Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church, the largest Protestant church in the United States, has reached a level of success that many other pastors in America can only dream of.
Seeing him lead his congregation, it's hard to imagine that the positive-thinking preacher and bestselling author was raised by a man who used to struggle with poverty. However, Osteen revealed on his blog that it's exactly what his father endured as a child.
"My father was raised very poor on a cotton farm during the Great Depression. At Christmas time, his family was the one that received the Christmas basket that went to the poorest family in the school," Osteen shared. "He could never drink a full glass of milk because they couldn't afford it, only a fourth of a glass. Plus, they'd pour water in it to make it last longer."
When Osteen's father turned 17, he dedicated his life to Jesus Christ. It was then that his father made the decision that his children will not be raised in poverty the same way he grew up.
"He changed his mind. Everyone around him, they were good people, but they were limited. Their minds had become conditioned to accept not having enough, living in struggle and lack," explained Osteen.
Osteen's father left the farm and started ministering in jails and in senior citizen's homes, eventually breaking the family's curse of poverty. Osteen is proud that his father is a barrier-breaker, and he credits him for propelling their family to success.
In the same way, Osteen is encouraging people to never settle for anything less than what they deserve. "See, if my father would have accepted poverty as his lot in life, I wouldn't be living the life that I am today," he said. "Listen to the dreams you have in your heart. Don't settle where you are; break out of that mold. Dare to believe that God has more in store for you and live as a barrier breaker!"
