Joel Osteen - You're Being Talked About

I want to speak to you today about «You’re Being Talked About.» God has already lined up the right people to open doors for you and show you favor to help you out of a difficulty. Some dreams we can’t accomplish on our own; some challenges we can’t get through by ourselves. We’ve tried our best but couldn’t start the business, or we weren’t able to break the addiction. We still haven’t met the right person; it seems like we’re stuck, and we don’t see any other options. But what you can’t see is that God is talking about you to other people. He’s speaking to them to be good to you. You may not even know them; they’re not in your contacts. But God will cause them to see you. He’ll put you on their minds and give them the desire to help you. They may not even know why, but suddenly they want to put in a good word for you. They may go out of their way to help your child or lend their influence to move you forward. These are not things that you could make happen; this is the hand of God ordering your steps and the steps of the people you need. This is why we don’t have to live worried, wondering how it’s going to work out, or discouraged over something that’s not changing. On your own, you may be stuck, but you’re not alone. God is working behind the scenes. He’s speaking to people right now to show you favor, to give you that contract, to be good to that loved one, to help turn that problem around. You don’t have to manipulate people, strive, and strain, hoping to win them over; that’s going to wear you out. That’s not your job; that’s God’s job. He will speak to people that you’ve never thought of—a person you don’t have a connection with, someone who has no reason to even think about you. But God puts you on their minds and gives them the desire to be good to you. Here’s the key: sometimes you don’t even know they did it; you just see the good break, the promotion, the turnaround. You don’t realize that behind the scenes, God used that person to orchestrate it all. They put in a good word, they told the contract to come to you, they had mercy, and the problem resolved. God has been talking about you your whole life to people, whispering to them to be good to you, causing them to notice you, giving them that feeling to go out of their way to make you shine. When we understand this, it takes the pressure off striving, straining, and thinking that we’re stuck. No, you can live from a place of peace, a place of hope. God, I trust you; my life is in your hands. Lord, I thank you that you’re not only ordering my steps but also the steps of the people that I need. Lord, I thank you that you are speaking to those who are instrumental to my destiny, making things happen that I couldn’t make happen. See, in life, we all have times when people are talking about us. Normally, that’s a negative connotation. But I want you to know today that God is talking about you. He has these destiny moments where He’ll speak to people who will do things that thrust you into your purpose.

We see this in the scripture with Ruth. Her husband died at a young age, and she became a widow. She was very heartbroken and never thought life would turn out this way. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, was a widow as well, and since both of her sons had passed, she decided to move back home to Bethlehem. She told Ruth and her other daughter-in-law, Orpah, to move back to their hometowns and continue with their lives. Orpah headed out, but Ruth said, «No, Naomi, I’m not going to leave you. I’m going to go with you and take care of you.» They moved to Bethlehem. The problem was they didn’t have any resources or any way to buy food; it looked like they weren’t going to make it. So Ruth got up early in the morning and went out into the fields to pick up the leftover grain that the workers had missed. She didn’t know anyone and didn’t ask for permission; she took a chance, hoping they wouldn’t make her leave. Out of all the fields, she chose the one owned by a wealthy and influential man named Boaz. He lived in a different city, and normally he wouldn’t be there, but the day Ruth went out into the fields, verse four says, «just then Boaz arrived.» Of all the times he could have come, he came the very day that Ruth went out there. God knows not only who you’re going to need, but He knows when you’re going to need them. He is ordering the steps of the people that are necessary for your destiny. Quit worrying about how it’s going to work out. God’s in control of your life; He’s working behind the scenes, arranging exactly what you need. Here, all these workers are out in the fields—acres and acres, hundreds of people. Boaz looks out, and the first person he sees is Ruth. She could have been hidden behind some bushes or blocked by piles of wheat on the other side of the hill, but God had her at the right place at the right time. He caused Boaz to notice her. She could have blended in, looked like all the other workers, but God knows how to make you stand out. He knows how to draw people to you. See, you don’t have to try to get attention, make yourself be seen, or ensure they know you’re there. No, be still and let Him be God. Be your best where you are and trust Him to make you shine. Ruth wasn’t trying to manipulate things or convince people to like her; she was just gathering food to take care of her mother-in-law, working hard to be a blessing and doing the right thing when the wrong thing had happened. She could have been bitter and angry, saying, «God, I lost my husband. This is not fair!» But in her time of need, she was being a blessing to someone else. When life throws you a curve, don’t get bitter. Keep doing the right thing. God sees the hurt, the loneliness, and what wasn’t fair. That’s not how your story ends; that’s just one chapter. Don’t get stuck there. Turn the page! Keep going to work with a good attitude, keep being good to people when you don’t feel like it, and keep praising when you could be complaining. Your time is coming; there’s another chapter— a chapter of victory, a chapter of joy, a chapter of beauty for those ashes. Verse four says Boaz asked his workers, «Who is that girl?» There were hundreds of people in the field; no doubt, many he didn’t know, but for some reason, his attention was drawn to Ruth. They told him that she was a widow who had moved there with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Boaz called his foreman over and said in verse 15, «I want you to drop handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth; leave them in her path to make it easier for her and make sure that no one bothers her.» Before, Ruth was having to work hard and strain, getting a little leftover here and there. I can imagine people were even giving her a hard time, saying, «Lady, what are you doing here? You need to leave; this is our property.» She was not wanted—on edge, fearful—but all of a sudden, everyone was nice to her, accommodating. Not only that, there was more wheat than she could gather. It wasn’t a struggle trying to find a leftover piece here or there; she had an abundance, overflowing—filling up one bag, another, and then another.

Here’s my point: she’s being blessed over a conversation that she knew nothing about. She’s seeing an increase in favor because someone was talking about her behind the scenes. Someone put in a good word for her, a person she had never met. She didn’t know why this was happening; she couldn’t figure out what had changed. All she knew was that she had stepped into an abundance she had never seen before. You don’t know who God has been talking about you; you don’t know who He will cause to notice you.

«I don’t know, Joel, but I think I’m stuck where I am. I don’t have the connections; my boss doesn’t even pay attention to me.» Your boss doesn’t control the universe. People are not ordering your steps—God is. He’s speaking to people about you that you knew nothing about. There are conversations happening where, like Ruth, you’re going to walk into favor, open doors, and divine connections that you can’t explain. All of a sudden, opportunity appears, the problem turns around, and abundance follows. You might ask, «Why did this happen?» It’s because God is talking about you; He’s orchestrating what you need to move you into your purpose.