Joel Osteen Book Excerpt: 'It's Your Time'

Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church, one of America's largest and fastest-growing churches, writes about how people can grow in their faith.

In "It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor," Osteen says it's important to get one's hopes up. His new book is full of biblical references, practical advice and uplifting stories from people who have overcome challenges.

Read the excerpt below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.

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.

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According to the sign at the base, it was supposed to be a threehour 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 than I think. I can raise this child. I can overcome this sickness. I can make this business work. I know I can find a new job.

Psalm 30:5 says that weeping may endure for a night, but I know joy is coming in the morning. You must get up each day knowing this could be the day you get the break you need. This could be the day you see your health turn around. This could be the day your child comes back home. This could be the day you meet the man or woman of your dreams.

Zechariah 9:12 says that we should be prisoners of hope. It's easy to give up. It's easy to get discouraged. But God wants us to be so full of hope, so full of expectancy, that we just can't help believing for the best.