When You Have Done All You Can You Must Stand

During these tumultuous times, you are probably trying to figure out what to do to remain safe, sane, healthy, and alive. I am sure that at times things seem to be coming at you from all sides and you don’t know what to do about them. You’ve asked over and over, “What’s going on?” “Lord why me?” It would be great if you only had to deal with one dilemma or one storm at a time, but it often seems as if you are having to deal with multiple dilemmas and multiple storms at the same time, many that are out of your control. And in 2020, even greater dilemmas and greater storms are the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as the mess that’s going on in the white house that has entered into your house, without an invitation.

 

You try your best to handle situation after situation, but it seems as if the pain, the rain, and the storms keep pounding on you and around you, with no end in sight. And you dare to ask the proverbial questions, ‘What’s next?’ or ‘What else can happen?’ The reality is, and you are keenly aware that you probably don’t want to know what’s next, nor do you want to know what else can happen; next and what else can more than likely be worse than what you are already dealing with. 

 

As you are confronted with the trials, tribulations, storms, and other battles, and perils of life, it seems as if you can’t make it through and you don’t know which way to go. What happened to your friends and family members? Sometimes it seems as if you are battling by yourself. And when people ask you how are you doing, you often reply, ‘I’m going through a lot!’ Often your response is indicative of what is actually taking place with you; you are ‘going through.’ Your response to the inquiry of your state of mind, your state of health, and your state of life is rarely, ‘I’m in a lot.’ The fact that you replied with ‘I’m going through’ is an indication that you are not stuck in whatever is going on with you or around you; you are coming out, because you are just passing through! This declaration itself should be a reason for you to stand.

 

Enough does get to be enough! But what can you do about any of the unfortunate situations in which you find yourself having to battle? You’ve prayed, you’ve cried, you’ve blamed God, and on many occasions you’ve tried to bargain with Him. Sometimes you have to just sit with yourself and begin to observe yourself instead of participating with yourself. Take stock of your situation(s), being realistic of what you can do abut them, what you are willing to do about them, and decide which of them you need to completely let go and turn over to God. At some point you will mature enough where you will learn to take your trials and tribulations to God from the onset of their entrance into your life. You know He doesn’t need your help. But whatever you do, you must hold on, not throw in the towel and do whatever you can, allowing yourself to once again stand.

 

Famous gospel singer Donnie McClurkin has a hit song that plainly states, “After You’ve Done All You Can, You Just Stand.” You must be realistic bout what you can do and what you cannot do. When you think about it, you have been this way before. It might not have been the exact same situation, but you have had storms, rain, trials, and tribulations occur in your life before, and God saw you through them, He will see you through your current storms and any other ones that will appear in your life. And believe me, once you get past one storm, one dilemma, and one uninvited situation, there is another one lurking over the horizon. However, whatever is going on in your life, you must stand! 

 

Get out of that bed, get out of that chair and stand! The longer you lie in your bed or linger in your comfy chair, the longer you will wallow in the pain of your rain, your winds, your storms, your dilemmas, your trials, and your tribulations. Think about it; you’ve never seen anyone fighting from his or her bed or from his or her comfy chair. They are always standing when they fight. Lying down and lingering in your bed or your comfy chair will only take your strength, rendering you even more helpless and hopeless. However, your stand is a stance in preparation for anything that comes against you. Your stand is an affirmation to declare as Fred Hammond sang, “No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper.” You will then be able to go on to repeat Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Your stand also makes you bolder, where you can proclaim Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear.”

 

You have cried and prayed, and hopefully you have voted in order for you to have a positive impact in lessening, reversing, and eliminating the storms in your life, as well as those in the lives of others. You’ve called on your friends, at least the ones that have remained with you in the midst of your trials, tribulations, rains, and storms of life, as well as family embers, but remember, many of them are also facing their own life storms. On the other hand, many of them don’t want to hear about your life storms; they are fair weather friends. If the weather isn’t fair, to good, or great in your life, they are no longer friends. But no matter what, you will move past whatever is taking place in your life; you just STAND! Things will get better, but you must be in a position of power and authority to not only see them when thy get better, but to also receive the transformation and blessings that come with the better times.  God owns your house, but remember He also owns the white house, as well as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. “When you have done all you can you must stand!” God’s got it! 

 

You’ve got God; you will weather this and any other storms! It’s up to you to do all that you can, no matter how things look with you and around you.  No matter what things look like in your house, no matter what they look like in your neighbor’s house, no matter what they look like in the white house, remember that you can stand, knowing that God has the finally say! Donnie McClurkin also reminds you that “You Can Get Back Up Again!” Getting up and standing after your storms makes you better and not bitter. Your stand will be the evidence of your testimony to the tests you have passed as you weathered the storms of your life, whether they were invited or uninvited. “When You Have Done All You Can You Must Stand!” 

 

©2020; J. Morley Productions, Inc.; P.O. Box 1745; Decatur, GA 30031; (770) 808-6570; www.doctorjoyce.com

Know Your Gravediggers from Your Pallbearers

“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35

 

 

I am sure that you, like me, enjoy the comforts of having people in your life, with whom you can have at least a modicum of trust. You want to ensure that your family members, your friends, your coworkers, and your colleagues have your back. You most certainly expect more from your family members and your friends, especially if there is a positive relationship. Sadly, some of the people you identify as friends don’t see you the same way you see them, and they don’t reciprocate the same treatment to you, that you show to them.

 

The year 2020, has brought about so many challenges and seeming insurmountable odds for so many people around the world, but especially in this country. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has taken the lives of over 205,000 people and over six million have tested positive for the virus in America. Small businesses have closed, people have been evicted from their homes, millions are unemployed, millions are experiencing mental health disorders, and millions more are feeling helpless and hopeless. It’s during this time that friends and family are important assets. Notice that I used the word “assets.” And if you fit into any of the aforementioned challenging categories listed above, you are keenly aware of the importance of having people around you who stand by you, stand with you, as well as those who lend a helping hand, are willing to pick you up when you fall, and pull you up when you’re down. These people are true assets. 

 

There is an old saying, ‘a friend in need, is a friend in deed,’ As you experience challenges, you are most certainly more in need of support and assistance from people whom you believe care about you and have your back, including family and friends. I am keenly aware that some of your family members and friends might have the same level of need as you, and some might have an even greater level of need than you. Whatever the need, the question is what can you and your family members and friends do and what are you and your family members and friends willing to do to support and help each other during these challenging and difficult times? Either you all will deny and denounce each other and refuse to provide the help that you are capable of providing, or you all will take a realistic assessment of the needs of each other and assess the levels of assistance you are capable of providing to and for each other. Until outcome meets needs, there will still be challenges and problems.

 

In order to seriously understand if someone has your back and is willing to be there for you in a time of need, it is imperative that you know how your family members and friends will respond to the question often asked, ‘Am I my brothers’ or my sisters’ keeper? The answer must be an astounding YES! If the answer to the question is no or there is hesitancy in the response, you might want to reconsider your relationship with those family members and those people you consider to be your friends.

 

True friends, family members, and honest coworkers and colleagues with integrity will be there for you when the chips are down, when the world turns its back on you, when you are in need of comfort, when you have lost your job, when you have lost your way, when you are hungry, when you are sad, when you are grieving, when you are down and out, when you are depressed, as a matter of fact, no matter what is going on, if they are ‘true’ friends, family members, coworkers, and colleagues they will be there for you. These ‘true’ relationships will stand even if you are in quick sand and they will stand the tests of time. It’s during these times that you do not need silent partners, people hiding in shadows, people not returning your phone calls, people not responding to your text messages and emails, people going missing, or people pretending that they don’t know what’s going on. It’s during your times of struggles, times of weariness, and times of need that you need people in your life who will stand for you and with you, people who will not only say something, they will do something!

 

There are many of you who believe that people’s needs are always financial. However, providing money is not the only way for you to stand by and stand with so-called friends, favorite family members, co-workers or colleagues in need. There are times when a phone call will help, a kind word will make a difference, a friendly greeting card will brighten your day, or a daily or weekly check-in to check up on you will keep your hope alive. Either these people are for you or they are against you. You have to decide if they are assets or liabilities and if they are there to bury you alive or revive you when you need a lifeline.

 

My wise mother used to say, “Know Your Gravediggers from Your Pallbearers.” Simply put, you have to decide if the people in and around your life will stand for you and with you during times of stress and/or distress, or during any of the aforementioned perils cited above. Will they be willing to pick you up, hold you up, carry you along, or will they run away from you, leave you when you’re down, step on you, hold you down, or keep a knee on your neck, with their feet on your back, with their shoes on, while you are down. 

 

Your gravediggers help to put you in the ground. They go out of their way to not only put you in harms way, they do all they can to keep you in harms way. They will dig the grave for you through lies, avoidance tactics, slander, libel, racism, and conspiracy theories, as they talk about what’s wrong with you, how they believe you fell done, as well as how you contributed to your current down status and struggles. They will place their knees on your neck, their feet on your back, with their shoes on. They will encourage and help others to do the same. Your gravediggers will help to throw dirt on you and bury you while you are under, and feeling down and out. Their intent is to keep you under, down and out, without ever attempting to pick you up and revive you. In all actuality, your gravediggers are out for your very life. They will either take your life themselves or they will help to set others up for your demise. After all, they are gravediggers! You must be very careful! Gravediggers will often present themselves as pallbearers, in order for them to enter into your life and into your space. However, you must watch and pray each and everyday for you to be able to behold their imposter status, causing their “imposter card” to be revoked.

 

You will find that your gravediggers are out for what you can do for them, and not what they can do for you. They are looking for position, power, prestige, prominence and whatever they can get from you, at any cost, and at your expense.  They will hide in shadows and do everything that they can to avoid helping you during your time of need and struggle. Here is an opportunity for you to engage in honest relationship checkups with your close friends, family members, coworkers, and colleagues, to see if they fit in the gravedigger status of your life. If they do, you have a serious decision to make about how you want to relate to these people. As my mother used to say, these are people you might want to ‘feed out of a long-handle spoon.’

 

On the other hand, your pallbearers are there for you, based on your needs, not on their wants. They will pick you up when you are down, they will pull you up when you can’t get up; they will carry you when you cannot stand or cannot walk. They will do their best to rescue you from harm and to keep you out of harms way. They will talk with you and not about you, and they won’t talk against you. And if they don’t have the means or the resources to meet your needs, they will guide you, lead you, and help you to find the right and proper resources to meet your needs. As a matter of fact, your pallbearers will escort you and stand with you as you maneuver through the maze of trials, tribulations, and struggles. Your pallbearers will have your back and you won’t have to look for them; they will seek you, in order to ascertain your needs. They don’t need a crowd or an audience to stand by you or to pick you up; they will do it if they have to do it alone, with no one to help and no one watching. At the same time, they will stand with you, stand by you, and speak up for you in the presence of those people who consider themselves to be your enemies. They’re not looking for praise or promises; they are genuine. 

 

Your pallbearers will love you when you are up and when you are down, when you have, as well as when you are broke, busted, and disgusted. They will go out of their way to ensure that you are not just okay, but that you are alright, and they don’t leave you until they are assured that you are in a place of stability, mind, body, and spirit. 

 

Sometimes we have difficulty recognizing and accepting those persons in our lives who truly love us, care for us, and have our best interests at heart. Unfortunately, many of you tend to gravitate toward the gravediggers in your life, trying to fit and assimilate with them, while overlooking your pallbearers. Once again, here is an opportunity for you to engage in honest relationship checkups with your close friends, family members, coworkers, and colleagues, to see if they fit in the pallbearer status of your life. If they do, it is time for you to reach out to them and thank them for what they have done for you in the past, for their support of and for you in the present, as well as your appreciation for their support in the future. It’s time for you to thank your pallbearers for just being them. It doesn’t take much to do so. Pick up the phone and just say thank you! You can send a greeting card. Both of these acts of humility, thanks, and appreciation are much more personal than an email or a text. 

 

Give God the praise and the glory for both the gravediggers and the pallbearers in your life. Your gravedigger experiences only make you stronger, wiser, more aware, more cautious, more humble, and more appreciative to God for your pallbearers. They will most certainly keep you on your knees, with your eyes and your hands lifted toward heaven. Your pallbearer experiences are immeasurable. They will keep you appreciative, thankful to God, with your head up, with an open and thankful heart, as well as more caring and appreciative of others.

 

This day, I challenge you to get to “Know your Gravediggers from Your Pallbearers!” This action should also extend to the 2020 election. We have seen an administration filled with gravediggers. It’s time for you, your true friends, trusted coworkers and colleagues to rid yourselves of the gravediggers in your life, on your job, in the current administration and those in anyway connected to you. Hold onto your known pallbearers and cast your vote for those who will take you through a pallbearer experience and not a gravedigger experience after November 3, 2020. You need assets, not liabilities!

 

 

©2020; J. Morley Productions, Inc.; P.O. Box 1745; Decatur, GA 30031; (770) 808-6570; www.doctorjoyce.com