Your Bags are Packed | Joel Osteen

- For 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. I'd like to start with something funny, and I heard about these two professional baseball players. They were discussing whether or not they thought there would be baseball up in heaven. They made an agreement that whoever died first would come back and tell if indeed there was baseball in heaven. A few months later, one of the players died, just like he promised. He came back, said to the other player, "I got good news, and I've got bad news." The good news is there is baseball up in heaven. The bad news is you're scheduled to pitch next Thursday. (audience laughing) 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 wanna talk to you today about your bags are packed. We all face situations where we don't know if we have what it takes. We feel unqualified for the position.

We don't think we have the strength to raise these children, the endurance to deal with these health issues. But God knew everything you would ever face. Every problem, every setback, every dream. He put in you everything you would need to fulfill your purpose. The gifts, the talents, the wisdom, the strength. He's lined up the right people, the good breaks, the doors to open, the giants to fall. You will never face a situation where you don't have what you need. You're not lacking, you're not at a disadvantage. The odds may be against you, but God has already equipped and empowered you for every season. David said it this way, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. One version says, I have everything I need. That's a powerful place to live from. I'm not attractive enough and I don't have the talent. This problem's too big. As long as you think you're lacking, you're going to get stuck. You have to change your mindset. Get out of that not enough mentality, can't do it, too big. Do like David, heaven, I have everything I need mentality. I am well able. That's how David could defeat a giant with just a slingshot. That's how he could outlast King Saul who was so jealous.

That's why he didn't get discouraged when his father left him out in the shepherd's fields. He knew number one, the Lord is my shepherd. I'm not doing this by myself. I have a protector, a defender, a way maker. And number two, he believed that the Lord, his shepherd, had put in him everything he needed. That he wasn't lacking, that he wasn't deficient. He didn't go around thinking, I wish I had more courage than I'd face that giant. Wish I had more talent than I could become a king. If I had more strength, I could deal with Saul. We wouldn't be talking about David if he didn't believe that he had everything he needed for each season he was in. If you have a lacking mindset, it pushes down your potential. If you believe you're at a deficit, it limits what God put in you. When Joel, I feel like I'm over my head. I don't know if I can do this. God wouldn't have allowed the situation if you weren't well able. It's a test. Are you going to live with a lacking mentality or are you going to live with a loaded mentality? Are you going to shrink back 'cause the obstacle feels too big or are you going to step up knowing that the courage, the strength, the favor is already in you? And I'm not saying you should never feel unqualified

or feel intimidated. Feelings come to us all. That's not a lack of faith, that's normal. But here's the key, feelings don't tell you the truth. Feelings are fickle. They can be up one day and down the next. You have to override those feelings by what you know. That is, the Lord is your shepherd and you have everything you need for each season that you're in. Now don't verbalize your feelings. Verbalize what God says about you. Why can't raise this child? It's too difficult. No, I am strong in the Lord. I am well able. Well, I can't take this position. I'm not qualified. No, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Well, Joel, this sickness is too much. I can't deal with the treatment. Turn it around. Greater is he that's in me than what's trying to stop me. You have the strength, the power, the favor. Imagine with me that I decided to take Victoria on a 40-day surprise vacation next year for our 40th anniversary. I just imagine because it's not going to happen. This is an illustration, Victoria. This is not a prophecy.

But since it's a surprise, I have to pack her bags, and I pick out all these great locations. We're going to spend a few days in the mountains where it's snowing, so I pack her coat, sweater, gloves, a scarf. Then we're going to head to a beach town, get some sun, I pack her shorts, tank tops, sandals, sunscreens. We love to hike. We're going to travel to this place where they're great trails, so I pack her hiking boots. I pack her jeans, backpack, water bottle. Then we're going to finish up the trip in a big city, go to a nice restaurant, maybe see a play afterwards, so I pack something formal, nice dress, high heels, fancy purse. She'll need her makeup, I'll take those four suitcases, and the morning of the trip, she wakes up and I tell her, "We're going on a surprise 40-day vacation. We live in an hour." First thing she'll say is, "I can't go, I have to pack." I tell her, "No, you don't have to, I pack for you." She'll say, "Now, I'm really not going," but we get to our first location. She looks in the bag and there's the coat, the sweater, the gloves that she needs, get to the beach. A few days later, there's the shorts, sandals, and sunscreen. She thinks, "Man, I know Joel is good looking, I didn't know he's this smart." We go take our hike. She has all her gear, jeans, backpack, water bottle. Get to the big city. She looks in her bag. One of her nice dresses, perfectly folded, there's her high heels, it's all in there. Every place she went, she had just what she needed. How could I pack so perfectly? How could I have the right thing for every occasion? It's because I planned the trip.

I knew the itinerary, where we were going, how long we were going to stay, what we're going to do, what the weather would be like. I took all that into account and made sure I packed exactly what she needed. The scripture says, "Before you were born, God knew you and planned out your days." It says in Psalms that he has written every day of your life in his book. He knows where you're going, how long you're going to stay, what the conditions are going to be like, what you're going to need. The good news is, God not only knows your itinerary, but he has packed your bags. There's not a location that you go to, that you won't have what you need. There's not a season you'll be in where you don't have the strength, the courage, the favor to do what he's assigned you to do. He knows every battle you'll face, every valley, every mountain. That opportunity that seems over your head, he knew it was coming. He planned your trip. He's already put the faith, the wisdom, the fortitude in your bag. You don't have to live worthy. I don't know if I can handle this. This over my head, no, it's in you. There's grace for every season. There is strength for your assignment, provision for your calling. Don't believe those lies that you're at a deficit. It's too much. That's saying, in effect, God, you forgot something. You left this out of my bag. You didn't take into account this trouble, this person that walked away, this new level in my career, no, God doesn't make mistakes. Whatever season you're in, it may be a surprise to you, but it's not a surprise to him. When you understand that God has packed your bags, you don't live with a lacking mindset. You live with a loaded mindset. Like David, even when you walk into seasons that don't make sense, you have that faith,

that trust, that the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. This can save you a lot of frustration, a lot of angst about the future, because there's so much uncertainty. It's easy to worry about what might happen and how am I going to handle college? What if I'm not good at raising these children? What if this company doesn't need me in the future? How will I make it? We don't know what the future holds. We don't know what we'll need and what we'll face, but you know what will help you just sleep well at night, lay down in peace, is when you know that your bags have been packed by your Heavenly Father. He knows everything. He plans your itinerary. He didn't just leave it up to us to figure out, come up with what we need, he packed your bags for you. You too can do a count. You can live in peace knowing who packed your bags One time I was at a night of hope one of our events on the road and always were a casual close to the venue And I changed into my suit right before the service starts I've been there an hour or so visiting with pastors and other guests and about 15 minutes before the service I ran back to change my clothes and my suit and shirt and tie were hanging there And I looked in my bag, and there were my shoes my belt, but I couldn't find my socks anywhere I looked in all the compartments and unzipped everything pulled out all the other clothes But no socks all I had were my athletic socks. I was wearing with my tennis shoes Well, my friend Johnny was with me. I've known him my whole life. He was already in his suit He looked at me and said do you want my socks? I said if you don't mind and we switched socks right there I didn't tell him anything about that toe fungus. I've had for 30 years, but God must have protected him But here's my point Sometimes we forget to pack things. I had done a couple hundred nights a hope but that night I left something out

Can I encourage you God never leaves anything out? He never forgets to pack what you need Now when you're in a difficult situations thoughts will whisper. You're not qualified You're not attractive enough. You're not talented enough Do you think the creator of the universe the God who flung stars into space? Somehow made a mistake and forgot to pack what you need that he somehow Left out your socks so to speak now. You don't have the courage the strength the ability That's the enemy He'd love to deceive us into living with a lacking mentality. I'm not enough. I'm at a deficit As long as you believe that it's limiting what God put in you the gifts the talents the strength is lying dormant The way to unpack your bags and discover what's in you is to be like David and live from this I have everything I need mentality Not because of what we've done not because of how great we are But because the Lord is our shepherd and he has packed us with courage with influence with leadership with strategy You're not lacking you can handle it if it's in your path You're equipped for it if it's in your future. You don't have to worry God made the itinerary He's planned your days. He's already packed everything you need when you get there You can open up that bag and there it is a Friend of mine is taking care of his elderly parents. He and his wife have several beautiful children He's very successful in his career. They're always on the go He said Joel if you would have told me five years ago that I would need to take care of my parents and bring them food each Day and check on them and take them to appointments. I would have thought there's no way. I don't have the time or energy I can't handle all that But he said it's so amazing at how I have the grace to do all this now. I don't dread it I enjoy it. It's like God has multiplied my time Why was that God had already packed the grace the strength the ability in his bag? God knows what you're going to need when you're going to need it. You don't have to dread things and worry Convince yourself, it's going to be so hard and what all you can't do when you get there the grace will be there But Joel it seems like it's over my head. It's too much for me No, you haven't unpacked all this in your bag. You've seen partial strength partial talent partial courage There's much more in you

You can't judge your future by where you are right now Proverbs says the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter as you step into new seasons where you need more strength More wisdom more grace you're going to unpack things. You didn't know we're in you And some of what God has packed is hidden on purpose because you don't need it right now It's easy to think well. This is who I am. This is who I'll always be This same level of confident strength influence. No, you're graceful where you are right now But God has greater levels coming You're going to discover what he's packed in you that you didn't even know you had For 17 years. I worked behind the scenes here at Lakewood during the television production and I enjoyed it Had a natural bin cameras and lighting and producing But my father would always try to get me up to speak. He say joy. to me. I thought, "Man, I have my dad fooled. There is no way I could get up in front of people." I would know what to say. I don't have that gift. Year after year, I would tell him no. In 1999, my father had a heart attack and went to be with the Lord. All of a sudden, I felt this desire to step up and pastor the church. Now, thoughts told me, "You're not qualified. You don't have the experience. Nobody's going to listen to you." In years past, I believed it, lived intimidated too much, no way. But this time, I felt this courage, this strength, this favor that I'd never felt before. I stepped up. We never dreamed the church would grow. We were hoping if we could just maintain what my parents had built, that would be a great victory. But look what the Lord has done. Twenty-seven years later, here we are in the former compact center. I didn't know my father was going to suddenly pass. I didn't know I could minister, but God knew what was coming. He knew what I was going to need. He had already packed my bags. You don't know what God has already packed in you. That's why you don't have to worry. What if this happens, Joel? I don't think I'm qualified. I don't have the talent. You have what you need for this season. When you need more, it'll be there. God has already packed it. He's not only put things in you, but He's lined up the people you need and the doors to open, the good breaks. When my father passed, my brother Paul had been the chief of surgery at a hospital in Little Rock for 13 years. Driving home from the memorial service, he felt God telling him to come back home and help us pass to the church. My brother-in-law, Don, was working in politics in Washington.

He came back and helped us to run the television station the church owned. I couldn't have made all this happen. God had it all lined up. When we were trying to acquire this building, the former compact center, it was owned by the city. We needed ten city council members to vote for us. I'd never done anything in city politics. I thought, man, where do we even start trying to convince people to be for us? There was a consultant we were told about that was the most influential man in city politics. For decades, he had worked with council members and mayors. If you wanted anything done, people told us he was the person to get. The thing about this man is he didn't have any kind of faith background, never done anything for a religious organization. He was known to be a partier and loved to dream, stay out late, have a good time. His language was really out there, but you never know who God is going to use. Don't write people off because they're not just like you. The first time I met with him, he was like this instant connection. God caused things to fall into place. He went out of his way to make things happen for us. He called on favors that people owed him and used it for us. It was uncommon. He told the newspaper, I love Joel. I'll do anything for him. I'd like to think I'm just that great, but that was the favor God had already packed for us for that critical season bringing the right people. God knows what you need, and he knows who you need. As you keep moving forward, honoring God, you're going to unpack gifts, talents, favor, opportunity. The right people are going to show up. God packed it for the right season. You'll never be at a deficit, never be lacking. Like David, you have everything you need for the season you're in. Like God did for me, you're going to come into these seasons where you unpack things that thrust you ahead, that you didn't even know were in you. This is what happened to Gideon, Judges 6, the people of Israel were being terrorized by the Midianites. They were bigger and stronger, and every time the Israelites' crops begin to flourish, they would come and take the harvest and steal their possessions. Gideon was in hiding in a wine press, afraid and intimidated. An angel showed up and said, "Mighty Hero, the Lord is with you. You are to deliver the Israelites from the army of Midian." I can imagine Gideon looking around, thought, "Who's he talking to?" I'm not a mighty hero. I'm not strong and confident. I'm afraid. I'm hiding. God doesn't just see you as you are. He knows what he put in you. There will be these times that he calls it out. Gideon said to the angel, "How can I deliver the people? I come from

the smallest tribe, and I'm the least one in my father's house." He was saying strength and the strategy, then I'd step up. But God will never ask you to do something and not give you the ability to do it. He won't open a door that you can't walk through. He won't let you face opposition that you can't overcome. He knew it was coming. He planned your days. He determined your itinerary. He knew the Midianites would show up. The trouble, the sickness, the loss. It may have surprised you, but it didn't surprise him. The psalmist said, "God has armed you with strength for every battle." He's already packed your bags for that adversity. Yes, the enemy may look big, but what's in you is bigger. That challenge may be great, but greater is he that's in you. There's greater courage, greater faith, greater vision. You wouldn't be facing it if you weren't well able. Gideon's mistake is he went by what he felt. I feel unqualified. I feel less than afraid. That whole time he had a mighty hero on the inside, a man of fearless courage. This shows us what you're thinking can push down what God put in you. If you live with this deficit mentality, not enough, disadvantage, you're not going to see that mighty hero come out. Gideon made all these excuses and told the angel what he didn't have, what he couldn't do. The angel said, "Gideon, go in the strength you have." That was the key. He was saying, "Don't wait till your feelings change. Take a step of faith and you'll discover what God has already put in you." Sometimes we're like Gideon. When I feel more courage, Joel, when I see things begin to improve, when I don't have this doubt, this insecurity, then I'll step up. But faith is about believing before you see it. Gideon finally took that step. He went out and defeated the Midianites, and he went on to become one of the heroes of faith. I wonder if there are things God has packed in your bag, but like Gideon, you're talking yourself out of it. Thinking you're not qualified. The opposition's too big. You don't have what it takes. You wouldn't be there if you didn't have what it takes. Your assignment may be bigger than your confidence, but it's not bigger than your calling. God has already packed the mighty hero in you. He's already put greater confidence, strength, strategy to defeat the giants in your life, to step into your purpose. Moses had to learn this. He'd been in the desert for 40 years, hiding because of a mistake he had made. He felt like he was done. He had missed his chance, but God has taken into account every mistake, every wrong term. He's already packed mercy and new beginnings and second chances. Nothing you've done has canceled your destiny. God showed up in a burning bush and told Moses, "Go tell the Pharaoh to let my people go." Moses said, "God, I can't go. I stutter.

Have a problem with my speech. I don't talk well. I love how God answered him." He said, "Moses, who made your tongue? Who makes the death to hear? Who makes the blind to see? Is it not I, the Lord's your God?" He was saying, "In effect, Moses, who packed your bags? You think I left something out that I'm asking you to do something you can't do? If you'll go in the street if you have, you'll discover what God has already packed." Moses went to the Pharaoh. At first, he wouldn't let the people go. God told him to throw his staff on the ground this stick that he carried. When he did, it turned into a snake. He picked it up, it turned back into a staff, supernatural power. He held that stick up and the Red Sea parted. He used that stick to strike a rock and water came flowing out. Something he had that looked ordinary just to stick became a tool to see the extraordinary. Some of the things God has packed in your bags may seem ordinary to you. Ordinary talent, ordinary courage, ordinary opportunity, but when God breathes on them, they'll become extraordinary. Doors will open, healing will come, generational limitations will be broken. But Moses almost talked himself out of it. God, I stuttered, I met a deficit. He didn't need a new mouth. He needed a new mindset. Could that be you today? You have what you need, but your thinking is limiting you. I know there are times that we feel that God not only planned your days, he not only determined your itinerary, but he took it one step further and packed your bags. You have the grace you need for this season that you're in and whatever you face in the future. You don't have to worry. Stress over things that you can't control. Wonder how it's going to work out, you can stay in peace, your Heavenly Father has taken all that into account. He didn't forget to pack anything in your bag. He didn't make mistakes. I don't live from a deficit mentality, not enough, problem too big. There's a mighty hero in you. There's courage, strength, new levels, no more unlacking, but how about I'm loaded. How about I Gideon mentality, it's too much, but how about David, the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.

If you'll do this, I believe and declare, like David, you're going to see giants fall, healing, freedom, breakthroughs, like Gideon. That mighty hero is going to come out, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name, and 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.