Haven’t you realized yet that life is what you make it? When it seems like everything is going wrong around you, everywhere you turn there is conflict and you always seem to run into a situation and nothing can go right; well, it might not be the world or the folks around you causing the issue, it might just be you. If everything was going good until you got there and now all hell is breaking loose, you may be the one bringing the hell. See, the devil is a spirit which means he doesn’t have legs to walk so the only way he gets into your home or your situation is if you or someone around you brings him in and if you bring the devil then you get evil because after all it’s in his name. Now, maybe you aren’t the one to bring the evil into the room but you may know who is and you’re too afraid to say it because you don’t want to risk losing a friend but the bible says in Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
You have to know by now, by reading these devotionals or studying for yourself, that trouble is promised to you so why add any more? You are always trying to tell other folks how to live, how to raise their children and how they need to change this or that when you can’t even handle your own mess. Haven’t you read Matthew 7:3 which says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” You volunteer for more than you can handle and then complain and take it out on others when you knew you didn’t have the extra time to give in the first place. You wonder why folk suddenly leave the room when you come around; it’s not them because the bible says in Proverbs 22:10 “Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too. Quarrels and insults will disappear.” If every time you go to a family function and there is strife, it may be you. You come in with an attitude and go off because you didn’t get any of the spaghetti when you knew dinner started at 6PM and you come in at 9PM, you can’t expect any to be left but you still act like everybody owe you. The world isn’t the one with the problem, baby it’s you. You always want to blame other folks when you can’t get a job when the truth of the matter is, you barely fill the application out right and then when you get the interview, you show up late and you wonder why no one will hire you. No, it’s not the world with the issue. You get upset at simple stuff that folk say or do and now you got an attitude but instead of taking responsibility, you’d rather blame the folks around you when you know it’s not them. Maybe you need to take off the hell that’s tied to your back and look at yourself. Humph! Don’t you know that mouth of yours can write a check your butt can’t cash? Let me show you. You come to work pissed off because you and your spouse had an argument on last night. Your boss sends a email to the entire group, not just you, about some things that need to be addressed, as a whole, and before you know it you go into his/her office ranting & raving about how tired you are of this and how you are always being picked on. You’re talking so fast that you’ve yet to realize you’re talking yourself out of your job and by the time you see the mess you’ve stepped in, it’s too late. You’ve just fell into quick sand and no one is around to pull you out. Now, you’re packing up the few things you got at your desk to go home and explain to your husband/wife how you actually lost your job. You need to realize it isn’t the world with the problem! Don’t you know when you eat hot potato chips, cheese puffs or buttery popcorn they leave your hands dirty and greasy which then you get on your clothes, well when you dabble around in hellish things you tend to get some on you which means you rub it on others when you touch them. You need to be careful where you spend time and the things that influence you because Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
And please stop putting your mouth on folk just because you’re mad, stressed and/or jealous because Proverbs 21:23 says, “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” When God said in 1 Chronicles 16:22 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm,” he wasn’t only speaking about Pastors, Bishops and Elders, because anoint means to dedicate to the service of God and if you’re dedicated to him, then he is speaking about you. So when you talk about me because of the gift that I have, you’re talking about God’s anointed. When you defame folk’s name by spreading lies and gossip, you’re putting your mouth on God’s anointed. When you talk about Pastor Soul, you’re putting your mouth on God’s anointed. When you talk about Deacon Dudley, you’re putting your mouth on God’s anointed. When you talk about Sis Shirley’s clothes and hair, you are putting your mouth on God’s anointed. No matter how a person lives outside of worship service, it isn’t for you to judge them because Matthew 7:1 says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” But who are you anyway? Who are you to judge how my life or folk’s lives are lived? Just because we won’t wallow in your pit of pity, it doesn’t make us more than you, it just means we’ve accepted this thing called life and choose to make the best of it. Just because we won’t be mad at Momma for the stuff she used to do, it doesn’t make us less than you, it just means we’ve let go of the past and forgave. Just because I don’t look like I’m struggling, it doesn’t mean I have more than you, it just means I’m making the best of my blessings. Just because our paths were separated and I went one way and you went another, it doesn’t mean I don’t know where I came from, it just means I’m looking forward and not back. What it means is I’m not letting my past define me. Baby these scars that I have, whether they are visible or not, on my skin made me who I am. The scars on my knees shows that my pray life is busy. The scars on my hands are from me climbing up the rough side of the mountain. The scars on my back are from the folks who said they were for me but stabbed me when I turned around. The stains on my face are from the many nights I had to cry myself to sleep when the world was being extra cruel. The scars under the bottom of my feet are from the many roads I’ve had to travel on my Christian walk. So, whatever you’ve been through, going through or about to go through, don’t let it take you out. You’ve got to stop blocking your own blessings by running your mouth or keeping that chip on your shoulder. When you are mad at someone, pray and let the situation cool down before you react because the words that come out your mouth can’t be taken back and words can cut deeper than any knife. When someone has let you down, pray and move on because the actions you do, while hurt cannot be taken back. Be careful what you say and who you say it too. That person you’re talking about today could be the one saving your life tomorrow. The person you are crossing out because you’re mad, may be the one helping you up when you fall. The person you constantly step on may be the one helping you through your sickness. This is your life and it is what you make it so make the best of it every day. Don’t let your bad attitude affect your relationships. Don’t let your mouth get you into things that your hands can’t get you out of. So even if you have hell on your back now, the only way it stays, you have to keep holding it or you’ve strapped it on! Unbuckle it, let it go, stand up straight and press on. God got a blessing with your name on it but you’ve got to be willing to accept it and you can’t with that frown on your face!
Lakisha, the Author 
#Powerful & True