Still I Rise | Joel Osteen

Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. 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, 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. I heard about this man. He called the church office. He said, I want to speak to the head hog at the trough. The secretary was offended. She said, if you mean the pastor, you're going to have to call him pastor, but you may not call him the head hog at the trough. He said, well, I was thinking about making a $5,000 donation to your church. She said, hang on, porky just walked in. 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 still I rise. In life, things are going to happen that we don't understand, that are not fair, and they can knock the wind out of us. A bad medical reporter, the loss of a loved one, a setback in our business. I can't promise you that life won't knock you down, but I can promise you you can get back up again. The Scripture says the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you. God has put bounce back in your spirit. He knew we would face disappointments and things that could sour our future. He put in you a fire that cannot be put out, a determination to overcome what's trying to hold you back, a strength to rise up when every voice is telling you to settle. And when life knocks you down, it's okay to process it and grieve the loss. I'm not telling you to ignore the pain, just be strong. God made us with emotions. We feel things. What I'm saying is don't stay there. Don't let the loss become your location. Don't let what happened to you become your identity. You need to have this still-I-rise mentality. Yes, life knocked me down, but it can't keep me down. Still-I-rise. Yes, I had a bad break. The door closed. I don't understand it, but still I believe. Still I trust. Still I smile. Still I praise. You have to have a made-up mind that when life knocks you down, you're not going to live defeated and think about what didn't work out. You declare in the face of those circumstances, still-I-rise. I was in my kitchen the other day, and I had a glass of water and I reached over to pick something up, and somehow the glass slipped out of my hand and hit the countertop. It broke into a dozen pieces. The glass had a thick bottom, maybe an inch of solid glass, but it was shattered. After I cleaned it up, I went over to the countertop to see if it was damaged. I thought it probably dented it or chipped it. The glass was so hard, but there was no dent, no deeing. It looked perfect. It's because the countertop is granite. Granite is one of the hardest stones, much harder than glass. You can drop glass on granite all day long. Even though the glass is hard and seems so sturdy and tough, it'll never break the granite. In the same way, God made you harder than anything that will come against you. There are things you would think would break you. The sickness, the addiction, the trouble. It feels bigger, stronger. But can I encourage you? You are unbreakable. You are like that granite. You are harder than what's trying to break you. You are stronger than what's trying to stop you. You are more powerful than what's trying to hold you. Greater is He that's in you than what's coming against you. Now, you may not have the strength on your own, but there's something greater in you. That bad break may seem like it soured your future, knocked you down, but there is bounce back in your spirit. The same power that raised Christ is going to raise you back up. Now, you can't have a weak, defeated mentality. I don't know, Joel. I can't handle this. I don't know if it's too much. Have a new perspective. Yes, I'm hurting, but I know a secret. Still I rise. Yes, it looks bad, but still I believe. Yes, I'm outnumbered. Still I trust. Yes, I got the wind knocked out of me, but this is not how my story ends. I'm not settling here. Still I move forward. Still I dream. Still I expect God's goodness. This is what Jacob did in the Scripture and he had to leave his hometown because his brother Esau was angry with him. Jacob had stolen his birthright. Esau was going to take revenge, so Jacob fled to a faraway city and lived with his uncle for many years. That's where he met his wives, Rachel and Leah. They had many children. Jacob was blessed with cattle and livestock. Well, after everything cooled down, God said to him in Genesis 31, return to the land of your fathers and I will be with you. Well, Jacob always wanted to go back home, so he gathered his family, his flocks, his children. He headed toward Hebron, where his father Isaac lived. It was a long journey. They made it to the city of Bethel and camped there. That's where God changed his name from Jacob, which means deceiver and trickster. That's who he was in the past, to Israel, which means prince with God. It was a destiny moment where he had this new identity. I'm not who I used to be. I'm a new man. He built an altar there and worshiped God. They left Bethel and continued on the journey. His wife, Rachel, was pregnant. She began to have labor pains. They stopped and the midwives began to help her. She went into labor. It was very hard. There were complications. Rachel gave birth to the child, a healthy baby, but Rachel didn't make it. She died during childbirth. Here it was the best of times, new baby boy, and the worst of times. Jacob lost his beloved wife. In those days, they had multiple wives and he had married her sister, Leah. He was tricked into that, but Rachel was the love of his life. First time he saw Rachel, it was love at first sight. So much so that he told her father, Laban, that he would work for him seven years just to be able to marry her. After the seven years, Laban didn't keep his word. He gave him the oldest daughter, Leah, instead. Jacob said, that's not what we agreed to. Well, Laban said, then you have to work for me seven more years to have Rachel. Jacob did it. That's how much he loved Rachel. Now his world is shattered. He never dreamed he would lose the thing he loved the most. This one thing, if she passed from old age, at their home, they had reached their destination, but he lost her along the way while they were in transition, while they were dreaming about what was to come. And sometimes on our journey in life, the unexpected happens. A dream dies. A door closes. A loved one doesn't make it. We didn't see it coming. We get knocked down. We wonder why it happened. Live defeated. Give up on dreams. We were doing the right thing, but the wrong thing happened. God, where were you? Why didn't you stop this? There will always be unanswered questions. Faith is about trusting when you don't understand. Not trying to figure everything out. Don't put a question mark where God has put a period. He's still in control. God has a purpose for you to fulfill. And it's not like Jacob was off course doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Oh, God told him to go back home. He was being obedient following God's plan for his life. You can imagine the pain he felt, the grief, the sense of loss, being overwhelmed. This is the woman he worked 14 years for. This was the mother of Joseph, a son that would impact the world. And suddenly she's gone. Here they were planning on seeing their family, having a big reunion, all being together again. Then life happened. What made it even worse is he couldn't bury her with his family. The custom in those days is you had to bury the body within 24 hours. They were weeks away from their destination. So right there on the side of the road, he dug a grave. He set a memorial stone and he marked her passing. This was a critical point. Jacob could have settled there. He could have canceled his plans and thought, no need for me to go any further. My dreams are shattered. I'm too heartbroken. He could have lived in mourning. But verse 21 says, after honoring her passing, Israel journeyed on. The verse before says, Jacob set a marker on her grave. When Moses wrote this, he used two different names. It's not a coincidence. God was showing us Jacob represents the human part of us. Our emotions, the pain, the grief, the heartbreak, that's Jacob. He set up this pillar to mark her passing. God didn't say, Jacob, you got to get going. Don't feel anything. Be stronger. No, grief is not weakness. Grief is a sign that you loved. When you love deeply, there's a time for mourning, a time for weeping, a time to process so you can heal. If you don't grieve your losses and you hold everything in, just try to override it, it's not healthy. There needs to be a release. Weeping endures for a night, then joy comes. Don't bypass the process. But here's the key. The enemy would love for a season of mourning to turn into a lifetime of mourning. To where you set up camp at the memorial stone. You always think about what you lost. You relive the hurt, give up on dreams and settle in the sorrow. That's how Jacob fell. Those are normal emotions. Then the Scripture switches his name and says, Israel journeyed on. Israel is the spirit inside you. It's who God called you to be. When Jacob wants to settle and defeat, Israel moves forward in faith. When Jacob has overcome with sorrow, Israel rises up, wipes the tears and presses on. Weeping endures for a night. That's Jacob. But joy is coming in the morning. That's Israel. Jacob will feel overwhelmed by the loss. But the Israel in you says, still arise. Still I believe. Still I trust. Still I journey on. Jacob, he lost everything in the middle of the trouble. When he should have been depressed, he looked up and said, though he slayed me, yet will I trust him? That was Israel coming out. But when we have bad breaks and we have to bury a dream or bury something that you dearly loved, Jacob will be there. The grieving, the weeping, the sorrow. But can I encourage you, there's an Israel in you as well. The power, the fortitude, the strength that causes you to rise back up. To defy the odds. To journey on when all the circumstances tell you to settle. Man, look what's happened. It's not fair. This is sourged your life. When Jacob wants to sit down, Israel stands up. Jacob feels the pain, but Israel carries the promise that no weapon formed against you will prosper. But what is this? Jacob will try to convince you that you're done. You've seen your best days. You can't handle this, but if you listen carefully, you'll hear Israel saying, no, no, still I rise. Still I move forward. Still I pursue. Yes, that door closed. I'm disappointed, but I'm going to knock on another door. That's Israel. Had trouble with your child but you felt a strength, a power that you can't explain to keep moving forward. That's Israel. That's God sustaining you. That's His Spirit causing you to overcome. Maybe a relationship didn't work out. You lost a loved one. You should get stopped thinking, why? It's not fair. I don't understand it. That's where Jacob was. But what happened with him is going to happen to you. Israel is going to show up. Jacob couldn't have done this on his own. It was too much. Too overwhelming. But when he came to the end of his ability, Israel stepped in. That's the Spirit of God causing you to move forward to continue on despite what's tried to stop you. Now don't be down on yourself when things feel heavy. Some people say, if you have faith, you shouldn't grieve. You shouldn't feel the pain, the sadness. No, Jacob doesn't go away. We're human. Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died. He felt sorrow and heartache. In the Garden of Gethsemane he was so overwhelmed he sweat drops of blood. He's God, yet in his body he had these emotions. Not a lack of faith to feel things. The Jacob in you feels pain. Jacob reacts to loss and betrayal. Jacob carries wounds and questions. That's the natural part of us. On our own, by ourselves, we would get stuck. The good news is there's not just Jacob in you, there's an Israel in you. That's who I'm calling out. Israel gets up after being knocked down. Israel moves forward while they're still hurting. Israel trusts, even though there's unanswered questions, Israel praises through the pain and speaks victory in the middle of the trouble. Sure, Jacob buries the dream, mourns the loss, acknowledges the disappointment, but Israel journeys on. You may be in a tough season too and you feel that pain discouraged over the difficulty. Jacob's been out a long time. Can I tell you Israel is in you but you have to let him rise up. Starts in our thoughts. What are you telling yourself? I can't handle this. I can't do much. Why did they treat me this way? That's going to keep Israel from showing up. He's in you but you have to let him come alive. Try a different approach. God, this was a bad break. I don't understand it, but God, I trust you. You said you've armed me with strength for every battle. You said I can do all things through Christ. I may be down, but I'm not staying down. Still I will arise. See, Jacob had every reason on the way to his destiny. Doing the right thing. Pursuing what God told him and he lost what mattered most to him. Could have become bitter, overcome by sorrow, stuck in unanswered questions, but he did what we all have to do. He let Israel rise up. He was saying in effect, I'm hurting but I'm still moving. I'm grieving but I'm going forward. I've lost something precious but I didn't lose my purpose. We all had these times like Jacob that don't seem fair. You may feel the pain, but don't forfeit the promise. What God has spoken over your life is still going to come to pass. It may be difficult, but the Israel in you is saying, journey on, keep dreaming, keep pursuing, keep expecting. You can't keep a good person down. Despite what's happened, you will still arise. You will see the goodness of God. My father was pastoring a church back in the late 1950s and he was very successful. They just built a beautiful new sanctuary seating a thousand people and he was on the state board for his denomination on his way out. Then my sister Lisa was born with a birth injuries. Something like cerebral palsy. The doctors told my parents that she would probably never be able to speak, walk, or even feed herself. They didn't see that coming. Jacob was there. There are human emotions and they were discouraged. They felt this sorrow, heaviness, wondering why it happened. But inside each one of us, there's not just Jacob, there's an Israel. My father told how he felt this holy anger, this fire, this passion to pray and believe that Lisa could be healed. That went against everything he was taught back then. In seminary, he was told that the day of miracles was over, that it ceased when the last disciples died. He went to a hotel downtown to pray and read the Scripture. Jacob was grieving but Israel journeyed on. My father saw how Jesus went around healing people with great power and victory. Faith rose in his heart. He came back to his church and started preaching with a new fire and a new passion, encouraging them to believe that God can do what seems impossible. He thought they would be excited and on board, but it was just the opposite. They didn't like it. It went against their tradition. They ended up asking my father to leave. My parents had poured their heart into those people and given them their very best. My mother told me, lifelong friends never spoke to her again. Like Jacob and the way to their destination. Doing what God called them to do. A dream died. Didn't seem fair. God could have stopped it. There were unanswered questions. My parents grieved the loss. They mourned what didn't work out but they didn't get bitter. They didn't hold on to the hurt and talk bad about the people and try to get revenge. They realized God put a period there that that season was over. See, God is our doorkeeper. He opens and closes the doors in our life. It doesn't always make sense to us. He numbers our days. Our times are in His hands. Daddy had to bury that dream except that it didn't work out. But just because one dream dies doesn't mean God doesn't have another dream. Losing a job, a relationship, a loved one, that doesn't stop God's purpose for your life. Your destiny is not in what you've lost. It's in what you have left. But here's the whole key. If you focus on the loss, what didn't work out, what they did, you're going to get stuck. Sure you're going to feel the emotion, disappointment, sadness. Jacob is there but Israel's in there too. After you process the loss, you go through the healing. Israel is going to rise up and take the next step. Israel is going to rise up and say journey on. Move forward. Don't stay here and mourn this any longer. It's a season. Don't let it turn into a lifetime. This is what my parents did. They went out and started Lakewood with 90 people on Mother's Day in 1959. My sister Lisa kept getting better and better to find the odds. Of course today she's perfectly normal. Lakewood is still going strong 67 years later. What the enemy means for harm, God knows how to turn to your advantage. And sometimes what we think is the enemy is really the divine plan of God. Things we don't understand but it's all working for His purpose. But had my father not journeyed on, we wouldn't be here today. Had my mother gotten bitter and lived with a chip on her shoulder, she would have never seen all the blessing in favor. They were knocked down but they made this decision we're not going to stay down. They felt the sting of rejection being misunderstood, pushed out but they also felt Israel inside. Despite the opposition, they had the attitude, still we rise, still we believe, still we journey on. The Scripture says a good man falls seven times but he gets back up again. The question is not, are you going to get knocked down? Life happens to us all. The question is, are you going to get back up again? When it says Israel journeyed on, it means he rose up with a new attitude, a new courage, a new determination that said this bad break is not going to defeat me. This loss is not going to define me. I know I am stronger than what's trying to stop me. I know I am stronger than what's trying to keep me down. You have bounce back in your spirit. Resurrection power. Don't settle in the disappointment journey on to the new things God has for you. I heard about this five-year-old boy his name was Johnny and he was in church one Sunday morning with his family and the pastor was up speaking and Johnny kept standing up. He couldn't sit still. His mother whispered, Johnny, please sit down. 40 seconds later he would stand back up. This happened again and again. At one point he stood up and wouldn't sit back down. His mother reached over, put her hands on his shoulders, pushed him down and held him down. He was so upset. He looked at her and said, I may be sitting down on the outside, but I am standing up on the inside. Sometimes life will push you down. It's like the circumstances won't get back up. The medical report is holding you down. Had trouble with your child. That loss. You may not be able to get up on the outside, but like little Johnny, you have to get up on the inside in your attitude, in your thinking. You have to talk to yourself the right way. Not this is too much. I'll never get well. This bad break has soured my future. You're defeating yourself. You're going to have to go through the natural strength, courage to get back up, to journey on. But if you're only focusing on the hurt, the disappointment, Israel will stay silent. You've got to wake him up. Get your fire back. Get your passion back. God didn't bring you this far to leave you. He knows what's come against you. He feels the pain. He collects your tears. You had to bury something on the road in transition to where God is taking you. Wasn't a surprise to him. He didn't cancel your destiny. Do like Israel and journey on. He continued to his hometown and he was reunited with his father Isaac. Hadn't seen him for decades. He left as Jacob the deceiver, the trickster. He was known for his poor choices, but he came home as Israel, a patriarch, a man of great honor and respect. I'm sure when he was burying Rachel, the side of the road, in transition, he thought he'd seen his best days, that he'd just have to survive. Here's how good God is. After the loss of Rachel, after the heartbreak, he went on to see his 12 sons become the 12 tribes of Israel. Benjamin, the son Rachel gave birth to when she passed. He was called the son of strength. His tribe became known for courage and loyalty. After the loss, Jacob saw his son Joseph rise to power and become the prime minister of Egypt. Joseph was the one God used to save the Israelites during the famine. This all happened after the bad break. If Jacob were here today, he would tell you, loss is not the end of your story. If life knocks you down, Israel steps in. There's a power in you you can't explain. A force to push you forward. A grace to make it through what should stop you. I'm sure you're going to feel the emotion, sorrow, grief. Jacob is your humanity, but Israel is your destiny. There is a favor on the other side of the disappointment. There are new beginnings in the path in front of you. You're going to see the end of the season. Grieve the loss, but don't let the loss become your location. It's not okay to stay. Israel is there to help you journey on to move forward. When things come against you, you think are too much. You have to remind yourself, you are unbreakable. God has made you harder, stronger, more resilient than anything that tries to stop you. Now don't have a weak defeated mentality. Despite the loss, despite the bad break, still I believe, still I pray, still I trust, still I journey on. If you'll do this, I believe and declare Israel is going to show up. God will not only bring you through, but you will flourish again. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy is coming. Strength is coming. Healing, new relationships. Victory is coming. In Jesus' name. 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. 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, and you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God first place. We all go through disappointments and things that are not fair, but God sees every hurt, every injustice, and He's promised to pay you back for the unfair things. I'd love to send you my new resource, Double For Your Trouble. It's filled with inspiration to help you stay in faith and be painful, but the fact is, it sets you up for double. God will make the enemy pay and bring you out better than you were before. This ministry is reaching people around the world with a message of hope. And as our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount, we would like to send you a copy of Double For Your Trouble, a daily guide for restoration. This 31-day spiral-bound resource is an invitation into healing, an abundant life God has promised. Whether you're walking through a season of loss, believing for a breakthrough, or simply looking for a deeper connection with God, this guide is designed to help you reflect, realign, and rebuild day by day. Receive your copy, and know that whatever you're facing today, grief, loss, uncertainty, it doesn't define your future. Choose to trust God. He sees you. He cares deeply. And He is the God who restores Double. None of us like difficulties, but if you'll stay in faith, you won't come out the same. You'll come out with Double. And, Victor and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you for your prayers and support. Your donations are bringing hope to people around the world. Special thank you to our champion of hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we see you again next week, God bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of Double for Your Trouble, available this month by simply visiting us at joelosteen.com or call 888-567-JOEL. You can also receive God's Got You Restoration Duo. This book is a powerful reminder that no matter what you face, you are not alone. God's got you, and he will never let you go. In addition to these two inspiration books, you can also receive the Double Portion Restoration Bible Collection. This beautifully curated collection brings together the restoring of hope, of Double for Your Trouble and the comforting reassurance of God's Got You, paired with a stunning CSB Thinline Bible, Digital Study Edition in camel suede soft leather touch. This elegant Bible offers a rich immersive study experience and enduring companion as you lean in to God's promises of renewal and restoration. Let these resources strengthen your faith, study your heart and remind you each day that God is restoring, leading and working Double on your behalf. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567-JOEL or logging on to joelosteen.com today. If you've never been to Lakewood, we have a great opportunity to come. We call it Homecoming Weekend. We'd love to meet you and your family. You can see the building and attend one of the services. It's a great time to be a part of the Lakewood family. Looking forward to seeing you at Homecoming Weekend.