. Not the enemy, it was God getting Moses into position to accomplish his purpose. The assignment God has for you will take you through some detours, delays, betrayals. You have to trust

that his purpose is at work. It's not always about your comfort, it's about your calling. There will be these times you're uncomfortable. You don't like it. God, I don't want to send my baby down the Nile. Why was he born at this time? You can't see what God is up to. Trust him. He's promised his purpose for your life will prevail. You can't see it now, but later on you will see it was all necessary. A few years after Victoria and I were married, buried. There was a knock on our door one Saturday morning. I answered it and a police officer was standing there. Of course, I was alarmed. He handed me some papers, smiled real big and said, somebody must not like you. It was a lawsuit. The people that had bought the house we had moved out of were suing us over the plumbing. I wasn't the builder. Everything worked great when we lived there. I didn't know what they were talking about. They didn't just sue us. They sued the architect, the builder, the plumber, the real estate agent, the next door neighbor, the mailman. They sued everybody. I was 26 years old. I was so stressed and so worried. Man, I got to find some lawyers and try to defend ourselves. What if we don't win? What if we owe all this money? This seems so unfair, like a waste of time and resources. The lawsuit went on for several months. Finally came time for me to give my deposition. I had to go downtown to a high rise and sit with attorneys. Our lawyers had spent hours preparing me and telling me how I was going to work and what to expect. Next morning I gave my deposition. I was so stressed, so uptight about it, I became nauseated. When I finished the deposition, a couple of hours later, I walked out and went straight to the restroom and threw up. I felt terrible. Well, a few months later, the whole lawsuit was dismissed. We were all cleared. Nothing ever came out of it. It seemed like just a random bad break. Hey, man, life happens. Just deal with it and move on. But we don't know what God is up to. God doesn't send the storm, but He doesn't waste anything. He wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't going to work to your advantage. Sometimes it's not the enemy, it's God orchestrating things we don't like to move us into our purpose, to prepare us for what we're going to need later. I didn't like that lawsuit. There was nothing good about it as far as I was concerned. It took a lot of time, money, heartache, but everything you go through is depositing something in you. It's making you stronger. It's giving you experience. You're learning new ways of doing things. I was ready to put that lawsuit in the rearview mirror, never thinking about it again. But 13 years later, when we acquired

this building, the former compact center, a company filed a lawsuit to try to keep us from moving in. I had to go give a deposition. This time, it wasn't for a minor plumbing dispute, something that didn't really matter. It was for something that was critical to my destiny. It wasn't a few-month lawsuit, it was a year-and-a-half lawsuit. When I went to give my deposition, I knew exactly what to expect. I had done it before. I wasn't intimidated by the other side. I wasn't afraid of the process, nervous about what to say. I could feel God's hand of favor and blessing. The last time I was nauseated, all stressed. This time I was bold, confident, full of faith, knowing that God was fighting for us. Looking back now, I realize God allowed that other lawsuit. It was necessary to get me prepared to understand how it all worked, so when I needed to shine, I would shine. There will be things that we don't understand, that don't make sense at the time, like Moses' mother. Why did I have a baby now? Why do I have to send him down the Nile? Why did that person sue me? I'm not a plumber. God's doing things we can't see right now. His purpose is at work, getting you prepared, moving you into position. When you're tempted to get frustrated, come back to this place of peace. Father, thank you that your purpose for my life will prevail, that your hand is outstretched toward me even now. I've learned to go through difficult things with a good attitude. The Scripture says all things work together for good, for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. How do you know the difficulty you don't like is not going to work for your good? What if it was necessary for something down the road that is preparing you or perhaps positioning you for greater things, yet you're fighting it, thinking about how it's not fair? How about having a bigger perspective? God is working on things today that you're going to need 20 years from now. But if you look at everything on the surface, try to understand it right now, it won't make sense. Moses' birth in that troubled time was necessary for something God had planned for him 80 years later to deliver His people. What if God is doing something in your life now you don't understand but 80 years from now, 40 years from now, or like with me, 13 years later, it's going to be instrumental in you fulfilling your purpose. purpose, something much bigger than you've imagined. When you're tempted to be frustrated, things aren't working out, keep this phrase down in your spirit, God's purpose for your life will prevail.

The bad breaks didn't stop it. The delays, the lawsuits, the pharaohs trying to make your life miserable, God's purpose overrides all those things. He's your waymaker. He parts red seas. He'll slay your giants. He'll call you out of the shepherd's fields and anoint you when you're overlooked. He'll close the mouths of hungry lions. He opens prison doors in the midnight hour. If Lazarus was here, he would tell you even when you're in a tomb wrapped in grave clothes, he'll call you back to life to finish your assignment. If Sarah was here, she would tell you even at 90 years old, if he's promised you a child, he'll bring it to pass. If my father was here, he would tell you even if you were born into poverty, even if you don't have the education, the resources, you can still leave your mark and set a new standard for your family. If my mother was here, she would tell you even if you've been diagnosed with terminal cancer, even if you're given a few weeks to live, if it's not your time to go, you're not gonna go. God's purpose will prevail, not the cancer, not the addiction, not the dysfunction, not your mistakes, but what God has purposed will override every bad break. Every person trying to hold you back, every injustice, his hand is outstretched towards you right now. It's a hand of healing, a hand of provision, a hand of favor. What he has purposed for your life is right on schedule. You didn't miss it. Mistakes didn't cancel it. Bad breaks didn't override it. The trouble didn't stop it. The trouble positioned you.

Everything is serving God's plan. Now, quit trying to figure it out. Believe in those lies. You must be off track. You must have done something wrong. No, God is ordering your steps. His calling on your life has not changed. The route may not be what you expected, but you're still going to get to the destination he has for you. Can I tell you it's going to be better than you imagined, bigger than you dreamed, more rewarding than you thought possible? Deuteronomy 31 says, the Lord said to Moses, the time has come for you to die. The time wasn't determined by the enemy, by circumstances, by sickness, by accidents. God has numbered your days. He determines when you're going to come to be with him. Moses could have been killed by the soldiers, born at the wrong time. Killed in the Nile River, tumped over as a baby and drowned. Could have been killed at 80 years old when he went to the Pharaoh to tell him let the people go. Could have been killed by the water at the Red Sea. Killed in the desert those 40 years, but his life was never in the hands of the Pharaoh or the hands of people, circumstances, mistakes. It was in the hands of Almighty God. Nothing can snatch you away. He determines your beginning, when you would be born, and he determines when you'll come home. Not the sickness, not the trouble, not the enemy. Your life is in God's hands. His purpose will prevail. If the sickness could take you out before your time, then that would be bigger than

God. If the trouble, accidents, addictions could end your life early before what God had purposed, then he wouldn't be God. Quit worrying about your future. Your days are numbered. You're not going to go until God says it's time to go. He sent you here, and when it's time, he'll take you back home. Well, Joel, I don't know if I believe that, man. I had a loved one that died earlier, friend lost in an accident. My father passed at 77. Some people told me, Joel, the enemy took your father. The enemy didn't take my father. He fulfilled his purpose. The enemy did not take your loved one. He doesn't have that kind of power. We may not be able to understand it all. I can't explain everything, but you can be assured the number of your days God will fulfill. His purpose for your life will prevail. One time in the Old Testament, the Israelites were camped next to the city of Moab. The king of Moab knew they couldn't defeat the Israelites. They were too big, too strong. So he sent men to bring the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. He thought, if I can't beat him physically, then I'll try this other way. But Balaam would only say what the Lord told him, and he wouldn't curse the Israelites. This happened twice. The king got so frustrated. The third time, he said, I'll pay you all this money if you'll just speak defeat over them. Balaam said in verse 13. Am powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord when God has purposed something even your enemies become

powerless They can plot scheme criticize, but they cannot stop what God has ordained You may have things coming against you now a sickness Addiction a trouble with a child. Can I encourage you? It is powerless to stop your purpose the weapon may have formed but it will not prosper The most high God Has his hands outstretched towards you hand of healing a hand of deliverance a hand of freedom His purpose is it work in your life? You may not understand it, but you can trust that God knows what he's doing later on You will see what you thought was a setback was really setting you up for greater things Don't fight everything you don't like don't try to control all the outcomes. That's God's job. Stay in peace Live at rest knowing that his purpose will prevail if you'll do this I believe and declare like Moses despite bad breaks. You will step into favor blessing influence Despite mistakes and delays you will go further rise higher and become all God's created you to be in Jesus name if you receive it, can you say amen? I'd like to give 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 if you prayed that simple prayer We believe you got born again, and we'd love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord You can text the number on the screen or go to the website But I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church and keep God first place