I was recently given this book to read by a friend - I'll be honest, Joel Osteen isn't an author I would normally choose to read!
The theme of the book is a reminder that God truly does work for the good of those who love Him, in all things, even the hard, unfair, and messy things that happen in our lives. This book encourages Believers to look beyond their present circumstances, to see what The Father is doing in and through them.
While I agreed with the theme of the book - God certainly does have good in store for those who love Him, and He certainly is a God of restoration and relief - Joel Osteen's pride and smugness in his own personal "success" overrides the entire book, and makes it feel more like a "self-help" book than a Bible-based help.
Osteen's prosperity-gospel teaching is woven into every chapter of the book - he would have you believe that God is only interested in giving you newer, bigger, shinier things, and that you have "earned" these things by going through hard, challenging times in your life.
Does God want His children to be joyful and fruitful? Yes, He sure does!
Does that picture of the "abundant life" always look like the world's picture of success and prosperity? No, it very often doesn't!
I often share the example of a time in our lives when we had some financial challenges, and we were no longer able to afford private health care. With a newborn baby in the family, and a husband who is a manual labourer, this was scary for us! Everyone knows how easily babies can get sick, and if my husband got injured at work with no medical insurance to cover his expenses, how badly would his business (and therefore our family finances) suffer then??!!
So, we did what (I think) most Believers would do - we prayed for God to increase our finances so that we would be able to afford private healthcare.
And He did - but only after six years, and still only to the point that we can afford medical insurance for me and our son (we still can't afford it for my husband).
This doesn't fit the picture of the "greater" that Joel Osteen says was due to us - what he calls "discovering a new level of increase and ease".
But do you know how the Lord did answer our prayers? When we did eventually join a medical aid, I looked back over those years we'd been praying for the finances, and I realised that in all that time, other than a couple of colds, we hadn't gotten sick!!!
Joel Osteen says that: "Whatever you’ve been waiting for, working for, praying for, and hoping for is on the way."
In my experience, and I'd dare to say in the experience of Paul, Peter, and Jesus Himself, God's answers, and His blessings and provision, often don't look like what we think they should. And, in my experience, that's okay! He's a GOOD GOD, and He'll take care of His children ... HIS WAY.
This book encourages Believers to look beyond their present circumstances, to see what The Father is doing in and through them. What good advice.
However, the way that it's written and the vague way that Osteen treats Scripture, mean that I unfortunately wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. There are better books written on this theme out there.