God Can Speak to Us Even In Our Doubts | Joel Osteen
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Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024, healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message.

God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. We love you. We know God has great things in store. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. Thank you so much for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out today. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this man that was very stingy with his money.

Just before his death, he made his wife promise that she would have him buried with the $50,000 he had saved.

The wife reluctantly agreed. At the funeral, just before they closed the casket, she slipped in a small wooden box. Her friend said, surely you didn't just bury the money, did you? The wife said, of course I did. I'm a Christian. I can't lie. I promised him I would do it, so I did it. She said, you mean you just buried $50,000? The wife said, yes, I did. I wrote a check. Laughter

Hold up your Bible. 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 how God can speak to us even in our doubts. Sometimes we think we're supposed to have a perfect faith where we never doubt, we never have a question, we never get discouraged, we never wonder why something has happened. If we waver at all, something must be wrong with us. Surely God couldn't do anything.

I talked to a gentleman that had worked for a company for 36 years. He was in the banking industry just a few months from retirement and the bank sold. The new owners restructured everything to where they didn't need his position anymore. He not only lost his job, but he lost all of his retirement, all of his benefits. He's in his late 50s. He said, Joel, I just don't understand how God could let this happen to me.

Of course, I went into my two minute pep talk about how God is in control and he's going to open up another door. Then he said something that stuck with me. He said, I want to believe. I just wish I didn't have all these doubts. He said it almost like he was apologizing, like he felt so badly for thinking that way. Here's what I want to tell you. It's okay to have questions. It's okay to wonder why something has happened.

God doesn't expect us to be Mr. and Mrs. Superbeliever that never has a doubt, never gets discouraged, never has a question. That's not reality. I heard somebody say the presence of faith doesn't mean the absence of doubt.

In other words, we may have doubt up here in our head, in our thinking, but down here in our hearts where it counts, we know God is still in control. We know God is good, even though something bad may have happened. Now I want to take the pressure off. God understands what it's like to be wronged. He knows what it's like to have someone walk out of a relationship.

He knows how it feels to pray and pray, but your loved one didn't make it. And God doesn't write us off and say, look at them, they're down, they're doubting. I thought they trusted me. See if I ever do anything for them. No, it's just the opposite. God is moved by our faith, but sometimes it's our doubt that will actually draw God to us.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to Mary and Martha at the garden tomb. He said, go tell my disciples. Word quickly got out that Jesus was alive. Everyone was so excited. There was great joy among all the disciples. All that is except one person.

Thomas said, wait a minute, guys, I'm a believer. I love Jesus. I know he promised that he would come back to life. Yes, I understand those women said that they've seen him, but unless I see him with my own eyes, unless I feel the nail prints in his hands, unless I touch the scars in his side, then I'm not going to believe.

Here Thomas had spent just as much time with Jesus as the other believers. You might say he grew up in church. He went to vacation Bible school. He knew all the scriptures. Deep down, he wanted to believe, but in his mind, it was filled with doubts. Few days later, the disciples were in a room together.

All of a sudden, Jesus came walking through the door. They thought it was a ghost and soon they recognized it was Jesus. What's interesting is Jesus didn't go over to Peter and say hello. He didn't go over to Matthew and give him a big hug. He didn't go over to John and say, hey, I'm back. It's great to see you. No, Jesus headed straight toward Thomas.

He didn't go to the people that had faith. He went to the one disciple that had doubt. He looked him in the eyes and said, Thomas, I've heard what you've said about me. I've heard you don't believe. You have questions. You have doubts. And you know what, Thomas? That's okay.

That's why I've come to you first. Now feel the nail prints in my hands. Touch the scars on my side. Be assured of this, Thomas. I'm a faithful God and I will do what I've promised. What am I saying? Our doubts don't drive God away. He doesn't write us off and close the door. God is so merciful. Those doubts can actually draw God to us.

When we go through things we don't understand, somebody does us wrong. We prayed and our loved one didn't make it. Our child is born with special needs. So often we think we're supposed to be Superman, superwoman, never shed a tear, never get discouraged, never have a doubt. That's not true. It's okay to say, God, I prayed and it didn't work out.

God, I don't understand it. I'm hurting. I have these doubts. I'm wondering where you are. The scripture says God is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. That means when you hurt, God hurts. When you're disappointed, God feels your pain. When you're discouraged, God knows what it's like. He's been there.

When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane about to be crucified, he was so depressed that he sweat great drops of blood. On the cross, he cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Even Jesus, the son of God, a man that never sinned, a man that had perfect faith, he even got so discouraged and so despondent that he questioned his father.

God didn't say, Jesus, you know I haven't forsaken you. You know I'm still on the throne. You know you're gonna rise again. Now you need to quit thinking like that. No, God knew that he was human. God knew that he had feelings, he had emotions. In the same way, it's okay to feel disappointed. It's okay to say, God, I feel like you've forsaken me. I don't know where you are. I wanna believe, but God, I have all these doubts.

God is more pleased when we are open and honest and we come before him, even with our doubts, our questions, the things we don't understand. He'll respond to that quicker than when we try to hide all these things that he already knows. And we try to act like we're this perfect display of faith that's never been discouraged, never had a doubt, never had a question.

When Jesus was on his way to be crucified, they made him carry his own cross. He had been so beaten down and so mistreated, he couldn't carry it the whole way. He fell down under the weight of his cross. Don't you know God could have strengthened him to finish the journey? God could have given him a second wind so he wouldn't have fallen down and looked weak and defeated. No, God was sending this message.

You don't have to be strong 100% of the time. It's okay to fall down. It's okay to have a doubt. It's okay to say, God, I can't take this anymore. Sometimes the cross we're carrying can get heavy. We think, I can't raise this child. I can't stay in this marriage. I can't deal with this legal situation another day. Those accusing voices will come

And try to convince us that if we've ever had a doubt, if we've ever gotten discouraged, if we've ever fallen, then God's not going to do anything for you, man. Look, you're weak. You're on the ground. You're letting life get the best of you. No, always remember, even Jesus couldn't carry the weight of his own cross. Notice what happened when he fell down. God didn't leave him there.

God didn't say too bad, Jesus. You should have had more faith. I told you not to doubt me. No, God immediately sent another man across his path by the name of Simon and Simon carried the cross for him. Here's the point. When you're down, when you have doubts, when you're discouraged, God will always send somebody to help you back up. Somebody to encourage you. Somebody to tell you that you're going to make it.

It may be my voice today letting you know that it's okay to fall. Just get back up again. It's okay to have doubts. Just don't stay there. It's okay to be disappointed. Just realize that disappointment is not the end. It's a new beginning. God still has something great in your future.

Several years ago, some friends called from another state. They were expecting their second child and so excited about it. But when the baby was born, they discovered that she had special needs and was going to require a lot of extra care. This couple were strong believers. They had grown up in church. They knew all the scriptures. But this baby being born like that really rocked their faith.

They begin to have these questions and things that they didn't understand. Things like, if God loved us so much, how could he let this happen? We're good people. Why didn't we have a healthy baby? They said, Joel, we want to believe. We know the right thing, but we're so disappointed. We're hurting so badly. We're wondering where God is.

They were expecting some great explanation from me, but I told them just what I'm telling you. It's okay to feel disappointed. It's okay to have questions. Faith is not about hiding everything and trying to act like we're superhuman. Faith is about being real. Like Jesus on the cross, there's nothing wrong with saying, God, why have you forsaken me? God, I'm heartbroken. I'm lonely. God, I don't understand why this has happened.

When you are real with God and you're honest enough to even express your doubts, those doubts will not drive God away. It'll do just the opposite. It'll draw God closer to you. I went on to tell this couple, that baby being born to your family is not a mistake. It's not an accident. God chose you because he trusted you to raise this child.

She has special needs, but God knows you have special gifts. She's going to take extraordinary care, but God knows both of you are extraordinary people. You're not being punished. God is not telling you you've done something wrong. No, this is just another chapter in your life that God has already equipped you for. And sometimes on the way to our divine destiny, the weight of the cross gets so heavy that we fall down.

We don't know why somebody walked out of a relationship or like a man I mentioned, why he got laid off so close to retirement or why we prayed and prayed, but our loved one didn't make it. You may have questions, things you don't understand. You wonder where God is, but the good news is God is not just with us in our times of faith, but he is with us even in our times of doubt.

He is not a fair weathered God there for us when we're perfect and gone when we're not. He doesn't just speak to us when we're on the mountaintop singing, you are good reading your best life now. No, God says, I'll speak to you just as much when you're alone and discouraged.

I'll talk to you when you're upset and you feel like I've left you. I'll show up not just because of your faith, but I'm so merciful. I'll even show up because of your doubt. I want us to take the pressure off. We don't have to go around acting like we've got it all figured out. We never have a doubt. We never think a wrong thought. We never get discouraged. No, even Jesus fell down.

Even Jesus said, God, I don't want to go this route. Let me go another way. God, why have you forsaken me? What am I doing up here on the cross? In other words, God, why did this situation not work out? God, why did these people treat me wrong? It's okay to be human because that doubt is not in your heart. It's up here in your head. And God has the amazing ability to look past the doubt and to see the faith that's on the inside.

For some people, that doubt is a mile high. They've had things happen they don't understand, things that were not fair. Maybe they weren't raised in a believing environment. But I love this. It says that God has put a measure of faith on the inside of every person.

That means people that don't give God the time of day. They don't believe, they're cynical, they look like they're full of doubt, but what they don't realize is on the inside, deep down, the creator of the universe has placed a mustard seed of faith. This is why it's so important to never write anybody off.

That person at the office that's sarcastic, makes fun of you for going to church, gives you a hard time for staying on the high road. It may seem like they are full of doubt. Surely God wouldn't have anything to do with them. No, God says, there's another Thomas. I'll get to you people full of faith in just a moment. Right now, I'm going after them.

It doesn't always make sense to our theology, but sometimes God will bypass the people of faith so he can go after one person that's filled with doubt. I had a lady tell me how her whole life she had been an atheist. She didn't believe in God, wasn't raised in a religious environment, really didn't even give God the time of day.

But one morning, her daughter, she was in her early 20s, was involved in a serious car accident. This mother rushed to the hospital so stressed and so worried. She got the news that her daughter probably would not make it. She stayed by her side day after day, wouldn't leave the hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors told her that the injuries were too great and her daughter had died.

She drove home, pulled in the garage while she was still sitting in her car. She screamed out to the top of her lungs, God, I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. She said she heard a voice. It was the kindest, most gentle voice you could ever imagine. It said, that was the first time you've ever spoken to me. And I want to tell you how much I loved you.

She said, I never believed in God before, but at that moment, there was no doubt in my mind that God was real. I felt a peace that I'd never felt before. I knew it was the presence of the creator of the universe. That was God looking beyond years and years of doubt to that one small seed of faith.

We all know that God is moved by our faith. That's the best place to live. But what I'm saying today is God can even be moved by our doubt in those times that we don't understand it. We have questions. We feel alone and abandoned. That's when God has a way of showing up and doing something amazing in our life.

That's just what happened to Thomas. In the midst of all those believers, Jesus went to Thomas first, the one doubter, and said, Thomas, take a look at my nailed scarred hands. The reason Jesus shows up in those times of doubt is so that our faith will be restored.

He could have said to that lady, too bad. That's what you get for not giving me the time of day. Scream all you want to. It's payback time. No, God is full of mercy. He knows what it's like to lose a child. He lost his only son. And God is not in the business of giving us what we deserve.

If that was the case, Thomas wouldn't have had a chance or he wouldn't have let this lady feel his love. God is in the business of restoring our faith. He's in the business of getting us back on track so we can live as a believer and experience his abundant life. And some of you today, you have questions, things that you don't understand and you feel badly because you're not in faith 100% of the time.

But God is saying, that's okay. You're human. You don't have to have a perfect faith. There's nothing wrong with saying, God, I just don't understand it. Like Thomas, those questions, that seemingly doubt is not going to keep God away. It's going to draw God to you. He is not going to leave you wondering, confused, discouraged. He's going to show up so that your faith will be restored.

I heard Jensen Franklin tell something that happened to him. Jensen is a good friend and a great minister. He's the pastor of Free Chapel in Atlanta.

When his daughters were much younger, he and his wife, Cherise, decided to go to SeaWorld in Florida. He had already made arrangements to leave on Monday and they would be at the park on Tuesday. But for some reason, Cherise really wanted to leave Sunday after church. Jensen said, well, I've already made the flight reservations and the hotel reservations. I'd have to change everything.

She felt so strongly about it. He made the changes. They left Sunday and went to the park on Monday instead of Tuesday. And at one point they were at this outdoor arena waiting for the dolphin show to begin. It's a perfectly beautiful sunny day. All of a sudden out of nowhere, there was this huge clap of thunder. It was so loud. Everyone practically jumped out of their seats.

And a few moments before they knew it, it was pouring down rain and lightning like nothing they'd ever imagined. Of course, everyone ran for cover.

While they were underneath the bleachers, there was another very loud clap of thunder. Jensen and Cherise's little three-year-old daughter got very scared. And instead of turning to their parents, she ran to a 25-year-old girl that they'd never seen before about 15 feet away and gave her a big hug and held onto her and wouldn't let her go.

Jensen and Charisse looked at each other. It was the strangest thing. They didn't know who the young lady was and why their daughter would be drawn to her. Normally their daughter would never go to a stranger like that. They went over very politely and tried to get the daughter away, but she just wouldn't let go. The young lady began weeping. Her parents were there. They started weeping as well.

Come to find out that young lady had a three-year-old daughter that was born with congestive heart failure. And just six weeks earlier, her daughter had died. She had not been out of the house in those six weeks because she was so depressed. That day, her parents talked her into going to the park.

She said later, when your little daughter was hugging me, the whole time I could feel healing being poured into me. God was letting me know that my little girl is up there in heaven and I can move forward with my life. That was God speaking to her, not in her faith, but in her doubts. You know what Jensen's little three-year-old daughter was? She was a Simon helping her to carry her cross.

Sometimes God knows we go through things that we don't understand. In our mind, in our head, we think, God, how could this happen? God, where are you? But in our hearts, God can see those seeds of faith that he's planted on the inside. Like this young lady, God will never abandon us. He'll never say, well, too bad, you should be stronger. You should have more faith. No, God will always show up and help to restore our faith.

In those difficult times, we're like Jesus. The cross is so heavy that we fall down. Or like Thomas, we want to believe, we just can't until we see it with our own eyes. Or like this young lady, we're so discouraged, we don't even want to leave the house. You can rest assured you are not alone. The God we serve doesn't just show up in our times of faith. He even shows up in our times of doubt.

I remember my father, for more than 40 years, he preached to people about how God could heal you. He saw my sister Lisa healed of something like cerebral palsy, a birth injury. Of course, he saw my mother healed in 1981 of terminal cancer. He prayed for many other people and saw God do amazing things. But one thing my father never fully understood, in spite of all those other people being healed,

His whole life, he struggled with high blood pressure. In fact, that's what caused his kidneys eventually to fail where he had to go on dialysis. And there were times he thought, God, you're doing it for everybody else. Why don't you do it for me? God, this doesn't seem fair. Where are you when I need you? There were times those thoughts of doubt came and tried to keep him from moving forward.

My father was very open and honest. He never tried to hide anything. And I love the way he finished his life. He was 77 years old and he couldn't sleep one night. He was sitting up in his recliner around midnight. He called my brother-in-law, Gary, to see if he'd come over and visit with him. And they talked for a couple of hours. And at one point, Gary asked about suffering and what he was going through and where is God in all of this?

My father said, Gary, I don't understand it all. I have plenty of questions, but one thing I know is God's mercy endures forever. He took one more breath, laid back his head and went to be with the Lord. The last words he ever spoke were his mercy endures forever. But my father could have thought,

I've been a pastor all these years. I can't admit that I have questions, that I have doubts, that I have things that I don't understand. No, my father was real. God is not looking for Mr. Superbeliever that has an answer to every question and that never wonders why something has happened. He's not looking for Mrs. Superbeliever that never gets discouraged, always acts like everything's okay, tries to hide every doubt, every question.

No, God is looking for people that are open and honest enough to say, God, I don't understand this. Lord, I want to believe, but I have these doubts. God, I'm asking you to help me. If we will have that kind of attitude, then like Thomas, God will search you out and come restore your faith. Why don't you take the pressure off?

Some of you are beating yourself up because you had a down week. You got discouraged. You said, God, I can't take it anymore. Listen, God knows what you're going through. He can feel the weight of what you're carrying. He's saying today, I'm right there with you. You're going to make it. You're not only going to come out, you're going to come out better off than you were before. Be encouraged today. The God we serve.

He's not just with us in our times of faith, but he's even with us in our times of doubt. Some of you need to come back to that place of peace. You're so down on yourself, thinking that you're not strong enough, wondering why you have these questions. Now remember, the presence of faith doesn't mean the absence of doubt. You don't have to have a perfect faith in order for God to do something great in your life.

Besides, that doubt is not in your heart. It's in your head and God is looking down here at your heart. And what I'm saying today is it's okay to have questions. It's okay to say, God, I don't understand it. It's okay to not be strong 100% of the time. If you'll give yourself permission to not have a perfect faith and not feel bad if you have questions, some doubts, some things you don't understand,

then you will feel a freedom that you haven't felt before. That weight of feeling like God is not pleased with me, I'm just not strong enough, I'm not measuring up, that'll lift off of you. And what God did for Thomas, he'll do for you. In those times of doubt, instead of running from you, God will come running to you. He's promised he will restore your faith so that you can move forward and

and become everything He's created you to be, and have everything He's intended for you to have. Amen. Do you receive that today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving 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.

Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that you've never dreamed of. Sometimes the difficulties of life can be so overwhelming, you feel like you're stumbling around in the dark. Things are so bad, you would need a miracle to change your situation. But is a miracle even possible?

We all face situations where we don't see a way out. It's easy to get discouraged and give up on what we're believing for. That's how we felt in 1981. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a few weeks to live. Nothing could be done, medically speaking, but she chose to believe that God is a miracle worker. Today, 43 years later, by the grace of God, she's still healthy and strong.

I'm so grateful to be alive. I'm 90 years young. I thank God every day that He still does miracles. I'd love to send you my new book. It's called Miracles Happen. It's filled with powerful stories of miracles from the scripture and real life stories of people that have seen the hand of God.

It'll help build your faith so you can believe what seems impossible. God did it for my mother. He'll do it for you. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you this powerful book, Miracles Happen, Your Journey to Supernatural Breakthrough.

This new book details 30 different miracles from the Word of God, and each one comes with an encouragement and application to your own life. God has miracles stored up for you. Healing, freedom, favor, breakthroughs. Miracles still happen today, and faith is what activates God's power. When you believe, all things are possible. That's when you'll see the hand of God do supernatural things in your life.

Victoria and I are standing in faith with you. We pray for you every day. We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting so many lives. Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday morning. Download our daily podcast. Watch on YouTube. The new Joel Osteen Network. Listen on Sirius XM. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

Be sure to request your copy of Miracles Happen, your journey to supernatural breakthrough today. Visit joelostein.com or call 888-567-JOEL. Hey, Fidelity. What's it cost to invest with the Fidelity app? Start with as little as $1 with no account fees or trade commissions on U.S. stocks and ETFs. Hmm, that's music to my ears. I can only talk.

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We all have plans in life, maybe to take a cross-country road trip or simply get through this workout without any back pain. Whether our plans are big, small, spontaneous, or years in the making, good health helps us accomplish them. At Banner Health, we're here to provide more than health care. Whatever you're planning, wherever you're going, we're here to help you get there. Banner Health. Exhale.

It's time to get the world talking about black lead brands. We all have our favorites, but we can't give them all to ourselves. So if you're feeling like a black opal beauty, tell somebody. If the lip bar is giving you a lip for every drip, let them know. And if your hair is doing the do, shout that out too. Join Walmart in shouting out your favorite black lead products. Creating a new world of choices at walmart.com slash black and unlimited.