Joel Osteen Devotional 18 April 2024 – Fresh and Green

Psalm 92:12–14, NIV – The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.

If you want to stay passionate and flourishing, you have to stay productive. You have to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. When you’re not producing, you’re not growing. When you quit being productive, you start slowly dying. Don’t let a disappointment, a hurt, or a bad break cause you to sit back in self-pity and lose your passion. Shake off what didn’t work out. Quit mourning over what you’ve lost. A full life is still in front of you. You have not danced your best dance. You have not laughed your best laugh. You have not dreamed your best dream.

Some people quit living at fifty, but we don’t bury them until they are eighty. They lost their joy and stopped enjoying life. Don’t let that be you. You may retire from your job, but don’t ever retire from life. Stay busy. Keep using your mind. Keep helping others. Volunteer at the hospital. Babysit your relatives’ children. Mentor a young person. God promises that He will bring you to a flourishing finish, not a fizzling finish.

“Father, thank You that Your plans for me are for good. I may not understand everything along the way, and it may not have been fair, but I’m not going to lose my passion and stop being productive and growing. I know You’re bringing me to a flourishing finish. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

About Joel Osteen
Raised in Houston, Texas, with a loving family of seven and world-renowned parents in full-time ministry, Joel Osteen never imagined that he would follow so closely in his father’s footsteps. As a young man, his training and interests were behind the scenes in television production, though he was close to his father in ministry.