TD Jakes - Rise Up in Spite of Falling Short
Watch out for people that nobody likes. Watch out for people who have been locked out of the clique, locked out of the group, and locked out of the club. Watch out for people who are misfits, misplaced people. I know they have some problems, but when they get their problems worked out, God is going to do amazing things in their lives. Are there any people in the world? I want to talk to some people in the room who have never been able to fit in anywhere at any time with anybody. No matter what you did, no matter what you wore, and no matter how you changed yourself, you still didn’t fit. You had to learn how to be cool with being a misfit. A short tax collector cannot reap the benefits of the camaraderie that comes along with being oppressed, nor can he enjoy the fraternity of being an oppressor. In other words, he can’t go to the country club, and he’s not accepted at the barbershop. And he was short.
Oh, any short people in the room? Vertically challenged people? The truth of the matter is, everybody should have their heads up because the Bible says we all have sinned and come short. Yes, we all have sinned. Rich folks, poor folks, well-dressed folks, white folks, black folks, brown folks, Canadian folks, American folks, Nigerian folks, Bahamian folks, we all have sinned and come short. And he was short. I want to talk to some people who can admit, «I come up short.» I come up short as a Christian, I come up short as a preacher, I come up short as a mother, I come up short as a father, I come up short in my life, and I come up short as a professional. I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got because every day I have to deal with the fact that I am short.
I had to fight harder because I was short. I had to fight longer because I was short. I had to do what I had to do to compensate for the nagging reality that I am short. I’m married, but I’m short. I’m going to mess with you a little bit; I’m a mother, but I’m short, and I deal with the guilt of being short. I have a dream, a goal, and a vision, but I’m short. And the worst part about being short is I thought maybe if I wore these heels, or if I stood up on a step ladder, or maybe if I climbed up on a rooftop, or maybe if I climbed up a tree, you wouldn’t notice that I’m short. Because we spend our lives trying to hide our vulnerabilities. So he was short, but he was rich.
There is a correlation between being short and being rich. If I don’t excel at this, at least I excel at that. Or y’all ain’t gonna help me? See, I’m trying to tell you that often what drives you to be the most successful is the terror of being short. What makes us need to compensate for our inadequacies is the awareness that if you saw who I really was, you wouldn’t like me. And so, I bought all of this stuff so you wouldn’t see that I’m short. Now I have to live with the contradiction of being powerful but short, connected but short, wealthy but short, and I can’t make either truth go away. I can’t stop being rich and powerful, and I can’t stop being short.
Can I talk to some people this morning who are living with contradictions that you can’t talk to anyone about? Because deep down inside, they talk about how great you are, but you go home feeling how short you are. Come on! Where are my short people? Make some noise! Where are my short people? Where are my short people? Where are my short people? Make some noise! I want to talk to some short people. You might be seven foot two, but you’re still short. You might be six foot eight, but you’re still short. You may have more degrees than a thermometer, but you’re still short.
In fact, that may be why you got the degree—because you think if I get enough degrees, maybe you won’t see…oh, y’all don’t want to talk to me. Let me quit. Maybe you won’t see. Where are my real people at? I want some real people. I need about three thousand real people who will take thirty seconds and praise Him in spite of your shortness. Yeah, yeah, yeah! They can come out of the choir; they can come out of the musicians; they can come out from the back; they can come out of security. But I need about three thousand people who knew the odds were against them, and in spite of your shortness, God blessed you to make it anyway. Make some noise in this place!
See, all of you people who can’t clap about being short just proved how short you are because your ego won’t allow you to even admit in church that you are short. But your wife knows it, your children know it, your best friend knows it, and you’re just a liar trying to act like you’re not short. So, I’m going to give you a moment of repentance. All the short people, give God a praise right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Fist bump three people and tell them, «I come up short.» I come up short! I come up short! I come up short! I come up short! I come up short! I come up short at the bank; I come up short with compassion; I come up short with empathy; I come up short with patience; I come up short with longevity; I come up short with loyalty. Somewhere in my life, I come up short.
So I dress up more, so I stand out more, so I bought me a boat, so I got me a God, so I try to be more distinguished, so I try to be more intellectual because I don’t want you to see that I’m short. And the Bible has told on me that we all have sinned and come short. I wish I had known it was all of us; I thought it was just me. As long as I thought it was just me, I kind of hated me and I prayed to be like you. Then I met you and found out you’re short too. Come on, come on, come on! I met you and found out you’re short too.
Finding out you were short too helped me with me. Because as I discovered how short you were, I realized I wasn’t as weird as I thought I was. Maybe there is no such thing as normal. Maybe we’re on the Wizard of Oz journey, and we need to see the wonderful wizard of Oz because all of us are short in some way. I’m tired of counseling husbands and wives who always want to tell me how short their spouses are and never admit that you, too, are short. You’re proficient at measuring the wrong person. Take out your yardstick and measure yourself! You should, too. That’s why y’all got together; you’re two short people, two messed-up crazy people, two radical people.
I saw something on TV the other day that said one of you is an introvert and quiet, and the other one is crazy. Which one are you? Are you the crazy one or the quiet one? One way or the other, we all come up short. He was short. He had a wicked job. He was sociologically deprived; he was no doubt psychologically introverted, wrestling with who he is. But he had…look at him, tell somebody, and say, «I heard something.» I know you don’t want nobody to know you’re gossiping, but everybody in here gossips a little bit. Tell them, «I heard something! I heard! I heard! I heard! I heard it through the grapevine! I heard!» Jesus was passing by. Watch this; you’re so bored! Glory to God! Watch this—the road he’s on is the Jesus road. It’s leading to Jerusalem and it has a traffic flow. He decides, «I may be short and rejected and ostracized, but I’m going to get in the flow.»
Somebody in this room, you’re still not perfect, you’re still wrestling with stuff, you’re still trying to figure it out, but at least you’re on the right road. Come on! Give Him a praise if you’re on the right road! I’m on the right road! I’m on the right road! I may be short, but I ain’t deaf. I may be short, but I heard Jesus was passing by, and if I could find the right spot, I need a spot! I need a spot! Y’all, I’m trying to find a spot where shortness doesn’t matter! That’s why worship has become so popular in the modern church today, because nobody measures the height of the worshiper. You can be high; you can be low; you can be rich; you can be poor. But if you open your mouth and start praising God, nobody measures the height of the worshiper.
And that’s why when we say worship, you get all kinds of people: worshipers who’ve been fasting, people who’ve been praying, people who’ve been partying, people who’ve been getting along, people who haven’t been getting along—all can get caught up in worship. Because worship makes up the difference between where I want to be and where I am. Give me 30 seconds of worship! Come on! Yeah, yeah, yeah! I understand. I understand. I understand. I understand some of y’all can’t worship because you’re too dignified, and that’s okay. Go ahead and be dignified.
But see, when you’re short, you get bullied. But when you worship, you get help, for the Bible said that the angels of the Lord encamp around those who fear Him. If you’re feeling kind of short this morning, you need to open your mouth and give God some praise until the angels come and stand by your side. Yes, I’m short, but I can praise Him. I’m short, but I can clap my hands. I’m short, but I can lift Him up. I’m not there yet, but I can give God the glory. I might not have accomplished everything, but I still know how to praise Him. I count on myself ever apprehended, but I still give Him the glory!
Don’t let the suit fool you; I will break out in a praise! Don’t let the hairdo fool you; I will praise the Lord! In fact, I have to praise Him because I know I’m short, and if I don’t praise Him, I can’t get high enough to be recognized. But when I just begin to give God the praise, I start standing up tall. Somebody stand up tall and give Him a crazy praise! Yes! Something is happening to you just because you’re in the flow, just because you’re on the right road, just because you’re in the right direction, just because Jesus is coming your way. Can I tell you to tell somebody, «Jesus is coming your way?»
You may not see Him right now, but He’s coming your way. He’s headed in your direction; He’s coming up your street, into your circumstance, into your situation, into your dilemma. If you just stand still and wait on the Lord, somebody turn around! Jesus is coming your way! He’s coming into your storm, into your pain, into your shortness, into your crisis. Oh! Oh here He comes! Oh, here He comes! He’s a devil leader! Oh! Oh, here He comes! I got a prophetic word for somebody. Oh! Oh, here He comes! You’ve been trying to fight this by yourself, but oh! Here He comes!