It is what it is

I was texting a friend the other day and he mentioned that he wasn’t feeling good. I said, “Sorry to hear you’re not feeling good. May tonight and tomorrow be better.” He replied, “It is what it is.”

It is what it is. That ranks up there in my Top Ten Least Favorite Sayings.

I Googled “it is what it is” and this is what came back: “A phrase that seems to simply state the obvious but actually implies helplessness.”

And that’s why I don’t like the phrase. Helpless. Can’t do anything about it. Can’t change a thing. Whatcha gonna do?

Is this true? Are we stuck in our situation? Are we just to sit back and endure our circumstances, with no hope of deliverance or change?

No.

No!

NO!

I knew a man who used to come by the store on his break. We talked about the Lord and his church. A few months went by and I didn’t see him. One night he dropped in and we caught up. Sadly, his spiritual life had spiraled down since I last saw him. As we talked about it he said, “Oh, it is what it is.” I grew bold and said, “Not so. What if John the Baptist had preached, ‘Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand and you’re not ready’ and the Jews had responded, ‘Hey man, it is what it is.’ No, it is not. They were to repent, turn to God and change the way they were. There was hope.”

God has made promises to us. There is power. There is hope. Deliverance. Salvation. Grace. Mercy. Rescue. Amen!

“Wait. Hold on. We’re just talking about a cold.” Perhaps, but should we not trust the Lord for healing? Should we not expect to get better? hope to get better?

Or some other minor inconvenience. Like the time we headed to Ohio and I discovered I had forgotten my shoes. That’s right, I was headed to Ohio for a week and had no shoes. It is what it is, right? No, we stopped and bought some flip flops. I wasn’t willing to settle for what it was, I changed it.

What if I am powerless to change my circumstances? Do I then take refuge in, “It is what it is”? Hopeless, helpless, powerless.

This is exactly why I don’t like this expression. I am a Christian. I am not hopeless, helpless, powerless. Jesus is working in my life. “Call unto me and I will answer thee.” What if you are not a Christian? Not a believer in Jesus? “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” There is hope. There is help.

It is what it is. Well, that’s partly true. But, does what it is have to stay what it is? Nope. And I encourage everyone who is reading this and uses this phrase to lift your eyes to the Lord. Don’t settle for what is, trust the Lord for deliverance, salvation, rescue, transformation. Get rid of hopelessness and helplessness, there is hope in the Lord!

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, 

that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.