Read Textual Sermon from Joel Osteen
God bless you. It's great to be with you today. I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, and 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 like to start with something funny. I heard about this 92-year-old man. He wasn't feeling up to par, so he went to the doctor. A few days later, the doctor saw him out walking in the park with this beautiful young lady by his side, and he seemed as happy as can be. The doctor said, “Wow, you sure are feeling a lot better, aren't you?” He said, “Yes, doctor, I'm just following your orders. You said, ‘Get a hot mama and stay cheerful.’” The doctor said, “I didn't say that. I said, ‘You've got a heart murmur; be careful.’” He heard what he wanted to hear.
But here we go, y’all.
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-given desires. Sometimes, life can be confusing. We think, “How do I know what my purpose is? What am I supposed to do?” There are so many roads we can take, so many different paths we can go down. We have ideas and goals we want to accomplish, but we're not sure—“Is this my plan, or is this God's plan? Is this just an idea I came up with, or is it something I should pursue? Is it a part of my destiny?” How do we know what's right for us?
David said in Psalm 37, “If you will commit your ways to the Lord, if you will trust Him and do good, then God will give you the desires of your heart.” We read that to mean that God will give us whatever we want. But another perspective is that when you honor God, He will put the right desires in you.
When you have a heart to please God, when you've committed your ways to Him, then He will make sure you have the right desires. You can trust that your will is aligned with His will. That means that the things you have a desire to do—that open door you feel good about, that position you want to take, that person you want to get to know—you can act on them, knowing that God is putting His desires in you.
Knowing our purpose—knowing God's will for our life—is not as difficult as we make it. If you're keeping Him first, there will be things that you're passionate about, things you're gifted at, opportunities that excite you, dreams that motivate you. That's God leading you into your destiny. When you've committed your ways to Him, you can be sure that God is watching over your desires. He's going to override wrong desires. He's going to close doors you're not supposed to go through. He's going to move people out that shouldn't be there.
I'm not talking today about temptation or carnal desires—we all have to deal with that. I'm talking about when it comes to your purpose, to fulfilling your destiny—God is going to make sure you have the right desires.
He said in Psalm 32, “I will guide you along the best path for your life. I will advise you, watch over you, and instruct you along the way.” Notice how God takes you down the best path. He puts His desires in you. He advises you, He instructs you, He watches over you.
You don't have to worry about missing your destiny. “What am I supposed to do? What if this isn't the right decision?” Because you've committed your ways to God, you can trust your desires. You can follow what He put in your heart. He's watching over you. He's going to put the right desires in you at the right time.
In the Scripture, the prophet Samuel came to a young man named Saul and told him that he was going to be the first king of Israel. You would think Saul would be excited—“What an honor!”—but Saul didn't want to become king. He was afraid, intimidated. He didn't think he had what it took.
He told Samuel, “I come from the smallest tribe in Israel. My family is the least important family in that tribe. I'm sorry, Samuel, you have the wrong person. I'm not about to step up and lead these people.”
Samuel could have thought, “God, You told me to anoint him. I must have heard You wrong.” But the Scripture says, “As Saul turned to leave, God changed his heart. And all that Samuel prophesied came to pass.”
Notice—one moment, Saul didn't want to do it; the next moment, he did. What happened? God put the desire in him.
God is not going to let you miss your purpose. You may not want to do His will at first. You may say, like Saul, “That's too big. I'm not that talented. That's not my thing.” But when God changes your “want to”—when He puts new desires in you—it won't be a struggle. You won't think, “Oh man, this is a pain. I don't want to lead. I don't want to raise these children. I don't want to run that business.” There will be a passion, a grace, and the favor to do what God put in your heart.
I want you to have this confidence: Because you're committing your ways to God, He's going to put the right desires in you. He's leading you down the best path. You're not going to have to worry and wonder, “Which way? What should I do?” You can relax, knowing that God is in control of your desires.
He's not just opening the right doors, not just bringing the right people, but He's giving you the want to, the passion, the drive, and the wisdom to go down the best path for your life.
What's interesting is that when the Israelites were in slavery, God told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let the people go. But the Scripture says, “God caused Pharaoh to harden his heart, and he wouldn't let the people leave.”
Pharaoh didn't harden his heart on his own—God put the desire in him to be stubborn. God gave him the desire to say no. It goes on to say that this happened so God could get great glory at Pharaoh's expense. God went on to perform all these great miracles so that everyone would know who the God of Israel was. It was all a part of His plan so the Israelites could fulfill their purpose.
My point is: If God will put desires in other people—people who don't know Him, people who are not serving Him—to bring about His purpose, how much more will He put the desires in you so you can fulfill your destiny?
You don't have to fear the future or worry about what's ahead. “How do I know if this is the right choice?” Just keep honoring God.
Your part is to commit your ways to Him. Every morning, say, “Lord, let Your will be done and not mine. I put You in first place.”
God's part is to put the right desires in you. He's leading you into the best plan that He's already laid out. You may not understand it all right now, but you can stay in peace, knowing that you're not going to miss your destiny. God knows how to make the desire strong enough to where you step into His will.
Think about David. He was delivering lunch to his brothers, who were out on the battlefield, when he heard Goliath taunting the Israelites, making fun of them, daring them to fight.
All of a sudden, something rose up in David. He said, “Who is this man that he would defy the armies of the living God?”
He had this desire to take on Goliath. There were thousands of other Israelite soldiers—strong, brave, skilled—yet not one of them wanted to fight Goliath. They heard him, day after day, threatening them, and they would run and hide. They were terrified.
Yet here David was—a teenager, a shepherd. He didn't have the training, the experience, or the size. Yet suddenly, he knew he was supposed to take on Goliath.
One thing we know about David is that he had a heart after God. He had committed his ways into God’s hands. In turn, God put this desire in his heart. If it wasn’t a God-given desire, David would have talked himself out of it.
"I’d like to fight him, but he’s twice my size. I don’t have a chance. I’ll get out there and look like a fool.”
But when God puts the desire in you, He’ll make it stronger than all the negative voices—all the doubt that tries to talk you out of it. When it’s a God-given desire, you won’t be moved by opposition, by how impossible it looks, or by what people are telling you. There will be a boldness, a confidence, to do what you know God put in your heart.
Paul said in Philippians, “God is working in you to give you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”
It’s one thing to have the desire—that’s great—but God doesn’t stop there. He says, “I’m going to give you the power to do it. I’m going to give you the favor. I’m going to give you the courage, the skill, the resources.” You’re going to feel strength that you’ve never felt, ability that you’ve never had, favor like you’ve never seen.
God doesn’t just give you the desire—He gives you the ability to accomplish what He’s put in your heart.
The Scripture says, “David ran toward Goliath.”
All the other soldiers ran away from Goliath. They all ran and hid. But one teenager, with nothing but a slingshot and a God-given desire, took off running toward Goliath. He slung that rock and knocked him out. That day, he became a national hero.
But think about this—a few weeks earlier, he was sitting in the shepherd’s fields, alone, with nobody paying attention. He had big dreams, but he didn’t see how they would ever happen. Then, in one moment, God dropped a desire in his heart. That one victory catapulted David to a new level.
God has some of these destiny desires lined up for you—things He’s going to drop in your heart. Others will think it’s too big, that it doesn’t make sense. They’re intimidated. That’s because God didn’t put the desire in them.
That desire is leading you down the best path—a path of abundance, a path of greater influence, a path of helping more people, making a bigger difference, and seeing your gifts come out in greater ways.
"Joel, I think I may have missed my chance. There were some good opportunities that I passed up. I was distracted, I was afraid, I didn’t step out."
When God puts the desire in you, it’s going to be so strong you can’t pass it up. He’s not going to let you miss your purpose. God knows how to make you want to do His will. He’ll give you the power to obey what He put in your heart.
From the time I was a little boy, I loved anything to do with cameras, production, and editing. At twelve years old, I was running the camera at the old church during the services. I would come down on Saturdays as a teenager and play with all the equipment.
I graduated from high school and went to college to learn more about production. I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. After that first year, I felt so strongly that I was supposed to come back home and start a television outreach at Lakewood.
My father was fine with it, but my mother—not so much. She said, “Joel, I never wanted you to drop out.”
I said, “Mother, I didn’t drop out—I knocked it out. I took the one-year plan. My brother Paul went eleven years to become a surgeon, but some of us are more accelerated, and we don’t need that long.”
God has a sense of humor. Twenty-five years later, that same university gave me an honorary doctorate degree. I didn’t tell them, “I don’t even have my bachelor’s degree yet.”
For seventeen years, I worked behind the scenes at Lakewood, doing the television production. I was fulfilled. I loved doing it. I did my best to make my father look good and to represent the church with excellence.
During those years, my father would try to get me up to minister. He said, “Joel, you’d be a great pastor. Why don’t you start speaking for me?”
But I had no desire. Not one part of me wanted to get up in front of people. It wasn’t something I wrestled with.
"Maybe I should, maybe I shouldn’t."
There was no question—that wasn’t for me.
But when my father passed in 1999, the strangest thing happened. All of a sudden, I had the desire to pastor the church. I had a desire to get up in front of people.
Yes, I was intimidated. I didn’t feel qualified. Doubt and negative voices tried to talk me out of it. But what’s significant is that the desire was stronger than anything that was trying to hold me back.
God knows how to make His desires override all the negative things that could keep you from doing it. He’s not only giving you the desire—He’s giving you the power to do it.
That’s why you don’t have to second-guess: “Did I miss my opportunity?”
No—when God puts the desire in you, He’ll make sure it’s strong enough that you act on it.
Proverbs says, “A man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.”
I had my plan: I’m going to work in television production. I’m going to stay behind the scenes.
That was right for the time. That was God leading me down the best path. But then God changed my plan.
I know this is what God has called me to do. It’s not a struggle. I don’t dread it. “Man, I have to get up in front of people. This is a pain.”
I love doing it.
What changed?
The desire.
God is going to put the right desires at the right time, leading you into the best path for your life. You don’t have to live stressed: “Is this the right decision? Should I go here? Is this my will or is this God’s will?”
You can stay in peace, knowing that because you’ve committed your ways to God, He’s in control of your desires. You wouldn’t be feeling that impression, you wouldn’t be having that longing, if He wasn’t leading you in that direction.
In the Scripture, Nehemiah was working as a cupbearer for the king. He was living in Persia, a thousand miles away from his hometown of Jerusalem. His brother came to visit and told him how the people of Judah were in great danger. The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down. The gates had been pulled out.
What could Nehemiah do about it? He was working in the kitchen. He could have told his brother, “That’s too bad. I hate hearing that.”
But suddenly, God dropped a desire in Nehemiah to rebuild those walls. It didn’t make sense to his mind. He didn’t have the staff, the resources, or the influence.
But when it’s a God-given desire, you don’t talk yourself out of it. You don’t come up with excuses. You know God will make a way, so you take steps of faith. You get out of your comfort zone and do things you never thought you could do.
That’s God—not just giving you the desire but the power to do what pleases Him.
When it’s a destiny desire, there’s a force breathing in your direction—pushing you forward, opening doors, causing people to be good to you. You’re not stressed over how it’s going to happen—you know it’s going to happen.
Nehemiah was quiet, reserved. He never made any waves. But now, there was this new boldness—a confidence, a faith to believe for what seemed impossible.
He went to the king and asked if he could take time off to go build the walls of Jerusalem. Imagine going to your boss tomorrow and saying, “Can I have a year off to go home and take care of some family business?”
But when God puts the desire in you, you not only have the “want to”—but God gives you the favor to get it done.
The king said, “Yes, Nehemiah, you can have the time off.”
Then he said, “But I don’t have any supplies, any materials, any funds.”
The king said, “Don’t worry. I’ll give you a letter requiring people to give you everything you need.”
The Scripture says, “The king granted him all his requests because the gracious hand of God was upon him.”
Notice, God not only put the desire in him, but God put the favor on him so he could see that desire come to pass. God never gives you the desire without the power, without the favor.
You don’t have to make all this happen—try to force doors to open, manipulate things, or play up to people. Just keep God first place. Make pleasing Him a priority, and God will put the right desires in you. He’ll lead you down the best path.
The best path is something you’ve never imagined. You have your plans, but you should see God’s plans. His ways are better than our ways. He has exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond in your future.
In my plan, I never thought I would be doing this.
In David’s plan, he never thought he’d be defeating a giant and becoming the king.
In Nehemiah’s plan, he never thought he would rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Who knows where God is taking you?
There are desires He’s going to put in your heart that are going to boggle your mind. The beauty is—you won’t be talked out of it. He’ll make it strong enough to override the doubt, the naysayers, and the fear, and you’ll step into levels greater than you’ve ever imagined.
A friend of mine grew up in a very dysfunctional home where there was a lot of strife. They were very poor. As a young boy, there were nights he had to get out of the house, afraid of all the violence. He could have grown up bitter, angry.
But his attitude was, “I’m not going to live like this. I’m going to break this negative cycle and do something productive with my life.”
There was a doctor in the small town in Alabama where they lived. He was the only man he saw that was successful and always happy. He made up his mind as a young boy that he was going to become a doctor, just like that man.
He loved playing football. At sixteen years old, a friend invited him to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. He felt something that he’d never felt. His family didn’t know anything about God. But that night, he gave his life to Christ.
He went to the University of Alabama hoping to play football. They let him try out for the team. Against all odds, he made it. They gave him a full scholarship.
His senior year, he was finishing up his pre-med classes, still planning to become a doctor. But he thought, “I’m not passionate about medicine anymore. I don’t want to become a doctor.”
He decided to go into health management. He graduated from college and had a job lined up. Then, his football coach called him and said, “I want you to come and work for me, be my assistant.”
He had never thought about coaching. That wasn’t even on his radar. He went to check it out, to see what it was like—and he fell in love with it.
He said, “This is what I was born to do.”
When you keep God first, He’ll guide you down the best path.
He thought he wanted to become a doctor. At the time, that’s what he needed—that vision to go to school, to break out of the dysfunction. But God knows how to change your desires. He’s doing this to align your will with His will.
Had he not seen that doctor growing up, he’d never have had a desire to go to college.
Had he never gone to college, he’d never have played for Alabama.
Had he never played football, he’d never have become an assistant coach.
Had he never become an assistant, he would have never become the head coach of Clemson University.
Coach Dabo Swinney—who’s won two national championships—one of the greatest college coaches of our day.
He had his plan, but God had another plan.
And I can assure you—God’s plan is better than your plan.
The beauty is—you don’t have to figure it all out.
All you have to do is commit your ways to God, keep Him first place, and He will put the right desires in you. He’ll guide you down the best path for your life.
"Joel, I’ve had a lot of these desires for a long time—something I’ve been dreaming about, something I want to become—but it hasn’t happened.”
It either hasn’t been the right time, or God has something better.
Trust Him.
Believe what He promised—that He’s giving you the right desires and the power to do what pleases Him.
A great prayer is:
"Lord, thank You that my will is aligning with Your will. Thank You that You’re in control of my desires. You know what’s best for me. God, I trust You with my life.”
Elisha was out working in a field, plowing with a bunch of his staff. There were eleven teams of oxen in front of him—he was leading the twelfth team.
He was a part of the family business. They were successful. They had plenty of resources. He was next in line to run it all.
One day, the prophet Elijah came by, threw his jacket on him, and said, “Come work for me.”
Why would Elisha want to leave? His future was set. He had all these resources, a staff, a nice place to live.
But suddenly, God dropped the desire in Elisha.
He felt it so strongly—"This is a part of your destiny. It’s time to step out."
The Scripture says, “Elisha burned the plows, sacrificed the oxen, and went with Elijah to be his assistant.”
Sometimes, what God puts in your heart doesn’t make sense to other people.
I’m sure he was the talk of the town—"Can you believe Elisha left everything to follow that old man? That prophet that’s kind of crazy?"
But God won’t move you out unless He has something better.
Not long after that, Elijah was taken to heaven, and Elisha received a double portion of his spirit. He performed twice as many miracles as Elijah.
God is going to put desires in you that are going to take you further than you can imagine.
You think you’ve reached your limits, gone as far as you can according to your education, your family, your income.
But God is not limited by any of that.
Because you keep Him first, He’s going to open doors you never dreamed would open—bring opportunity, influence, favor, and resources.
The best path is an abundant path, a favor-filled path, a bountiful path.
How do you get there?
Commit your ways to the Lord.
He’ll not only put the right desires in you—He’ll make sure you have the power to do what pleases Him.
But what about when we’re not putting God first? What about family, loved ones that are not committing their ways to Him? How are they ever going to make the right choices?
God is so merciful—He’ll still put desires in you.
The Scripture says, “He chose us before we could choose Him.”
At seventeen years old, my father was coming home from a nightclub at two o’clock in the morning. He didn’t know anything about God. His family were good people, but they didn’t have any kind of faith. It looked like my father would continue down that same path.
But for some reason that night, he looked up at the stars and began to think about God—what he was going to do with his life.
That was God drawing my father in, giving him the desire to think about his Creator.
Parents, you may have children that are off course. It doesn’t look good.
You keep praying. Keep loving them.
And at the right time, God is going to give them new desires—His desires—desires that move them into their destiny.
I know today you have a heart after God, or you wouldn’t be here.
You want to do the right thing, or you wouldn’t have tuned in.
My encouragement is—you can trust God with your desires.
If you’ll do this, I believe and declare you’re going to see the best path for your life.
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. I hope you'll get into a good bible-based church and keep god first place.
