Joel Osteen - God Will Carry You

0:00We all face seasons where we don't know how we're going to make it through. We lost a loved one, we're dealing with the sickness, we have a child that's off course. It's easy to feel overwhelmed, live worried, think we don't have the strength to go on. But David said in Psalm 68, each day God carries us in His arms. You may have situations that are too much for you. God is saying, don't worry, I'm going to carry you. You're going to feel supernatural strength, peace that passes understanding, favor that causes things to fall into place. On your own you wouldn't make it through the sickness. You'd fall apart in that divorce. That trouble at work would defeat you, but you're not on your own. You'd be encaried by the God who created you. When you look back over your life, you can see these times where God carried you. How'd you make it through that unfair childhood? You should be insecure, dysfunctional, floundering. But look at you, you're blessed, you're strong,

1:06doing great things. That wasn't luck, that was God carrying you. He was protecting you when you didn't realize it. He was moving the wrong people out of the way, opening doors that you couldn't open. He's been carrying you your whole life. How'd you get through that challenge with your child? You should have had a nervous breakdown, should have worn you out, caused you to give up on dreams. But every day you had strength to move forward. You had the grace to stay in faith. You believed when every thought said it was never going to work out. The enemy tried to take your child out, but because you kept praying, God not only carried you, but he carried your child. Where would we be without the God who carries us? It's easy to thank Him for blessings. I thank Him for turning things around, but I've also learned to thank Him for carrying me through the difficulties, for sustaining me, for not letting the opposition defeat me, not letting the worry take room, not letting the doubt

2:11talk me out of my dreams. That wasn't just my strong will, my great faith, that was God carrying me. When my father went to be with the Lord in 1999, my whole world was turned upside down. My father was my hero. Outside of Victoria, he was my best friend. I'd worked with them 17 years here at Lakewood, behind the scenes, doing the television production. We had traveled the world together. He'd come over to the house for dinner. We'd go see the astros play. I thought he'd live into his 90s, but at 77, he had a heart attack and was suddenly taken away. I had never ministered, but I knew I was supposed to step up and pastor the church. It didn't make sense to my mind. It didn't feel qualified, it didn't have the experience. Thoughts told me, nobody's going to listen to you, Joel. But in my heart, I felt it so strongly. I took that step of faith. I started ministering on Sunday mornings.

3:12Our daughter, Alexandra, was three months old at the time. Our son, Jonathan, was four. I didn't know how to put a message together. I've never done any public speaking. On top of that, I was grieving the loss of my father, trying to navigate him not being here, how to run the church, how to minister a newborn baby. I look back now and think, how did I make it through? How did I learn how to minister in the most difficult time of my life? How did we raise our little children when we were both learning a new profession, becoming pastors? That was God carrying us. I felt a strength that I'd never felt. Yes, I missed my father, but it wasn't what I thought. I didn't fall apart. I wasn't overcome with sorrow for months. I felt peace. There was a grace to step into my destiny. It wasn't all easy, but I had the passion, the determination, the favor to keep moving forward. That wasn't natural. That was supernatural. I should have been worried,

4:18stressed out, intimidated. But I thought, I can do this. I'm well able. I'm strong in the Lord. This is not going to defeat me. God has grace for every season. How many times has He carried you and you didn't know it? You can look back now and see He carried you through the sickness. You had strength that you never felt. He carried you through the loss. It was painful, but deep down, you felt peace. Somehow you were able to keep moving forward. Or He carried you through that legal battle. You didn't think you could take it, but day by day you had just what you needed. Here you are on the other side. Blessed, healthy, going stronger than ever. Can I encourage you? If God carried you back then, He's going to carry you now. Whatever you're facing may seem insurmountable, but it's not going to defeat you. It's not going to be too much. You're not going to be overwhelmed. The Creator of the universe is carrying you. Exodus 19 says, God brought them

5:24out of oppression by carrying them on eagle's wings. You may have some oppression, things that are not fair. You don't understand. Stay encouraged. Eagle's wings are coming. The God who made you is going to carry you out of depression. Carry you out of the heartache. Carry you out of the loneliness. Carry you out of poverty, lack, not heaven enough. That is not how your story ends. He's about to carry you into abundance. Carry you into freedom. Carry you into joy, peace, breakthroughs. It looked like you were stuck, but you're about to feel some eagle's wings lifting you, restoring you, promoting you, taking you where you can't go on your own. Now, love how it uses the analogy of eagle's wings. Could have said chicken wings, hawks wings, clothes wings, but the eagle is known for soaring, for rising higher than other birds. God is going to take you further than you've

6:28imagined. You're not being carried by goose, carried by pigeon, carried by a crow. You're being carried on eagle's wings. You're not going to just make it through the loss, through the breakup, through the trouble. You're going to come out promoted, increased better than you were before. David said, if it had not been for the goodness of God, where would I be? He was saying, if God had not carried me, where would I be? You may not realize it, but right now, God is carrying you. The challenges you're facing would be much more difficult if God wasn't lifting you, strengthening you, favoring you, pushing back the darkness. I can't tell you that God is going to turn it around instantly, but I can promise you he's going to carry you. You're not in the struggle by yourself. You're going to feel strength that you've never felt. Doors are going to open, that you couldn't open. The right people are going to be there to help you. The Israelites had been in slavery for

7:3210 generations. God sent plagues on the Pharaoh and he finally let them go. They headed out into the desert toward the promised land. These people weren't trained to survive in the wilderness. There was no food out there. Water was very scarce. There were bandits, armies, people trying to kill them. Yet for 40 years, they never went without food. God gave them mana every morning. When they were thirsty, God brought water out of a rock. Their shoes never wore out year after year. God do that for Victoria. Their clothing lasted their whole lifetime. When the enemies came against them, many times, supernaturally, they were defeated. They never should have survived 40 years out there. How did they make it to the promised land? Deuteronomy 1 says, in the wilderness, there you saw how the Lord, your God, carried you. As a father carries his son all the way until you reach this place. At times, I'm sure they

8:37thought, where is Jehovah? Where is our God? How come we haven't come into the promised land? They didn't realize the whole time God was sustaining them. He hadn't delivered them yet, but he was carrying them. They didn't recognize that God was giving them strength to travel through the desert. He was the reason their clothes didn't wear out. Armies couldn't defeat them. They didn't get sick. They didn't have nervous breakdowns. They didn't go without food and provision. He carried them all the way until they reached the promised land. On the way to your promised land, there will be detours. People that do your wrong. At times, you don't see how it can work out. You don't have the provision. The dream looks impossible. The obstacle too big. You'll be tempted to worry, live stressed out, or stay in peace. Just like God did for them, He's going to carry you all the way until you get to your destination. Like a father,

9:38carries his son. God is carrying you. If you're a parent, you know how much you loved carrying your children. When our daughter, Alexandra, was a little toddler, barely able to speak. One of the first things she learned to say was, baby up. She'd come up to me, hit my pant leg, baby up. That meant she wanted to be picked up. I'd carry her everywhere. So proud of her. I'd carry her in my arms, I'd carry her on my shoulders. She'd ride piggyback. She'd love being in her father's arms. Well, she's 23 years old now. I don't carry her quite as much, but God is not like us. He said in Isaiah, even to your old age, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. You never get too old for God to carry you. As much as you love carrying your small children, holding them, protecting them, making sure they feel safe and secure, your heavenly father loves carrying you.

10:42When you're tempted to worry, feel overwhelmed. Joel, I don't think I can make it through this sickness. How can I make it through this loss? These people at work are not fair. Instead of worrying, just say, baby up. God, I thank you for carrying me. I don't see a way, but I know you control the universe. You're my provider, my protector, my deliver, my waymaker. The fact is, God is carrying you right now. But if you don't recognize it, your lips rest out, upset. No, you're in your father's arms. He's holding you tightly. Nothing can snatch you away. Isaiah 40 says, he carries you close to his heart. You're not way out there in the distance. Just one of the billions of people on earth. God has you close to his heart. You're his most prized possession. There's nothing more valuable to God than you. The scripture says, God knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, a little bird.

11:45How much more is God concerned about you? As much as you love your children, multiply that by billions of times. That's how much God loves you. He's been carrying you since you were born. He's going to continue to carry you till you breathe your last breath. You may have things coming against you, but God wouldn't have allowed it if it was going to stop you. Come back to that place that place of trust. Father, thank you that you're carrying me. That I have grace for this season, strength for this day, the favor to move forward. During those 40 years that the Israelites wondered in the desert, at times they got off course and started worshiping idols. They made gods out of stone. These large statues, gods out of gold and silver. As they traveled, they had to carry these gods around. They were heavy. It was a burden. They struggled to make sure to take care of

12:45them. What's interesting is they were carrying their gods instead of letting God carry them. We may not make stone idols today, but sometimes we're carrying burdens, weighed down by trouble, living worried, trying to fix it all in our own strength. In a sense, you're carrying your God. Why don't you let God carry you? The scripture says, cast your burdens on the Lord, release the weight of it, and he will sustain you. If you'll release the burden, quit trying to figure it all out, losing sleep, letting your mind work over time, then God will carry you. But as long as you're carrying it, God will step back. He wants us to depend on him. It's very powerful to say, God, I need you. I trust you. I know you're in control. I believe that you've got this, so I'm going to live this day in faith knowing that you are carrying me.

13:46Are you carrying your God or are you letting God carry you? God works where there's faith. If you're living stressed out, worried, how can I make it through, then God steps back. Yes, he's still carrying you, but you're not going to tap into the peace, the strength, the favor that belongs to you. There are Eagles' wings that are going to lift you, empower you, cause you to rise above what's trying to stop you. God didn't bring you this far to leave you. Don't believe those lies that you're stuck. It's too much. You can't take it. God has carried you in the past. He's going to carry you in the future. Even when your time is up, the angels are going to carry you in the heaven. They're going to carry you into God's presence. God is in the carrying business. Since he's carrying it, you don't have to carry it. All the burdens, stress, worries, release that weight. Let him be God. You'll see him carry you through things.

14:48You never thought you could get through him. Carry you further than you ever dreamed you could go.