Life is filled with many challenges, controversies, wins and losses. Although many come out of these situations, they do not feel victorious. They feel defeated, torn down, worn out, and they sometimes do not know that they are on the other side of their struggle. No matter how forces around us may make us feel as if we have lost everything, as if nothing is left, the truth is we still got it. God lets us know that we still got it.
Jesus said to his disciples as he faced his death they would meet some challenges, but they would still have joy: “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy,” John 16:22. We will have some tough times, but no will be able to take away our joy. We still got it. God puts us in situations that reveal to us that we still have power, skills, and gifts that can be used by God—regardless of what we have been through or how washed up we think we are. God gives us chances and opportunities just to show us that we are still in the game. We will experience those days we feel like we do not have anything.
Simple situations like bad hair days (or more complicated emotions like after a divorce, or feeling wrinkled and old) can put us in the mindset like we do not have it anymore. We cannot remain in these places, believing that we do not have it. If we stay in these places too long, we will start living our lives without it, even though we got it. This kind of living leads to depression and living below God’s potential and will for our lives. We have to believe that we still got it.
The truth is wherever we are in this life or what has happened to us, we still got it. This is why we see senior citizens running in Centennial Park. They still got it, and they believe it. This is why we see people writing books, preaching, starting businesses, leading ministries, even though they have been through circumstances that told them they could not. They still got it, and they believe it. Age, infidelity, race, shortcomings, gender, or another person do not decide whether we have it or not—we do. We have to declare, “I still got it.” We have all been through loss, disappointments, rejection, sickness, etc. There is some stuff that we do not have as a result of broken relationships, dead end jobs, and other life hurdles.
If we do not have it, we did not need it. What we still have is our faith in God. We still have joy, peace, and our right mind. I still got it. Most importantly, we still have our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We can never allow anyone to take away ‘who we are’ or the gifts God has given us. The truth is, regardless of what we go through in this life, with all the gifts and power God has giving us to walk in his glory—nothing can take it away from us. No one needs to validate that I still got, except the Holy Spirit. Many people can let us know we got it, but unless we have faith, we will not believe that we have it. That is why we need the Holy Spirit to reveal it. I still got it, and I am still going to give it!
