Joel Osteen - Getting Unstuck

I want to talk to you today about getting unstuck. There are times when we all feel stuck: we’ve had a disappointment, we get stuck in a bad mood, or we make mistakes and feel stuck in guilt. We can feel stuck in our career, stuck being single, or stuck raising a difficult child. Thoughts whisper that it’s never going to change and that this is permanent. Those are all lies. God did not create you to live stuck, to be limited by your circumstances or restricted because of what people have done. He created you to rise higher, to reach new levels, and to break barriers of the past. Yes, there are seasons of waiting and times of testing where we go through struggles, but that’s not how your story ends. There are seasons of harvest, seasons of breakthrough, and seasons of uncommon favor where God steps in and does what only He can do. You may feel stuck in some area of your life today, and all the circumstances may say it’s not going to change, that God must have forgotten about you. No, here’s a key: God shows up when you’re stuck. Just ask Paul and Silas; they were stuck in prison, their feet in chains. It looked permanent, but at midnight, as they were singing praises, God showed up. There was a great earthquake, the prison doors flung open, and they walked out as free men. Jonah was stuck in the belly of a whale; he had made mistakes, and it was his own fault. But God doesn’t abandon us when we get off course. That whale suddenly had indigestion, went to shore, and spit Jonah out. God gave him another chance. Hannah in the scripture felt stuck; she’d been trying to have a baby for years but was barren. She watched her sister have child after child, and it didn’t seem fair. She went to the temple and prayed, and the prophet Eli said to her, «God heard your prayer, and you will have a child.» She not only had one baby, but God gave her six children. This was after years of her feeling stuck. Thoughts telling her that she would always be barren—don’t believe the never-lies: you’ll never get well, never get married, never accomplish your dream. You may be stuck now, but you’re not going to stay stuck. God’s about to show up. Job thought he was stuck; he went through great difficulties, lost his health, his family, and his business. He was so depressed that he said, «I hate my life; I wish I had never been born.» His wife joined in and said, «I agree, Job, just curse God and die.» It’s good to have supportive people, but all the circumstances said Job was done. Yet God shows up for stuck people. He not only restored what Job lost, but Job came out with double. God makes the enemy pay for bringing the trouble. We all go through difficulties and things that are not fair, and those thoughts will tell you it’s never going to change. But you have to keep this down in your spirit: stuck is not your destiny. God came to loose the captives; He came to free you from what has you restricted. Joseph thought he was stuck in a pit; his brothers left him there to die, and a caravan of Ishmaelites came. He was sold into slavery in Egypt, where, years later, he would become the Prime Minister. It looked like he was stuck, but it was all a setup to move him into his purpose. The enemy won’t tell you that God’s working behind the scenes, leading you to your purpose, and that being stuck is only temporary. He’ll whisper, «Oh, you’re done; it’s never going to change.» Don’t believe that. God’s purpose for your life cannot be overridden by a bad break, a delay, a loss, or a hardship. Sure, there will be times when we feel stuck, but you have to remember: God is still in control; He’s still ordering your steps. At the appointed time, He will loose you. Suddenly, doors will open. Suddenly, the whale will spit you out. Suddenly, you will have that baby. Suddenly, you become the prime minister, so to speak. You step into a new level of your destiny.

And the scripture says, «Lift up your head, and the King of Glory will come in.» If you’re going to get unstuck, you can’t go around with your head down, focused on your problems, thinking you’ve reached your limits. As long as your head is down, you’re going to stay where you are. Do yourself a favor; lift up your head and have a new perspective. You may be stuck, but we serve a God who knows how to get you unstuck. He did it for all those people in the Bible, and He’s going to do it for you. You may have tried everything you can; you’ve done your best, but nothing has improved. You don’t have any more options. The good news is, God never runs out of options. You don’t see a way, but God has ways you’ve never thought of. Instead of having a defeated mindset—thinking, «Oh man, I never get any good breaks; I can’t get through this addiction; I don’t think I’ll ever get well"—turn it around! I may be stuck now; I don’t deny that. But I know this: I am coming out! Something good is going to happen to me. Blessings are chasing me down. The battle is taking place in our minds. It’s easy to become complacent, to where we’re comfortable with mediocrity. You had big dreams, but it’s been so long, and nothing has worked out, so you’ve watered down your dreams: «I can live with this addiction; I’ll never have more than enough; all my family struggles; I don’t deserve to be blessed. Joel, I’ve made so many mistakes»! There has to be a change on the inside before there will be a change on the outside. Victory starts in our thinking. When you’ve been stuck a long time, it can create strongholds that keep us from God’s best. You need to lift up your head and have a new vision. You may be stuck now, but can I encourage you? Where you are is not where you’re staying. You will beat the sickness; you will break the addiction; you will meet the right person. You’re about to become unstuck, where what’s held you back is broken off of you. There’s going to be a release, where God thrusts you into your purpose, favor, and blessings that you’ve never seen!

This is what my mother did when she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer back in 1981. There was nothing more the doctors could do; they sent her home, saying that she had a few weeks to live. It was around Christmas time, and our whole family felt stuck. Medically speaking, they had run out of options. My mother told how, in the middle of the night, thoughts would come saying, «You can be buried in that new pink dress that you bought.» The enemy would love for you to start planning your demise, planning for you to go down, living lonely and addicted. His goal is to keep you focused on the problem—how impossible it looks and how long it’s been. The Scripture says, «Look away from all that distracts unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.» In difficult times, more than ever, you have to look away from the distractions and look up. Fix your thoughts on what God says about you. He’s the author and the finisher. What He starts, He is going to complete. You may feel stuck now; the good news is that God is not finished. He’s still working. Keep looking up, keep thanking Him, keep declaring what He promised, and keep talking like it’s on the way, despite the negative report. I would hear my mother going through the house saying, «Father, thank You that You’re restoring health back into me, that I will live and not die, that the number of my days You will fulfill.» You know what happened? The King of Glory came in; God did what medicine couldn’t do. That was 44 years ago—from a few weeks to live to over four decades. You’re never too stuck for God to free you; you’re never too addicted or too depressed, and the medical report is never too bad. A child is never too far gone. Lift up your head, and chains will break; healing will come; supernatural turnaround will happen.

There was a man in the scripture who had been crippled for 38 years. Every day, his family would carry him to the pool of Bethesda, where they would lay him down, hoping to be healed. They believed that an angel would stir the waters, and the first person in would be made well. There were hundreds of sick and disabled people gathered at this pool, but out of all the people, Jesus came to this man who had been stuck for 38 years. It’s not a coincidence that the scripture tells us how long he had been lame. Many of the people Jesus healed are not mentioned for how long they were blind or how long they had leprosy; we just know they got healed. But this man’s condition was included on purpose so we would understand that no matter how long you have been stuck, it’s not too late for God to turn it around. Jesus asked the man, «Do you want to get well?» It seemed like an odd question; of course he did—that’s why he came to the pool. But Jesus wanted to see his frame of mind. Was he looking up, believing he could get well, or was he looking down, feeling it had been too long? The man said to Jesus, «I don’t have anyone to help me get into the pool.» He was effectively saying, «Yes, I want to get well, but I’m at a disadvantage.» Jesus could have said, «Man, you didn’t answer correctly; if you’d said yes, I’d have healed you.» God’s full of mercy. The fact is, Jesus knew the man came to the pool every day. He saw his faith every morning—the man getting out of bed, putting his clothes on, being carried to the pool. He could have chosen to be at home, lying in bed, feeling self-pity, thinking life’s not fair. But every day, he was out there, hoping to get well, expecting the waters to move, believing for a supernatural touch. Jesus said to him, «Rise, take up your bed, and walk.» Some people say the man didn’t have much faith, but if you have never walked in your life and someone tells you to get up, do you realize how much faith that would take? The man could have said, «Jesus, what do you mean? I’m crippled; I’ve been this way my whole life!» Instead, he said, in effect, «If you say I can walk, then I believe I can walk. If you say I’m not stuck anymore, then I believe it.» As he started to rise up, suddenly strength and healing flowed into him, energizing his legs. He stood up and walked out of there for the first time in 38 years.

What’s interesting is that this all happened on the Sabbath. The religious law stated that you can’t do any work on the Sabbath. Jesus knew this, but He broke the rules to free the man. God will break rules to get you to your destiny; He’ll break protocol. He’ll do things that are unusual: heal you without the treatment, like my mother choosing you to be a pastor when you don’t have the training, giving you the Compact Center, a sports arena for a church—uncommon, out of the ordinary, something you weren’t expecting—to get you unstuck and release you into your purpose. You don’t have to figure out how this is going to happen; all you have to do is lift up your head and activate your faith.

In Psalm 143, David talks about all kinds of opposition he was facing and how people were treating him very badly. This was when King Saul was chasing him through the desert; he was living on the run, stuck in an unfair situation, stuck with someone trying to get rid of him whom he had been good to. He said in verse three, «My enemy has chased me, he’s knocked me to the ground and forced me to live in darkness like those in a grave. I’m losing all hope; I’m paralyzed with fear.» When you have doubts, fears, and uncertainties, don’t get so down on yourself. Here’s David, a man after God’s own heart, a hero of faith, yet he had times of discouragement—times when he felt stuck and didn’t see how things could ever change. The key is, don’t stay there. At some point, you have to look up. David listed all these bad things that were happening. Then, in the next chapter, when he still felt overwhelmed and still didn’t see a way out, he said in verse nine, «I will sing a new song unto the Lord.» He was saying, «I’m done talking about defeat; I’m going to lift up my head, and I’m going to get a new perspective.»

Listen to how he changed in verse three: «Great are You, O Lord; I will meditate on Your awe-inspiring deeds. For You help the fallen; You lift those under heavy load; You protect those who trust in You.» He went from «Poor me, I’m stuck,» to «God, I thank You that You are fighting my battles, that You’re my vindicator, that You’re bigger than what’s trying to stop me.» When you feel stuck, it makes a difference what you’re focused on. Are you dwelling on the problem, or are you dwelling on the promises? Are you focused on how big the obstacle is, or on how big our God is? If you’ll lift up your head, the King of Glory will come in. God will make things happen that you couldn’t make happen.

A couple of years after Victoria and I were married, we were walking through a neighborhood close to our house when we came to this new house that was almost finished being built, in the last stages of construction. Nobody was around, so we walked up to it. It was this nice two-story house and so beautiful, with a spacious entry, big windows in the back, and high ceilings. The kitchen was open to the den; it was amazing! As we were leaving, walking down the front porch, I’ll never forget this: Victoria stopped and said, «Joel, one day we’re going to live in a house just like that.» She might as well have said, «One day we’re going to go to the Moon.» We were living in an old one-story house that we could barely afford. Being the great man of faith that I am, I started telling her all the reasons that it wasn’t possible: how I work for a church and I’m never going to have that income; if we saved for 12 to 14 years, we wouldn’t have enough. That went in one ear and out the other. She acted like she didn’t hear me. She said, «No, Joel, I’m telling you we’re going to live in a house just like this.» That made me mad. I did my best to convince her that we were stuck, we were limited, we were at a disadvantage. The difference was I had my head down; she had her head up. I was looking at what we could do; she was looking at what God can do. I was focused on all the facts, the numbers, what’s logical. I didn’t see a way, but God is not limited by what you don’t have. He’s not limited by your bank account, by the medical report, or by what family you come from. He controls the universe! When you believe, all things are possible. In the natural, we may be stuck, but God is supernatural. He makes streams in the desert; He brings water out of a rock; He parts Red Seas. Peter caught a fish that had a coin in it to pay his taxes. God is not scratching his head trying to figure out how to get you unstuck. He’s going to do things that you never saw coming that exceed your expectations—explosive blessings that catapult you into your destiny.

Now, don’t do like I do and come up with all the reasons you can’t get out of debt and you can’t get well. Your dream’s too big and that child of yours will always be off course. Do yourself a favor: lift up your head. God, I don’t see a way, but I know You have a way. Victoria finally convinced me to reach an agreement with her. We were living in this old, rundown house that had foundation problems, crooked floors, and some of the interior doors wouldn’t shut. But it was on a nice half-acre lot close to the city. The neighborhood changed the deed restrictions so that you could subdivide the property. A builder knocked on our door a couple of months later and bought half of the property for more than we paid for the whole thing. He built two homes there: one for us, just like that house that Victoria had seen. I could have never made that happen; I couldn’t have put that on paper. What am I saying? God is going to do things that are uncommon, that you didn’t see coming. You may be stuck in some area, but here’s a key: being stuck is a setup for God to show out in your life, to do something extraordinary. Don’t believe that lie that it’s permanent, that it’s been too long or that your dream’s too big. No! Like the lame man who was there for 38 years, your time is coming. Keep looking up, keep believing, keep expecting; that’s your faith being released.

In 2 Kings chapter 7, the Syrian Army surrounded the city of Samaria, cutting off its food supply, and the people were starving. There were four lepers living outside the city gates; leprosy was contagious, and they weren’t allowed to be around people. Not only were they outcasts, but when the enemy army came, they would be the first ones to be killed. They had no protection—talk about being stuck, with no future, no food, and a dreaded disease. While sitting by the gates, one of them said to the others, «Why are we just going to sit here like this until we die?» They thought that if they stayed there, they would starve to death. «We have nothing to lose; let’s go to the enemy’s camp and see if there’s any food there.» They started walking toward the other camp, and God multiplied the sound of their footsteps; it sounded like a huge army was coming. The enemy army panicked and ran away as fast as they could, leaving behind all the supplies. The lepers showed up and couldn’t believe it—a whole camp full of food, clothing, and equipment! They went back and told the Israelites, and all their lives were spared.

But sometimes, like these lepers, we get stuck at a gate. We have had bad breaks and gone through disappointments, and now we are stuck in self-pity or holding on to hurts. We made mistakes, and we have regrets; we are stuck in guilt and shame. We can get stuck in an addiction or in compromise; we try to do better but keep falling back. The challenge is that we can become comfortable at the gate; we can learn to function in dysfunction. We have to ask ourselves what the lepers asked: «Why am I going to sit here until I die? Why am I going to stay this way—offended, guilty, insecure, and with no passion?» We are waiting for God to change things, but God is waiting for us. When you make a move, it sets off a chain reaction, and that’s when God begins to work—opening doors, bringing healing, and new relationships. A small act of obedience can lead to a big blessing. It may involve forgiving that person who wronged you or forgiving yourself for the mistakes you’ve made. It may mean getting up in the morning and emptying out all the low self-esteem and insecurity, reminding yourself who God says you are. A small act can get you unstuck. Maybe it’s to quit hanging around that friend who causes you to compromise or stop listening to the news driving to work that makes you mad at the world. Instead, put on something inspiring and uplifting that feeds your faith.

Don’t go the next 20 years stuck at the gate. Do what you can, and God will do what you cannot. You make a move, and He’ll multiply your steps. You lift up your head, and He’ll turn things around that you thought were permanent. There was a man we knew growing up who could play the piano so beautifully. He taught lessons to people and served at the church—so gifted and skilled—and he loved to play. But over time, he developed rheumatoid arthritis that kept getting worse and worse. He had trouble using his hands and finally got to the point where his fingers were all shriveled up, and he could no longer play. He was so discouraged over it all. Well, 20 years went by, and he had accepted that his days of playing the piano were over. But one day, he heard my father speaking about forgiveness and how important it is to let things go. For years, he had been estranged from his parents. He felt like they hadn’t raised him right; they had let him down, and all these offenses had built up to where he pushed them out of his life. When he heard that message, he felt something so strongly telling him to forgive, to make things right. The next day, he went to his parents' house, knocked on the door, and they answered, unable to believe it was him. They hugged and wept, and there was healing and forgiveness. The relationship was restored.

Well, something interesting happened: little by little, the man’s fingers began to open up. He started having more flexibility, and the pain in his joints began to lessen. He kept getting better and better. Six months later, he could sit down and play the piano like he did 20 years earlier, as if he had never missed a beat. He was stuck all those years, but a simple act of obedience caused him to get unstuck. Like those lepers, he was comfortable at the gate; he had learned to function with the problem. He didn’t realize the offense was holding him back. When he made a move, God did what he couldn’t do. When he said, «I’m not going to sit here like this until I die, holding on to something that’s poisoning me,» that’s when God stepped in and brought healing and restoration. If you’re stuck in some area, you need to look inside and say, «God, what do I need to do? Show me anything that’s holding me back.» If you’ll take that step of faith, your act of obedience will start a chain reaction of the goodness of God. Life may not have treated you fairly; you may have a good reason to stay where you are, but being stuck is not your destiny. What happened to you did not stop your purpose. The mistakes you made did not cancel your assignment. There is still a beautiful life, a blessing, fulfillment, and abundance that belong to you. It’s time to arise, shake off the guilt, forgive the people who hurt you, let go of the self-pity, lift up your head, and get that fresh vision. God didn’t bring you this far to leave you. Being stuck is not permanent; it’s a setup for God to show out in your life. You may be stuck now, but I believe and declare this is a new day. You’re about to become unstuck. God is releasing you from whatever is holding you back. Chains are being broken, strongholds are coming down, freedom is coming, restoration is coming, and divine connections are on the way—the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name! If you receive it, can you say amen?