You Have Comeback Power | Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen Podcast - iHeartPodcasts
In this uplifting episode of the Joel Osteen Podcast, the speaker delivers a powerful message about resilience and spiritual renewal using the metaphor of a seed
Key takeaways
- Adversity isn't the end—it's a planting season where growth begins.
- The same challenges meant to bury you can become tools for your elevation.
Main topics
- Resilience in difficult times
- Spiritual rebirth and comeback power
Notable quotes
You're not buried. You're planted.
I may be down, but it's only temporary. I'm coming back.
Conclusion
No matter how dark or heavy your current situation feels, remember: you are not buried—you are
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:00) Thanks so much for listening to the podcast today. I want you to know that Victoria and I are praying for you and your family this summer and just asking God to bring you more peace and joy and victory than you've ever seen before. Know that God's for you, he's got you in the palm of his hand and I hope you enjoy the message today. Speaker 1 (0:17) Well, God bless you. It is a joy to Speaker 2 (0:19) come into your homes. We love you. We know God has great things in store for each one of you. If you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll have a good time and we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in. Again, thanks for coming out today. And I like to start with something funny. And I heard about this pastor. He decided to skip church one Sunday and go play golf. He told his assistant he wasn't feeling well and he drove to another city, a golf course there, so nobody would know him. He teed off on the first hole. All of a sudden, a huge gust of wind caught his ball, carried it an extra hundred yards, and blew it right into the hole for a 420-yard hole-in-one. An angel looked at God and said, what'd you do that for? God smiled and said, who's he going to tell? All right. Hold up your Bibles. 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 you have comeback power. We all face situations that seem like they could bury us. The loss of a loved one, bad news concerning our health, a divorce. Those negative thoughts bombard our minds telling us it's over. You've seen your best days. That setback is going to taint your future. That layoff is going to ruin your career. That illness is always going to limit you. It's easy to feel like we've been buried. But what's interesting, is the only difference between being buried and being planted is the expectancy of what's going to happen next. When you put a seed in the ground, you don't say, I'm burying this seed. You say, I'm planting this seed because you know it's coming back. Not long ago, one of our rabbits died. I didn't say, I'm planting this rabbit. I buried the rabbit. I knew it wasn't coming back. If it did, I sure didn't want to be around. Speaker 2 (2:42) We all face difficulties, but you have the seed of almighty God on the inside. He breathed his life into you. When you go through disappointments, you're in tough times, you may feel like you've been buried, but the fact is you've simply been planted. That means you're coming back and you're not only going to come back, you're going to come back better, increased, stronger. What was meant for your harm. God will use to your advantage. You go in as a seed, but because of the life of God, you come out blossomed, producing even more fruit. Jesus talked about this in John 12, 24. He said, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and is planted, it will not produce fruit. You can have a seed on your shelf for a lifetime. It will never become what it was created to be. until you put it in the ground. Its potential will never be fully realized until it's planted. As long as it's up on the shelf, where it's comfortable, doesn't have to stretch, doesn't have to deal with any adversities, that potential will remain locked up, dormant on the inside. Only after it's been planted and it goes through the process of germination, the outer shell breaks off, the new growth springs forth, that's when it will blossom and produce more fruit. And I'm sure if you were to ask the seed, it would say, I don't want to be planted. It's lonely in the dirt by myself. It's dark. It's uncomfortable. It feels like it's been buried. Can't see any light, people walking on top of it. The truth is it's not buried. It's only planted. When it's in the ground, in that dark time, something supernatural begins to happen. Although the dirt is hundreds of times more powerful, possibly thousands of times heavier, it cannot hold the seed in. I can imagine the dirt when it feels something sturdy. It says to the little seed, what do you think you're doing? You can't get out. I'm much more powerful than you. The little seed says, no, no, no. I know a secret. I'm not buried. I'm planted. I may be down right now, but it's temporary. I'm coming back. I've got the life of God in me. The dirt says, what are you talking about? You're nothing compared to me. You don't have a chance. Something in that seed rises up even stronger and says, no, you cannot keep me down. I've got comeback power in my DNA. I will rise again. Sure enough, one day that little seed breaks the surface of the earth. It smiles and says, I told you I was coming out. It's no longer buried, no longer hidden and alone, no longer has people walking on top of it. It's got a new beginning. Its potential is being realized. As time goes by, instead of being a little seed buried in the ground, grows into a beautiful plant, producing all kinds of bright, colorful flowers. What happened? It went through the process of being planted. Had to go through some dark times. some lonely nights, had to push some dirt out of the way. It seemed like it would never see bright days, but it just kept pressing forward and eventually it became everything God created it to be. You need to get this deep down in your spirit today. No matter what comes against you in life, you are not buried, you are planted. You may feel like even now that you've got some dirt on top of you. You're in a tough time. Something was unfair. Doesn't look like it's ever going to change. But if you can just keep shaking off the dirt, shaking off the self-pity, shaking off the lies that are telling you it's over, you're done. Then you too, like that little seed, will begin to feel the life of God spring forth. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is on the inside of each one of you. That sickness will tell you, you can't push me out of the way. I'm much bigger than you. I've got you buried. Don't believe that lie. Just say like the seed, I'm coming back. I may be laying in the hospital right now, but this sickness is only temporary. This chemo may have taken my strength, my energy, my hair, but know this today, I've got comeback power. This is not the end. It's only the beginning. Or this addiction, it may have kept me back for a long time. It may have kept my full potential from being realized, but I'm not staying here. I know my chains have been gone. I know whom the sun sets free Speaker 1 (7:30) is free indeed. I'm moving the dirt out and I'm coming back. Speaker 2 (7:34) Or how about this? Business may be slow. I may have lost my biggest account, but I know I'm not buried. I'm planted. I know God's got another victory in my future. I know my best days are