Being The Individual God Made You To Be | Joel Osteen

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Ugh, why is charcoal so sticky? Hello? Hey, Janice. I am so sorry. I thought I was on mute. No, we don't need to reschedule. I'll just stay off camera.

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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.

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God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you. Just an honor to spend this next half hour or so with you. So if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and make yourself at home here.I promise you we'll make you feel comfortable, but come out and see us. We're glad to have you tuned in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this guy. He had been stranded all alone on a deserted island for 20 years, and all of a sudden this ship came up to rescue him. And the captain came ashore, and he noticed that the man had built three buildings in a row.He was kind of curious. He asked the man, what are those three buildings? The man said, well, the building on the left is my home, and the building on the right is my church. The captain was even more curious. He said, what about that one in the middle? And the man said, oh, that's the church I used to go to.All right, hold your Bibles up. 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same, never, never, never, never, I'll never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about being confident in who God made you to be. You are an individual and you have something to offer this world that nobody else has. But too often,we make the mistake of comparing ourselves with other people. And if we don't think we measure up, then we don't feel good about ourselves. This brings pressure, and it brings competition. And before long, we're not even being the individual that God's made us to be. I heard somebody say, we forfeit three-fourths of who we are trying to be like somebody else. Now, I believe many of our problems are rooted in the fact that we're trying to be something that we're not. But if you're going to really experience God's best, you've got to learn to just be yourself. You can't go around comparing and competing with other people. You shouldn't live your lifetrying to please everybody, try to gain their approval, trying to fit into their mold. No, you've got to run your own race. And I want to challenge you today to be the individual God made you to be. Don't be a copy cap. Don't be an imitation. Be an original. You may not be like everybody else. You may not fit into their mold, but that's okay. Your attitude should be, I am free to be me.I don't have to have everybody's approval to feel good about myself. I'm not going to compare my life to anybody else's. I'm not going to go around wishing that I was something different. No, I'm going to be happy with who God made me to be. And I'm nottalking about being rebellious in any way or living outside of God's word. I'm talking about not being pressured into being something that you're not. See, there's not another person on this planet like you. Nobody has your same fingerprints.You may have a few quirks in your personality. Your taste may be a little bit different, but that's okay. You're not weird. You're unique. You're one of a kind. Quit getting down on yourself because you don't think you measure up to this certain personor because you don't think you have enough of this or you have too much of that. I hear people say, well, if I just had her looks or I wish I had his personality, I wish I was six inches taller, I wish I had more hair.No, God made you like you are on purpose. You are not an accident. If God wanted you to be taller, he would have made you taller. If he wanted you to have a different personality, he would have given you one. You've got to quit apologizing and quit feeling bad toward yourself because of who you are. Some of you have very strong personalities. Well, that's the way God made you. And I'm not sayingthere are not areas where we can improve. But if you have a strong personality, don't fight it and go around being condemned because you're not something else. Learn to accept who you are. It's funny to me because it seems likewe're always trying to be something that we're not. And I'm naturally very quiet and reserved. That's my personality. I'm just real laid back. But when I was growing up, I always thought that I needed to be more bold and forceful.I'd see somebody with a strong personality, and I think, yeah, that's the way I need to be. But one day, I learned to just relax and enjoy who God created me to be. I found I don't have to be like anybody else. It's okay to just be me. This takes all the pressure off. I mean, it's easy to be. I found I don't have to be like anybody else. It's okay to just be me.This takes all the pressure off. I mean, it's easy to be me. I don't have to think about it. I don't have to pretend. I don't have to be on guard. I can just relax and enjoy my life.I remember one time after Victoria and I had just gotten married, we had a leak in our townhouse one night. The roofer forgot to had a leak in our townhouse one night. The roofer forgot to cover up the roof, and it rained that night. And the next morning when I came down, I could see that the whole downstairs was flooded.And I was fairly young in my early 20s. I was about to call the company and let them know what happened. But I thought to myself, I need to be loud and forceful, mean and angry to let them know that I really mean business. I didn't think they'd take me seriously if not. And I'll never forget, I tried to raise my voice and be real strong and real tough there on the phone. And I'm telling you, I felt like a fish out of water.I mean, can you see this face being mean? I started off the conversation real loud and tough. By the end of the conversation, I was inviting him all over for dinner. My point is, be who you are, and don't be condemned because you're not something else.I realize I'm never going to be real bold and forceful. That's not me. Some of you are never going to be quiet and reserved. You're not going to handle things the way I would, but that's okay. Doesn't mean that I'm necessarily right and you're wrong. We're just different. And I'm not saying it's okay to be rude. It's not okay to be mealy-mouthed. What I'm saying today is we have to learn to stay in the anointing that God has given us. I see too many people going around wishing they were something different,feeling condemned because they're not like somebody else. No, enjoy who God made you to be. I have a friend that has a real strong personality. He's very kind, but he's just naturally, very straight and to the point,very matter of fact. And he told me one day he and his wife were having a disagreement, turned into kind of a heated debate and she finally said to him, well you just need to be more like Joel.He said, excuse me, I think I'm supposed to be more like Jesus. She said, that's right, but why don't you start with Joel? Well, you say, Joel, my coworker, he is so kind and gentle with everybody.I don't know what's wrong with me. Nothing's wrong with you. God made you different. Well, she's so smart and talented. No wonder she's successful. No, God hasn't left you out.He's giving you everything you need to succeed. Well, I wish my metabolism was as fast as hers. She can eat anything she wants to. She never gains a pound. That's not right. No, quit comparing your life and run your own race. I heard somebody say, my metabolism is notslow. It's in a coma. But when we compare, all this is going to do is frustrate us. Because I've found 99% of the time, we only compare ourselves with people that have more money, more success, more talent, people that have more money, more success, more talent, people that are better looking, healthier, happier. That's human nature. And all that's going to do is make us feel inferior, inadequate, mistreated, it's not fair. And I really believe some of you today could get your joy back if you just start running your own race. You're alwayslooking at what everybody else is doing and what everybody else has. You're comparing your problems to their problems. The scripture says in proverbs, don't look to the left and don't look to the right, look straight ahead. We're all at different stages. You may compare yourself to another person, but you don't know why that person is where he is. You don't know what he's gone through to get there. You don't know what God has in store for him.Every plan is different. We're individuals. I know this lady, she's been praying for her husband to come to church with her for over 20 years. He still hasn't come. But she invited a friend not too long ago,and she started coming. And this lady began to pray that her husband would come, and it wasn't a month later to this other lady's husband started to come. And this first lady was so frustrated. She said, Joel, I don't understand that.I've been praying for 20 years. That just doesn't seem fair. Notice she didn't get frustrated until she started comparing. I told her what I'm telling you, run your own race. Quit focusing on that. I found sometimes God will bring people across our paththat are more prosperous, more blessed, or somebody that has what we want simply as a test. He wants to see how we're going to respond. Are we going to be happy for them? Are we going to keep a good attitude? Or are we going to get all down and discouraged?Say, man, it's not fair. Why'd they get that new house? Why are they so talented? Why did their husband come? No, keep a good attitude, keep doing your best, and you'll pass that test. And we need to learn to be happy with the gifts and talents that God has given us. They may not be what other people have, but God knows what's best for you. And really, you shouldn't want what I have because if God gave you what I have, it would be second best.In other words, what God has for you is a whole lot better than what I have. He's got a perfect plan for your life. And Paul said in Galatians 526, stop comparing, stop competing, and quit being jealous of what other people have. I found the moment we start to compare, it steals our joy and it's going to sour our day. You can get up in the morning, be in a perfectly good mood, you drive into the garage at the office,and you see your friend pull up with a brand new car. And you think to yourself, man, that's not fair. I wish I could afford a new car. All I got is this old piece of junk. Before long, you're all down and discouraged, and it's all because you're comparing. Or maybe you see your friend walk in and she's got her husband by her side. This man is tall and dark and handsome. He looks like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine. You think to yourself, man, alive my husband, he looks like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine.You think to yourself, man alive, my husband, he looks like he stepped out of an antique magazine. Sorry, men. Don't compare your spouse. Don't compare your looks with anybody else's looks. Don't compare your talent, your education. Don't compare your successes or your failures.Run your own race and be confident in who God has made you to be. I see too many people today, they're insecure. And because of these insecurities, they go around not only comparing, butthey're constantly trying to get everybody's approval so they can feel good about themselves. And they end up living to please people, trying to fit into their mold, and really they're not being true to who they are. And all this does is steals our uniqueness. It steals our creativity. But friends, God doesn't want a bunch of clones.He likes variety. He went to great lengths to make sure that we all didn't look the same. What a shame to go through life trying to be like somebody else. What a shame to go around trying to fit in somebody else's mold. No, don't be a cheap imitation.Be the original God made you to be. Let me tell you, it's okay to be different. You don't have to look like everybody, sound like everybody, dress like everybody. Be an individual. I say this respectfully,but you may not like my tasting clothes. You may not like the way I wear my hair. You may not like my sense of humor, but I can't help it if there's something wrong with you. I say that just to make a point. So often we go just the opposite. How am I going to fit in? What are they going to think of me? Will I be accepted? Now be secure in who you are. If you want to wear your hair a certain way, don't go around and have to check with five people to make sure that it's okay. Be an individual. If you want to join the choir, step out and launch a new business, sure, it's good to get other opinions. The scripture says there's safety in many counselors.But you know as well as I do, if you get too many opinions, all that's going to do is bring confusion. And I've found a lot of times people will be real quick to tell you how to run your life. The problem is they can't even run their own life. Be careful about trying to get everybody's approval. Really, I believe the best thing is to just search your own life. Be careful about trying to get everybody's approval. Really, I believe the best thing is to just search your own heart. And if you feel good about it, take that step of faith and do it.And understand, you are anointed to be you. You're not anointed to be somebody else. One thing you'll never beat me at is being me. If you try to be me, the most you'll ever be be is second best, because I'm anointed to be me. When we go around comparing and copying somebody because we feel pressured or we think that they're going to look down on us, all we're really doingis stepping out of our own anointing. I know in my family, two of my sisters and my sister-in-law, they all homeschooled their children. And when it came time for our children to go to school, Victoria and I really prayed about it. We really debated because we wanted to make the right decision. And of course, we wanted to be good parents.And nothing that they did, but just in the natural, we felt a little bit of pressure to homeschool our children. And so we studied and we read what all the experts said about it. One time I was even talking to my sister Lisa, I said, Lisa, why do you homeschool our children. And so we studied and we read what all the experts said about it. One time I was even talking to my sister Lisa, I said, Lisa, why do you homeschool? And she said, well, Joel, when you send your kids away for school, that's seven hours that they're gone. And I just don't want anybody influencing my children for seven hours.I felt kind of guilty. I thought, man, that's seven hours to get them out of the house. I can see you feel like me. That's seven hours to get them out of the house. I can see, you feel like me. That's seven hours to get a break. But, you know, seriously, we prayed about it, and we felt good about sending our kids to school.And today, they're doing great. They love it. But my point is, if we had just succumbed to that pressure and done it because, hey, everybody else is doing it, and somebody may look down on us, somebody may not think that we're being good parents. If we had done it for the wrong reason, I believe it would have been a constant struggle.It would have been one headache after another because there would have been no anointing on it. When you step out of your anointing, you're going to struggle. You're going to be frustrated. And that's why this is so important to be confident in who God made you to be. His plan for your life is not the same as his plan for somebody else's life.Don't compare. If you compare before long, you'll be competing and you'll be doing things for the wrong reason. My father told about one time years ago, a good pastor friend of his went on this 10 day fast, 10 days without eating any food. And this man did this several times a year and my father started to feel a little bit bad about himself, started to feel a little condemned because he didn't do it. Here my father was a pastor of a large, successful church and this other pastor friend was sort ofshowing him up, you know, so to speak, in his own mind. And so my father decided to go on this fast with this other man. And there's nothing wrong with fasting, with other people, but Daddy wasn't running his race. He was doing it because he felt guilty. He felt pressured. And again, when you step out of your anointing, there's no grace to do it. It's going to be a headache. And my father told later how that was one of the worst 10 days of his life.He said he felt like he almost was going to die. And later that pastor friend asked him, John, did you have any dreams or visions during your fast? And Daddy said, I sure did. Every night. I had visions of hamburgers, hot dogs, enchilada. No, run your own race. Make sure you're doing things for the right reason and not just to keep up with everybody else. I've seen mothers.They've got their children in every sport and every activity. They're always running them here and there. And they're great mothers. But do you know, if you're doing that just because you feel guilty and you feel like you got to keep up with everybody and maybe somebody's going to look down on you, then that's just going to wear you out.You've got to run your race. God has given you the grace to do what he's called you to do. He hasn't given you the grace to do what everybody else is doing. You don't have to be the best mother in the world. Just be the best mother that you can be. I realize I may not be the best pastor. I may not be the best husband, may not be the best father, but I'm going to be the best that I can be.And I'm not going to go around feeling condemned because somebody can preach better than me or somebody's better at this or better at that. No, I'm not comparing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm number one. I know that I'm doing my best, and that's all that God asks us to do.The scripture says there in Galatian 6, verse 4, let each man examine his own work. In other words, quit looking at what everybody else is doing. Focus on your own life. It goes on to say, then you can take pride in yourself without comparing yourself to anyone else. Paul is saying here, if you don't compareand just focus on your own race and be the best that you can be, then you're going to be happy and you're going to feel good about yourself. It's when we compare that we lose our joy and we lose our confidence. And really, there's so much pressure these days to just fit in and do what everybody else is doing. Please, everybody meet their expectations. But when we do that, we become an imitation rather than an original.And if you're going to really run your race, you're not going to be able to meet everybody's expectations. You can't be everything to everybody. You've got to accept the fact that not everybody is going to like you. Not everybody is going to agree with every decision you make. And most likely, you're not going to be ableto keep everybody around you happy. You cannot allow these outside expectations and the demands that other people put on you to keep you from doing what you know God wants you to do. I remember a few years ago when we were trying to find a larger facility, my first thought is that we would never move the church. I always remembered how my father had told how he felt like God had impressed him tokeep it right where it was. Of course, I was the new pastor, and I wasn't about to come in and make waves and suggest that we moved to church. And so when we looked for property, we tried to find it as close as possible to that original location. But you know the story of how all those deals fell through. And when we got word that the compact center was coming available, in my heart of hearts, I knew that we were to pursue this. I didn't know if we were going to get it,but I knew God wanted us to go after it. And probably 99% of the people were totally on board, were totally behind it. But there were a few people back then that used to come up to me practically after every service and say, Joel, you're missing it. You know, even your father said he had never moved the church. If you move it,we're not going to come. And that was very hard on me because you never like to lose anybody. But I've discovered you've got to be willing to walk away from a friend, walk away from a neighbor, walk away from an associate to do what God's calling you to do. They're not going to all, they're not going to all give you their approval. They're not going to all cheer you on. You have to make a decision, are you going to please God and follow your own dreams and do what he's called you to do? Or are you going to succumb tothat pressure and just please people and end up settling for mediocrity? And as I said, this was very difficult for me, because I don't like to disappoint people. I don't like to have people that are against me. But I've learned sometimes you have to disappoint people in order to not disappoint God. And as much as I never like to see one person leave, I've found that if I'll be true to myself and if I'll stay true to God,that for everyone that leaves, God will send us a dozen others. Amen. And if you're struggling today, if you're frustrated, you need to examine your heart and make sure you're not out of balancealways trying to please this person, trying to keep this one happy, trying to please this person, trying to keep this one happy, trying to get this one's approval. Now, it's very freeing to really understand that you don't have to keep everybody happy. That's not your job. And yes, we should be kind and courteous. We should go out of our way to keep the peace and do good things for people, but we should not allow them to control us and manipulate us.At some point, you've got to be bold enough to say, I've got to be free to be me. I've got to follow my dreams. Yes, I love you, but I know I can't keep you happy. And the fact is, I don't have to have your approval to feel good about who I am.A lot of times people, they don't realize it. They may not mean to, but it's easy to allow them to control us, to pressure us, to manipulate us. You know, they kind of have the attitude, I'll be your friend as long as you do this and this and this. I'll give you my approval as long as you do it my way.This is exactly what David had to face. When he told King Saul that he wanted to fight Goliath, Saul said that'd be fine, David. You can do it as long as you put on my armor. He was saying, you've got to do it my way. You've got to be who I want you to be. And David evidently didn't know any better because he put that armor on. And Saul was so pleased. He said, you look great, David. I got you just like I want you.But it wasn't long until David realized he didn't like that armor. It was too big. It was cumbersome. It wasn't him. And David was bold enough to just take that armor off. He said, listen, Saul, I've got to bewho God created me to be. I can't walk in your anointing. I've got to walk in my own anointing. Friends, God's not looking for a bunch of copycats. He didn't want a substitute for Saul. I can't walk in your anointing. I've got to walk in my own anointing. Friends, God's not looking for a bunch of copycats. He didn't want a substitute for Saul.He wanted an original. You'll never defeat the giants in your life wearing somebody else's armor. You've got to be yourself. You've got to walk in your own anointing. And so David took off that armor. He put down the fancy swordand he reached in his pocket, and he got out a slingshot. You've got to realize Saul was tall and handsome. He stood head and shoulders above the rest. But David, he's just a shepherd boy. No experience.But he wasn't comparing himself. He wasn't looking at what he didn't have. He was looking at what he did have. He bent down to the ground, picked up five smooth stones. I can hear Saul saying, boy, you better put my armor back on. You're going get out there and get clobbered. But no, David understood, as long as he walked in his own anointing, he had God's supernatural favor. As long as he walked in his anointing, he knew those rocks,and that slingshot, they were full of God's supernatural power. See, it's not important what you have. What's important is, does it have God's anointing on it? Does it have God's favor on it? You know the story. David went out, and without Saul's armor, he defeated Goliath. I want to ask you today, are you wearing somebody else's armor? Are you being who God created you to be? Or are you going around being what everybody else wants you to be? Fulfilling their dream for your life, trying to live up to their expectations. No, walk in your own anointing.I know when my father went to be with the Lord back in 1999, one of my biggest struggles and probably my biggest concerns was how is everybody going to accept me? After all, my father had founded the church and been here for some 40 years, and people were obviously used to him, and I didn't think our styles were the same.Daddy was a little more of a fireball. He preached a little more excitedly. I was praying one night. I said, God, I don't know if everybody's going to accept me. And should I just try to be more like my dad? Should I try to copy his style and preach his messages? And I was so concerned. But I'll never forget. God spoke back to me. I felt it so strong, right down in here, not out loud. But he said, Joel, don't try to copy anybody. Just be yourself.Just be who I created you to be. God was saying, God was saying, I don't want you to wear anybody else's armor. I don't want a duplicate of your dad. I want an original. And when I heard that, man, it set me free. I knew that I was free to be me. And if there's any success I've had in these last seven years, I know one reason is because I've always walked in my own anointing. I haven't tried to besomething that I'm not. I haven't tried to copy somebody else. I've learned to just be myself. And I'm asking you to do the same thing. Be the original God made you to be. Don't be a copycat.Take off all that other armor. Quit living just to please other people and walk in your own anointing. And don't make that mistake of comparing your life, comparing your looks, comparing your education, comparing your problems,no, run your own race. And when you see others that have what you want, instead of comparing and getting all jealous, be happy for them, pass that test, knowing that your day is coming. And friends, if you'll be the individual God made you to beand not go around comparing and competing, trying to get everybody's approval, trying to impress people, now if you'll just get up each day and do your best to be who God created you to be, I can promise you, you'll not only be happier and more fulfilled,but you'll see your gifts and talents come out to the full. And I believe God will do for you what he did for me. He'll take you places that you've never even dreamed of. Amen. Do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunityto 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. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed out. Three minutes.

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Can such a small amount of time make a big difference to your day? To turn worry into confidence, frustration to hope. Defeat to victory.

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Maybe you just need a boost of faith.

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When we put God first place and get our thinking in line with his, even a small

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seat of time can make a huge difference. We have a new resource called Three Minute Mornings. Start your day the blessed way. My challenge is when you wake up, before you leave the house, take three minutes to speak blessings over your life and to declare God's favor, get your mind going in the right direction. When you do that, you're setting yourself up for a blessed victorious day.

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As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any size to the ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you this just released, life-giving, new daily devotional. Before your feet hit the ground or go out the door,have your heart experience a bit of heaven. Set your feet hit the ground or go out the door, have your heart experience a bit of heaven. Set your mind on the things above with our new three-minute mornings devotional. With this new 365-day devotional three-minute mornings, you'll experience God showering down his favor like never before. You'll focus on the better that is coming and fully realize the freedom of not

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worrying about tomorrow. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you so much

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for your prayer and support. You're making a difference all over the world. Remember, you can

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watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, listen on SiriusXM. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

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Be sure to request your copy of three-minute mornings today.

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Visit Joelosteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.

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I have the charcoal mask. Great, because why would I put that on my face when I could drop it in my sink? This is what I get for multitasking.

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Ugh, why is charcoal so sticky? Hello? Hey, Janice, I am so sorry I thought I was on mute. No, we don't need to reschedule. I'll just stay off camera.

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