Joel Osteen - Keep Digging

I want to talk to you today about Keep Digging. We all have dreams God has put in our heart, promises we're standing on, but sometimes you have to go through close doors before you get to open doors. People may do you wrong, keep doing the right thing. God sees you being the bigger person, he sees you forgiving when they don't deserve it, he sees you trusting him when you could be bitter.

Here's the key: you can be in God's will and have opposition. You can be obedient, like Isaac, but doors have closed, people have come against you. It's easy to get discouraged, but everything is serving God's plan. You can't see it right now, but it's moving you closer to your Promised Land. Keep doing the right thing when the wrong thing happens, keep taking the high road, keep believing, keep praying, keep trusting. God is still ordering your steps.

God wouldn't have moved you out of that place of blessing, he wouldn't have let them force you out, unless he has bigger things in your future. None of us like to go through the valley, but keep the right perspective: it's a sign that God is up to something.

There are times you need to dig your heels in and fight, stand your ground. But there are also times you have to be the bigger person, and let someone else be right, even though you know they're wrong. You have to release it.

"That's my well. I worked hard, I should get the credit, the promotion, the contract". Maybe it's not working out because God has something bigger. Maybe there's strife and contention because God is stirring things up to keep you from settling for less. God will never let something be taken away, unless he has something greater coming.

Right when he was about to give up, God whispered, "Isaac, dig one more well. Try it one more time". He had to make this decision: was he too discouraged too tired or was he going to keep digging? You may be where Isaac was. God is saying to you what he said to Isaac, "Dig one more well". Your story doesn't end in defeat, in injustice, in being overlooked. Those clogged wells, the bad breaks are setting you up for well number three.

Now, you have to do your part: get your shovel out and keep digging, keep believing, keep expecting, keep forgiving, keep taking steps of faith. You are closer than you think. You're on the verge of well number three, Rehoboth, a wide open space, a place of abundance, fulfillment, divine connections, a victorious place.

If Isaac was here, he would tell you, "Get your shovel out. Dig one more well. You've seen opposition, you've seen conflict, but well number three is Rehoboth, the blessing, the favor, the victory. Houses you didn't build, a Compaq Center already built. Vineyards you didn't plant. Divine connections, people that are better than you've imagined".

Now, keep moving forward in faith, not frustrated, not bitter. Stay on that high road, knowing that God is in control, that it's all serving his plan.