Product Description

Get your hopes up. Raise your expectations. Your best days are in front of you.

In challenging times, it may be hard to see better days ahead. You may feel as though your struggles will never end, that things won't ever turn around for you.

This is exactly the moment to put your faith into action and expect God's blessings.

It's your time to declare your faith, to look for God's favor, and to give control of your life to Him so that you can find fulfillment in His plans for you!

It's Your Time to believe.

It's not easy to always be optimistic. Life can be difficult, and in hard economic times it's not just your finances that suffer. Your relationships can be strained. Your health can be stressed. Bad habits can return and negative thoughts can take over.

When one part of your life after another takes a bad turn, you can feel like there is no end in sight, no way out. The truth is, maybe you don't have an answer. But God does! Maybe you don't have the strength. But God does!

It's Your Time for favor.

In It's Your Time, bestselling author Joel Osteen, pastor of the nation's largest church, offers the inspirational truth that no matter where you stand in life, you are never alone. He reminds you also that the bigger your burden, the greater your blessings to come.

You may have neglected God, but He has not abandoned you. He has already released good things into your future. As long as you're breathing, you can still reclaim His favor by renewing your faith and accepting His plans for you.

It's Your Time for restoration.

In these pages, Joel offers assurances that God does not want you to merely survive challenging times, He wants you to thrive. When you give your life over to Him, God will send opportunities your way so that you can soar to new heights of fulfillment.

History has shown that the most difficult times can serve as catalysts for creativity, innovation, and accomplishment. If you hold on to your faith, ask for God's favor, and don't give in to depression or discouragement, you will emerge not bitter but better, not a victim but a victor.

It's Your Time to trust.

God already is working in your life to arrange the right people, the right skills, and the right opportunities to give you the tools you need to fulfill and exceed your dreams.

Drawing from Joel's experiences and those of people around the world, It's Your Time offers messages of faith, hope, and strength to help you rise above any circumstance so that you can fulfill God's best plan for your life.

It's Your Time to stretch.

Joel has filled this book with bold new prayers, inspiring stories, and practical tools for moving forward in faith. You will find inspiration from others who have overcome adversity and achieved their dreams. You will find proven methods for not just picking up the pieces but for building a new life better than you'd imagined.

The hopeful messages and warm encouragements in this book will push you to expand your horizons beyond what you thought you were capable of doing so that you might go even farther than you'd ever dreamed of going.

It's Your Time!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332 in Books
• Published on: 2009-11-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781439100110
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Joel Osteen is a native Texan and the Pastor of Lakewood Church, which according to Church Growth Today is America's largest and fastest growing church with over 38,000 attendees. According to Nielsen Media Research, Joel is the most watched inspirational figure in America. His weekly sermon is broadcast into television markets across the U.S. where it is viewed by seven million Americans each week and more than 20 million each month. His weekly broadcast is also seen in almost 100 nations around the world. In 2004, his first book Your Best Life Now was released by Time Warner and debuted at the top of the New York Times bestsellers list and quickly rising to #1. It remained on the New York Times list for more than 2 years and has sold more than 4 million copies. His next book, Become a Better You, was released in October of 2007 and was an instant New York Times bestseller, remaining on the list for more than 7 months and selling more than 1.6 million copies.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

My desire is to speak faith into the lives of others, encouraging them when they are discouraged, calling forth the seeds of greatness God planted within, assuring them that their best days are ahead. This book is filled with hopeful messages intended to do just that. My prayer is to inspire you and to expand your vision so you might find the courage to overcome any obstacles and accomplish your dreams. God has great things in store for you. A new season is coming. I hope my words ignite your faith and increase God's favor in your life.

Psalm 84:11 says no good thing will God withhold to those who walk uprightly. When you have a heart to please God and when you live a life of excellence and integrity -- being your best each day, living with purpose and passion and a desire to help others -- God's promise is that He will not withhold what you need to become you or what He has created you to be.

God will not withhold wisdom, creativity, good breaks, the right connections, strength, joy, or victory.

You may have been through challenging times. The economic downturn has affected people of all ages and incomes. Millions have lost their jobs. Millions more have seen their savings depleted. Many have lost their homes. Relationships have been strained. We've all been tested.

History has shown that economic depressions and recessions surely do cause suffering, but they also serve as catalysts for inspiration, creativity, and new levels of achievement that ultimately make for better lives and a better world. Many of the world's strongest corporations and family businesses were forged in times such as these. Some doors have closed, but others will open.

To give you strength and to fortify your faith, I've put this book together in five parts. Each is designed to build on the other. The goal is not simply to inspire and motivate you, but also to help you see that God's plan is at work in your life. He walks with you. You may not perceive a way out right now, but He does. You may not feel that you have all that it will take to emerge stronger, but He does. With God in your heart, you will persevere and prevail.

The book begins with a section entitled "It's Time to Believe," because tough times require strong faith, because this too will pass, because big problems precede bigger things to come, because every disappointment gives us fresh opportunities, and because each season of scarcity gives way to new seasons of increase.

It's time to reaffirm your belief that you are one of our Father's children. You are made in His image and He loves you.

"It's Time for Favor" is the section about faith fortification. Here you can bulk up with encouragement to pray bold prayers, to seek thriving over surviving, to choose faith over fear, to expect favor in your future, and to speak faith-filled words.

In "It's Time for Restoration," I offer you the tools of forgiveness and renewal. These tools include God's ability to turn back time, your power to come back from setbacks and to bounce back from disappointments. Restoration comes too from living a resurrected life and from holding on to your promise of a better day.

"It's Time to Trust" builds your resolve by reminding you of those things you can trust: that all things work together for good, that God remembers you, that you can gain strength through adversity, and that there will come an anointing of ease.

Finally, I've concluded the book with "It's Time to Stretch." We stretch to grow. We stretch to build strength. We stretch to reach beyond previous levels of accomplishment and fulfillment. The final chapters will motivate you to step into your divine destiny, to stay open for something new, to find your place of blessing, and to believe for a supernatural year.

As you read these chapters, keep your heart pure, strive for excellence, and prepare yourself, because it's your time for God's goodness, favor, and restoration. It's your time to walk in the fullness of His blessing.

-- Joel OsteenCopyright © 2009 by Joel Osteen

Chapter 1

You're Closer Than You Think!

While on vacation in Colorado, I woke up early for a hike. The three-mile trail ran to the peak of Beaver Creek Mountain. At the base a sign said it should take about three hours to reach the top.

Looking up to my destination, I was intimidated. The trail was extremely steep. The altitude at the base was 8,000 feet above sea level. The peak stood at more than 11,000 feet.

Just walking up the first set of stairs, I began breathing heavier than normal. I had to remind myself to take it easy. At home in Houston, I run several miles a few times a week and play a lot of basketball. But the elevation there is only fifty feet above sea level. The thinner air in the Colorado mountains had me doubting whether I could make it to the top.

I started out with just my cell phone and a bottle of water. Determined, I set a pretty good pace. The first fifteen minutes seemed fairly easy. The next fifteen minutes were increasingly difficult. I felt as though I were carrying an extra load. I had to stop every so often to catch my breath.

About forty-five minutes into my hike, the trail got extremely steep -- almost like I was climbing straight up. My pathway snaked skyward through thick stands of aspen and ponderosa pine. The view was both beautiful and daunting. Despite the fact I am in shape from running and playing basketball, my legs were burning and my chest was pounding.

As I climbed over a big ridge, I had to stop for air. Sweat was pouring off my body. I thought: If there's another two hours like this, I don't know if I can make it.

Up to that point, I had not seen anyone else on the path. Suddenly an older gentleman heading down the mountain came around a curve. He wore a T-shirt, shorts, and hiking shoes and carried a walking stick. He seemed cool and calm. And he read me pretty well.

As we passed, he said something that changed my whole perspective. He smiled kindly and said in a calm voice: "You are closer than you think."

Hearing those words, I felt rejuvenated, as if he'd breathed new life into my lungs. Energy surged through my body. My legs grew stronger. I caught a second wind. From that point forward, with every stride, I repeated those words of encouragement: "I will make it. I'm closer than I think."

Though the climb was difficult, though my muscles and lungs were burning, I kept saying, "I'm almost to the top. I know I can make it." And sure enough, just ten minutes later, I clambered over these big boulders and beheld a beautiful sight: the summit.

According to the sign at the base, it was supposed to be a three-hour hike. But I'd made it in just under an hour! I was much closer than I'd thought when I passed that gentleman on the trail. Yet, without his encouraging words, I might have turned around. I might have talked myself out of continuing because I thought I had two more hours to go.

Until I met the older hiker, my perspective was limited and so was my thinking. I knew only what I'd read on the sign. He knew I was just ten minutes from my goal, and when he told me I was closer, he gave me a fresh perspective. He knew more about the trail ahead of me, just as God knows more about what lies ahead for you.

I don't know where you are headed, what your dreams are, or how many obstacles you have to overcome. But I encourage you to let these words reach deep down into your spirit. Receive them by faith.

You are closer than you think.

A global recession has forced many to postpone their dreams and cancel their plans. You may have lost your job. You may have lost your savings, maybe even your home. It could be that you have health concerns or relationship problems. Maybe you are frustrated because it's taking so long to get where you want to be in your life. Yet now is not the time to talk yourself out of your goals and dreams. Now is not the time to get discouraged. You may think, as I did climbing that trail, that you're not even halfway there. You may feel you have so far to go. But the truth is, you don't know. Your dream may just be up around the corner. You may think it will take another two years. But if you stay in faith, who knows? It may just be two more months. You are closer than you think. I believe it's your time.

Amber Corson was a stay-at-home mom with three young children. When her husband was laid off from his Florida construction job as the economy soured, Amber had to take a night-shift job to help support the family.

She'd been working that late shift for four weeks. One night she was driving home, tired, scared, missing her kids, and worried about their future. Amber felt like God had bigger plans for her family than to struggle. She prayed on that drive home. "God, please tell me what I can do to get my family through this."

She said His response came to her "like a breath."

"I gave you a gift. Go plant gardens. Do your heart's work."

Amber had a degree in horticulture that she'd never used. She was so talented she'd been certified as a master gardener. She had a natural talent for making things grow. That night, she told her husband what God had put in her heart. She prayed on it. In the next few weeks, she said, things "just fell into place like it had been planned for me all along."

She called her landscaping business Eden Paradise Gardens. It grew quickly and flourished beyond anything she had dreamed. It was her time!

God wants to breathe new life into your dreams. He wants to breathe new hope into your heart. You may be about to give up on a marriage, on a troubled child, on a lifelong goal. But God wants you to hold on. He says that if you'll get your second wind, if you'll put on a new attitude and press forward like you're headed down the final stretch, you'll see Him begin to do amazing things.

Tune out the negative messages. Quit telling yourself: I'm never landing back on my feet financially. I'm never breaking this addiction. I'm never landing a better job.

Instead, your declarations should be: I am closer t...

Customer Reviews

It's (Not Worth) Your Time
I really like Joel Osteen. Since I started watching him on TV years ago, alot of what he speaks to makes sense to me, and he has enriched my life in many ways. I read his first book, and enjoyed it. Then I read his second book, and noticed he borrowed some material from his first book. I had very high hopes for this new release, and thought this time the book would contain all new material. Maybe my hopes were too high.

After reading this book, I came to the conclusion that this time around he is just phoning it in. Most of "It's Your Time" is comprised of recycled anecdotes and passages from his previous two books, as well as transcriptions of a few TV sermons. How many times do we need to hear how he met his wife? We get it already....you bought a cheap watch. Or his deal with the Compaq Center(I don't think we'll ever hear the end of that one), or the story about the exploding can of biscuits, and about 50 other passages that made me stop and check the book jacket to see if I was reading his "new" book or one of his previous books. Anyone else notice this too?

There was a smattering of new paragraphs, but not enough to justify 300 pages.....a pamphlet maybe. I hope the next time around will not be as disappointing. So in the meantime, I will stay in faith, and pray for some new material. Amen.

Not what you expect
I like Joel Osteen, and watch his sermons weekly either on TV or via podcast. This is not a review of Joel Osteen; it is a review of the book.

I purchased this book on kindle when it first came out, and I haven't finished reading it yet -- and doubt that I will. This is not a real book, but more of a collection of sermons he has given over the years. In fact, I watched a sermon after I started reading the book -- and though when reading the book it seemed familiar, when I saw the TV show I was surprised to hear not just the "theme" but the actual story I had read. Same joke, same anecdote, same lesson, almost verbatim.

If you have already watched Joel on TV or podcast, then no need to buy this book to learn another facet -- it is just a repackage of sermons he has already given.

However, if you don't mind reading what you've already heard/seen, then perhaps buying this book will reinforce what you've already been told by Joel. I wish I had known the content before I bought this book -- I probably would have waited.

DUMP this book, DISCARD much of what you learn, DESIST reading
What were the issues that led me to give this book a rating comparable to "poor"? Quite a bit. Sit back and have a nice cup of coffee or tea as you review this list with sometimes lengthy explanations.

1. TOO LONG. From start to finish, It's Your Time runs a little over 300 pages. The book has 23 chapters and is broken up into five different sections that include 4-5 chapters each. The best section, "It's Time to Stretch" comes at the end. It's unfortunate that decent Biblical teaching only occupies maybe 20 pages maximum out of 300 pages.

2. TOO CHEESY. Joel Osteen cites Marie Callender, Tyler Perry, Phyllis Diller, and KFC's Colonel Sanders as a few "you can be successful too!" stories. The wealthy in America only comprise 1-2% of the population. The chances of Osteen's readers becoming as successful as the aforementioned are very slim.

3. TOO UNBIBLICAL. One of my greatest issues with this book is that for most of it, Osteen has people believing that God is a magic genie who will give you what you want if you rub Him the right way. But there are other things:

*Expect God's favor and you get "every" thing. (quotes mine) From the very beginning of the book: "God promises your payday is on its way. If you'll learn to be a prisoner of hope and get up every day expecting God's favor, you'll see God do amazing things. You'll overcome EVERY obstacle. You'll defeat EVERY enemy. And I believe and declare you'll see EVERY dream, EVERY promise God has put in your heart, come to pass." --Joel Osteen, It's Your Time, p. 16 (emphasis mine) I'm afraid this is incorrect. We won't get "every" thing nor does God promise us "every" thing.

*If you are good to God and tell Him how you've been good to Him, He will be good to you. Osteen uses the story of King Hezekiah who was struck with a fatal disease and after pleading with God and telling Him all the ways he'd served Him, was miraculously healed and his life was extended. Osteen essentially uses this example to say that it's okay to "bargain" (quotes mine) with God in an effort to get Him to bless you. While we can talk to God and ask Him to heal us, bless us, or whatever, we shouldn't use the things we do for God as bargaining chips. God is not a gambler.

*"All Things Work Together for Our Good." I simply have to take issue with the title of chapter 16 because it gives the impression that all things work together for what *we* think is good, which in fact, is far from the case. Here's the part of Romans 8:28 Osteen cites: "And we know that all things work together for good," when, in fact, the ENTIRE verse says: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Adding the rest of that really changes the meaning of the verse, doesn't it? You get the impression that all things work together for your good, the way you want it to work out, however, the verse is saying at least two things:

A. All things work together ultimately for our SPIRITUAL good. The word "spiritual" isn't in the verse so where does that idea come from? The prepositional phrase "to those who love God" means that "all things work[ing] together for good" is directed to those who are seeking God, a spiritual being. Spiritual good does not necessarily mean physical good or material good. What God considers good doesn't necessarily mean that as earthly beings, we'd consider it good as well. Trials and tribulations help us spiritually but I'm not sure that anyone would willingly call that good. But that's part of what that verse means.

B. Also, things work together for good to those who God is using for HIS purposes. Same general meaning as well-what God, a spiritual being, considers good, we, as earthly beings, won't necessarily see things the same way.
None of that explanation is offered in Osteen's book. You get the impression that everything that happens to you is to make you better-not only spiritually-but the emphasis is financial, material, relational, and physical.

4. TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON THE TEMPORAL--the here and now--RATHER THAN THE ETERNAL. This kind of piggybacks point three. Evangelical Christians familiar with Osteen are probably shaking their heads going, "What did you expect from the author of 'Your Best Life NOW'?" Yes, I expected this but it still needed to be said.

5. TOO LITTLE JESUS. For the first 116 pages, I began to wonder whether Joel Osteen was still a Christian or whether he had become a spiritual generalist-simply referring to God as a higher power. Then Osteen speaks favor over the reader's life and declares it "in the name of Jesus." For another 116 pages, Osteen references Bible passages in generalizations and the context of overcoming adversity and moving toward greater success before speaking favor over the reader's life again and declaring it "in the name of Jesus." In Chapter 14 ("Living a Resurrected Life") and Chapter 15 ("Your Sunday is Coming), the core Gospel message-Jesus was betrayed, crucified, died, buried, and resurrected so that mankind could be rescued from their sins and eternal damnation-is reduced to simply yet another success story-a man who encountered great difficulty but triumphed in the end. I was incredibly horrified to read those two chapters as it reduced the man who Christians revere as Lord, King, Savior, and Friend to a level of Tyler Perry or Marie Callender-just another someone who persevered through incredible adversity. If a non-Christian had done this, I wouldn't have been as bothered. However, Pastor Osteen claims Christianity and declares favor in Jesus' name. It should have dawned on Pastor Osteen, of all people, that the Gospel message should be included in here somewhere. But unfortunately, Jesus is a mere afterthought. Pastor Osteen doesn't present the Gospel in an Introduction, a Foreword, a Prologue, Chapter 1, or even an Epilogue or the Conclusion. It is presented on the last page with text at the very end of the book, on a page titled, "We Care About You." Here it is:

"I believe there is a void in every person that only a relationship with God can fill. I'm not talking about finding religion or joining a particular church. I'm talking about developing a relationship with your Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe that knowing Him is the source of true peace and fulfillment in life."

This seems like a pretty important statement to me. So why is it at the very END of the book? Basically, it's almost a bait-and-switch: God will give you the right opportunities and the right breaks so you have a nice house and the job promotion you've always wanted! Oh, and true peace and fulfillment only comes from a relationship in Jesus Christ. I feel like there's a mixed message here.
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To sum up, I was initially going to give this book three stars but the more I thought about it, the more I realized the message of this book does several terrible things:

1. Detracts from who Jesus is-the Son of God, the Savior of the world, sent to free humankind from their sins.
2. Gives readers a vision that God is a magical genie-if you rub Him the right way, He'll cave to your demands.
3. "It's Your Time" for everything-materialistically (more money) and relationally (the right spouse)-you've ever wanted.

Those views are flawed and extremely faulty. From a Biblical perspective, I believe It's Your Time can be more dangerous to the non-discerning reader than it can be helpful. I don't think the book is total trash-there are some Biblical principles that can be found in the book but they are hidden like gold. You must wade through the muck and mire to find them. To the discerning Biblical reader, the book can be more of a bane than a blessing: there is much encouragement to be found but there's also much discouragement in the way Biblical truths are twisted, verses are quoted out of context, and much of the text is full of trite, pithy sayings and anecdotes that could be found elsewhere.