Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode, a couple of nicks. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey, and today we are here with a guest who is sharing his story to help others. You know, find their strength in diversity, grow in faith, and transform pain into purpose to cultivate diamonds, as he calls it, from life's rubble.And we are here and we're gonna talk about the most high God as well, and his involvement in this. We're gonna talk about, obviously no one wants to talk about it anymore, but COVID-19, how it affected a lot of lives that are still to this day. Feeling those effects. So we're gonna be talking about that and what role that played in helping our guest today produce diamonds.And we're gonna be talking about marriage and faith, and we're gonna have a great conversation. I wanna start real quick with some Bible quotes that I. These are the ones that spoke to me as I was going through our guest story as I listened to it on Spotify. We're gonna have the link below for y'all to get access to his book as well and his website.The first was Genesis two 18. I'm gonna read it word for word. And the Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. So that's step one. Later on throughout the Bible, I don't have the exact quote because there's many different ones, but it speaks of the power of two, of not being unequally, yoked and of being together, but being together with their right.Person. And then of course Proverbs 31, a wife of Noble character. Who can find she's worth far more than Ruby. That first one is what I want to focus on the most. It is not good for man to be alone, yet. So many of us say, well then why am I alone? Where is that special someone God promised, and or maybe why is my partner and I not lining up the way that we should?If God doesn't want us to be alone, why have I gone through heartbreak? Why am I struggling in my marriage and parenting in my relationship, wherever it is. And we're gonna talk about some of those struggles and hardships today and some of the questions we have for God. So without further ado, Mr. Jamel Powell, so great to have you here.So excited for you to share a bit of your story and cultivate some great lessons both for life advice and faith for us today. Could you please go ahead and introduce yourself for us? Good, good evening, Mr. Whiskey. Uh, my name is Joe Mel Powell. Um, born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. All my life, uh, a man of faith, uh, that's been growing every, every year.You know, it's been a process of growth, um, once involved in a Christian rap ministry, uh, for many years. But as I got older, I transitioned off of it. And, uh, now I'm before you as a first time author. Uh, still in God's, uh, hand, still on the potter's wheel, still growing and, uh, just looking to continue to grow.Yeah. So you're, you are the author of a book called A Marriage Broken by Covid, produced Diamonds for You. And so tell us about how did, and without spoiling too much of your book, but a basic overview of how COVID, you know, affected your marriage and even a little background on your marriage prior to Covid.Oh yeah, oh yeah. Me, me and my wife. Uh, you know, of course in the honeymoon stages, man. Uh, everything is just lovely. 'cause it's new, it's refreshing. Yeah. And you see no wrong in, in each other because you just involved in the excitement of the new life, you know? But. For me, I can't speak for everybody else, but for me, as time progressed, uh, my wife and I started to see flaws within one another, and we started to see things about each other that we didn't too much agree with or didn't take too much of a liking to.And of course it caused friction, you know, it's a part of. It's a part of our sinful nature and, uh, the sinful world that we live in, that, uh, relationships have friction sometime and, uh, it takes. Very mature people and, uh, very seasoned Christians to be able to work. Uh, one of the things that I learned is you can't put marriage on cruise control or autopilot, right?Marriage gotta be cultivated and it has to work, has to be put to it, like, in order to get the best out of it. Um, so me and my wife went through those stages where, you know, we just wasn't. Making it work as much as we could. And we were running into issues, disagreements, and caused a separation between us.But during the COVID-19 pandemic, like everything reached a peak, you know, uh, because, you know, of course we were on lockdown, so it wasn't nowhere to go. And, uh, she was working at home and I was working half of the day back at home and. You would think families would come together more, uh, during that time.But statistically it showed that a lot of, a lot of marriages just didn't make it through the pandemic. Uh, a lot of families went through issues and we were one of the families, but during the midst of all this trial and struggle, uh, we went through a brief separation. And during this brief separation, we were still trying to figure out how we were gonna work through this thing.And then that's when my daughter was conceived. And uh, when my daughter was conceived, me and my wife made the decision, okay, it's time to buckle down. We got our child that we've been dreaming of on the way. Let's work through this marriage. Let's get things together and make our lives as beautiful as possible.Right? In the midst of this, uh, right when we started to get that groove of where we felt like we wanted to be COVID-19 hit her in the third trimester, a pregnancy, and, uh, it got so bad that I had to take her to the hospital. From there, uh, life just started to go on a downward spiral, you know, a, a very downward spiral.And I got a ruled awakened, uh, during our struggles because when I first entered into the church, uh, I was more so in a. Some prosperity teaching, you know, that kind of teaches you that how blessed your life can be and how much money is coming your way. Uh, that type of teaching, I, I, my first introduction to the church was in that teaching.But, um, I got away from that and started to live more. I started to see that, uh, this life on this earth is not always going to be like what we consider to be beautiful. See the, uh. Life is gonna have struggles. And actually looking at the char, many characters of the Bible, uh, they went through some of the most tragic struggles that you can think of.Yeah. Men of the faith. So like going through this struggle during the COVID-19 of my wife going down with Covid, uh, me having to raise my daughter primarily alone. I get help from my sister though to be able to work and, you know, get away for a little while, but. It was like a, an awakening to me, um, to be thrown in a situation where my wife has been disabled for over three years, and primarily I take care of my daughter and be advocate for my wife.It was a change, but this change grew me as a person. So, uh, like. I wanted to talk about, like, when I first came into the church, um, it was more prosperity based, you know, speaking things into existence and we are supposed to have all this money and how good life is supposed to be. Uh, that was my first experience with church.But as I started to live, I started to see, um. A pattern, like a struggle in life, um, to have to endure through dealing with things that, uh, you have to cling to your faith in order to keep your sanity. And, uh, through this season with my wife, uh, I learned. That the struggle is what allows you to grow, and the struggle is actually what gets you to where God wants you to be.Um, there are a few stories in the Bible that motivated me during this time. Uh, the story of Joseph motivated me during this time. Uh, the story of King David, you know, motivated me in in a lot of ways because, uh, king David. Was anointed as king as a young man, but many scholars believed that it took 15 years of struggle before he actually took the throne.And uh, Joseph had the dream, but many scholars believed that it took 13 years before the dream came to pass. And everything that was going on in Joseph life would make it appear that God forgot about him. And, uh, I had to look at the Bible from that standpoint. In order to continue to stay motivated, to continue to grow and continue to see like, uh, the wisdom that God had me to gain through suffering.Yeah, I think I like one of the things you said because when I was growing up, there were a lot of different preachers I would watch, and one of them, he's more of, I realize he's more of a motivational speaker. He is all feel good. God is gonna bless you. Yeah. God is positive. All this stuff. And then I found that I actually liked more.So the preachers who took out the Bible went into the word and, and, and you know, went into the scripture, you know, so there's definitely different styles out there. And I would say, I. Find what, what calls to you and what you need. You know, some of us, hey, some of us just need that good positive Bible energy and some of us need to, to feel like a prophet sometimes and be like, man, life is tough.You know, you talk about it's not easy being one of God's chosen. You know, I say that all the time. So many people. Haven't even read the Bible end to end or all of it. And they say they're Christians and this and that, and they um, they say, I wish, you know, God would call upon me. I say, well, let me tell you this, be because most of them haven't read the Bible.I said, do you know what Ezekiel had to do when God caught on him, had to make his food over over cow manure? Actually this was human, you know, fecal matter and, and he begged God. He said, please don't make me do this. And God said, fine, you can cook your food over cow dung instead. You know, he had to lay on his side for I, I believe it was well over a hundred days on, on his left side, in middle of the street for like eight hours at time.Then on his right side, he told Jose, go marry a prostitute, and then she's gonna leave. Yeah, and you're gonna have to buy her back to be your wife again. Being a prophet isn't always the best thing, like you said, even David. You know who became king? I mean, he was on the run for years hiding in caves. Yes.Getting and getting harassed by people. You know, Joseph, right. He became a great assistant to the Pharaoh, but it wasn't without hardship. There was false accusations of sexual harassment. There was imprisonment. There was Yes. Yes. Abandonment by his family. Right. We look at all these figures in the Bible and, and it's hard to find one who hasn't suffered, you know?Yes. So it's definitely, like you said, it, it's, it's about that hardship, but you look at it as that's how you get to that blessings. I remember a lot of, yes, preachers will tell you that, or, and in fact, I believe you said it in your book even that I. You know, sometimes God won't change the situation, he'll change you or he'll turn you into someone who can deal with those situations.And it's definitely the case that, you know, it's, it's not easy and I, I appreciate the positive preaching, but I think you need that foundation of reality first. You know, God isn't yes wish grantor. In fact, one thing that. You know, I don't really wanna spoil your book too much, but you mm-hmm. Lost someone very important in your life and you talk about begging and praying every day.Please don't take this person from me. And they still died. And, and reading that. Yeah. I really felt that. I think that's something all of us feel. It says, ask and you shall receive yet, uh, you know, sometimes we ask and, and we don't receive, and people say, well, it's about the intention, or it's about God's plans, not our plans.And his way is not our way. Yeah. That doesn't make it any easier, you know, life as a, as a believer isn't easier. In fact, I believe it's much harder. And, and you have many other questions, so I appreciate you talking about how sometimes those, those preachers or those churches or those groups where it's just all positive and bubbly, you know, that's not how it always is.And sometimes you really don't want to hear that, especially when you're going through that hardship. Like, oh, it's just gonna be blessed. And, and there's so many people who, who twist a word and. Yeah, just speaking of your book, one of the things I really liked that you mentioned was about you and your wife had different perspectives of money.Even though y'all had the same origins, it affected y'all differently, and that's something I've seen in a lot of relationships where, hey, I. Grew up poor, so I don't need a lot to be happy and or the opposite. I want everything I can get 'cause I couldn't have it and it's so yes. Interesting. I talked earlier about being unequally yoked and a lot of times the Bible means that in the sense of, you know, believer and non-believer in this and that, yes.But also just are you aligned financially, morally, politically? That's stuff important and yes. You know, in your case it worked out. Although we've talked on the show before that having a kid or getting married doesn't always fix a relationship. You know, typically you want the relationship working first, but some people say, Hey, if we get married, you know, like even some men will say, Hey, well, you know, if we get married, I'm not gonna be tempted anymore.I'm gonna be locked into this relationship because now there's a title on it. Some people say, well, if we have a kid, we're going to have to, you know, be forced to work together. And yes. But you yourself could speak from experience having a kid. Sometimes y'all don't agree on how to parent, so it's not gonna fix everything if y'all don't agree on how to parent.But you talk about, you know, struggling with your wife and then Covid separating y'all to, and kind of giving that room where you realize, hey, you know what, like. The value of your wife compared to those problems. When you, you take that step back and, and sometimes that's what we need is to take a step back and see, and then you talk about raising Yes.Your daughter alone as your wife is fighting for her life with medical ailments. So from there Yes. How did your journey of faith change? You talked about growing up, you know, being a, a minister around 20 years old and then kind of moving away from the church into a more. Individual relationship with God.Did this push you back toward that community aspect? Yes, most definitely. And, uh, the reason that it did is because I, I was still talking to a lot of brothers of the church. Um, I just wasn't in fellowship as much. But what happened is when, when we started going through this, the community of the believers stepped in like a flood.They stepped in, they were asking like, Hey, what do you need? Uh, I had some brothers that was just calling just to talk to me, just to see if I was okay. Um, they started sending like, uh, financial lessons, uh, towards our way because they know we had a long road ahead of us. Uh, some of the sisters of the, yeah, man, some of the sisters of the church.Uh, one of my wife was, uh, wasn't being cared for as good, um, in one of the facilities she was in. Some of the sisters were coming up there and, uh, combing her hair and brushing her teeth and washing her up. Uh, and that made me realize, you know what? I need to get back in the community of the believers because to be honest, the community of the believers like stepped in more than some of my relatives did.I had, I had some relatives that stepped in to be there for us. But the way the believers came through, it just made me realize, like, wow. Because it's, you know, the scripture where they, where God said when I was hungry, you feel me? Not when, when I was in jail, you visit me, not, um. What you've done to the least of these you've done, done to me.Um, yeah. God came to me in the form of his people, the people that had a heart for God. God used them to show us love. And that in turn made me feel like, you know what? I need my family in Christ. So I got more connected with my brothers in Christ. Um. I joined, uh, I joined another church and, uh, got connected with the body and this pushed me the fellowship, you know, uh, the true people of God.I. A blessing. You know, like a lot of people talk trash about the church. You know, they talk about like the hip hypocrisy and things like that. But if you could just focus on how God can use his people and get your mind off of the imperfections, you can truly be blessed. You know, like I had brothers offer to me, like, I will fast and pray with you, like.Things like that. Like that you just can't get out in the world. And, uh, yeah, being connected with the church, that's one of the things that I probably wouldn't have done if this struggle wasn't upon me. But now I see how much of a blessing it was, you know? And, uh, also going through this, uh, it made me realize that.I wasn't valuing my wife as much, you know, like, uh, as far as like spending time at odds and bickering with each other and, uh, letting, giving a foothold to the devil in so many words. Like not letting the sun go down upon our wrath, uh, pushing ourselves further and further away from each other. Like now we not able to do the things that we used to do.I miss that. You know, I miss, uh, us being able to just get up and go, go to the movies and watch a movie, get up and go have dinner together. Right. You know, sit, sit up and watch Netflix on Friday nights and yeah, talk trash and laugh together. We still talk trash and laugh together, but you know. One of, uh, some of my friends call me sometimes and they tell me about things, things that them and their wives going through and some disagreements, and I'm, I'm quick to tell 'em like, well, look man, y'all worked that out.You know, like y'all worked that out. And y'all get back to living. I'm like, I, I, I always tell them, look at me like, man, I wish that me and my wife could just get up and do things and go out together and have, and, and have moments of intimacy. We, we can do those things at this particular time. And I live with regrets.So I've been encouraging my friends that come to me with marital problems, Hey, get that solved and work through that. Nobody's, uh, committed, uh, a D tree. Nobody's did nothing to the extreme that's, that's bad enough for you to have to leave. Hey, go to your wife and work that out and love your wife. You know, like that's, that's my, uh, my mind state when I talk to my friends now.But I always said. When the Lord give me my day, where, where my wife is doing a lot better and life is going a lot better, I said, I'm going to enjoy those times. You know? Yeah. Because I think about the cleats. Yes, there's a lot. Um, it says that to eat, drink and enjoy the fruit of your labor. It's a gift from God.So when God presents me with that season, that to eat, drink, and enjoy the fruit of my labor. I'm going to take a complete advantage of it and ride that way up as long as possible. Yeah. But right now I'm hanging on like life, life is getting better. Uh, you know, I have, I have a lot of hard things, you know, uh, because, uh, I wish things was a little bit different than what they were.But there, there's a hope man. There's a hope in Jesus, man that I have that. Um, I wake up every day believing that this could be the day, uh, that, that the tra trajectory of my life takes a turn for the better. You know, like I wake up every day believing that. I shouldn't be weary and well doing for in due season.I reap, um, just waking up every day with a hope. You know, like, and also I keep in my mind state as well, that if God doesn't do what I'm asking him to do, he still able, you know, and. All things gonna work together for the good. Like, you know, I, I just have to motivate myself in the word, uh, stay away from people with a negative mind stay, or that's not, uh, being positive.You know, you have to, you have to stay motivated out here. You have to stay encouraged, and you have to stay in fellowship, you know, just to keep your mind in the right place. Yeah, there's, there's a lot to unpack there that I want to touch upon. So, you know, first of all, you mentioned. Watching Netflix, not a sponsor with your wife.And for all you ladies and gentlemen out there listening who wanna have a really good time with your partner, I recommend instead of Netflix, you can go to YouTube and watch a couple of nukes hosted by Mr. Whiskey. It's a great show. That's you and your significant other. That's right. Love that if you're not already busy listening to the audiobook version of a marriage Broken by Covid produced Diamonds for You by Joe Mel Powell, either one of those activities is a great thing to do with your significant other on a weekend day.But joking aside, you know, you talked about having that value once you took a step back, and I remember there are so many people in my life who will complain like. Oh man, I gotta go to dinner again this Friday with my mom and dad and I, and I tell them, I said, I wish I could have a family dinner like that.You know, I wish I had my mom here, my, my dad here. You know? Yeah. Like, and it's always when you don't have it, you realize how valuable it is. And you talk about like, oh yeah, when you, once you couldn't spend time with your wife, and I think it's. Yeah, you talked about the honeymoon phase, right? The puppy love phase, and then oh boy, after a while you start to realize this and that, and what happens is you get used to it, you know, it doesn't have as much value.Because I remember with my, my ex-fiance and at the time when we were distanced. Like that time I spent with her was so valuable. And then once we ended up living together, it's like, okay, you know, this isn't as awesome as it was when I couldn't have it for months. You know, whether that was just sometimes, like you said, just watching TV together or, or this and that.Yeah. But then you realize, and Covid for a lot of people was like, oh man, I miss, you know, getting together with my family members and going out to a restaurant and stuff like that. Yeah. So I think it's so important for people to realize. That, you know, they, they start to not see, get blinded to the value of their partner and their, and their time together.Because of that, just you get so comfortable, you take it for granted. Yeah, that's, that's the best way to say it. You take it for granted and then, uh, that's why a lot of people, I. Who, who have an unexpected death in the family or relationships say, man, they, they have so much regret because they just expect it to have, we, we expect to have so much more time together to do all these things.And it's like, oh, I'll just do another day. And that's why it's important to realize that our time here is limited, you know? And we never know when we're gonna go. Oh yeah. And, um, you talked about the power of community and people and, you know mm-hmm. And, and also. How people can turn people away from the faith through their hypocrisy, through their actions, through the way they run their church.Mm-hmm. You mentioned in your book, uh, one of my favorite stories is the Bible, which is Job, you know, like I, I believe that's a book that even if you've never read the Bible, everyone knows Job, you know, a man who suffered greatly. Like you said in your book, like it says in the Bible, God never explains to Job why this all happens, right?Yes. He never, he never explains it. And I think that's one of the things that you look at. Satan attacks job several times in several waves. You know, takes his children, takes his, you know, his property, all his got all this and that. But Job never really questioned God or got mad at God until his friends.So this is one of my favorite quotes in the Bible. What miserable comforters are you all? What miserable comforters does his friends show up and they just make him feel worse. Oh, Joe. Joe, you must have done something wrong. 'cause why would God do this if you didn't do something wrong? Obviously, you're not blameless.You're hiding some kind of sin. You're an awful person and you deserved all of this, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Great friends that have show up after you lost all your children, your house you're covered in boils you, and they, he calls him. That's ridiculous. That's what pushed him over the edge. It wasn't Satan himself, it was actually people, it was human beings who didn't understand God's, you know, sovereign will and made job feel worse, and they started arguing with each other, and then that's when Job eventually just got fed up with them and God because of them.So in the opposite sense, yes. When good people come together and they, they bring the word to you properly and they bring positive energy in. That, that they share your burden, as you said. They share your burden and they speak with you as men and women of God, as children and friends of God that can push you towards God as much as people can push you away from God.So I think it's so important. How even like nonbelievers will come together when at least I've seen it in my community where someone passes away or comes outta the hospital. We, we bring food for them. We, we offer to drive them, to do their areas, to get their groceries. It's like those simple tasks that, like you said, make someone better.Whether it's a small financial blessing, like you mentioned in your own story or food or just listening. You know, and, and being a good comforter, whatever the opposite of a miserable comforter would be. A, a joyful and helpful comforter. And so I think it's so important and your story highlights that. And how even after you kind of had left the church a little bit that the, the people of the church still followed you.I think that shows that it's not about the church or the organization, it's about that fellowship. Yes, yes. You know, like, you know, like you was speaking on job. I thought of something because I've been listening to a lot of Billy Graham lately, right? And, uh, he reminded me of a scripture. I don't know exactly where it is, but in Proverbs, where it talk talks about even a fool, uh, is considered wise when he knows to keep his mouth closed.Yeah. And, uh, you know, some people, some people will, I had some people say some stuff to me that kind of made me. I feel a lot worse in so many ways, but I also had brothers that they didn't try to come to me with no answers, no explanations. They just said, Hey, I had one brother that used to be like, Hey, I'm on the way over there.Uh, he had come over there and watch us some boxing matches with me and stuff like that. And we wasn't even, uh, talk about what was going on. And some people that just call just to talk, you know, we don't, we don't, 'cause nobody, uh, fully understands. Uh, why things happen. You know, we just called the trust, you know, like sometimes it's not because of, sometimes it is because of stuff we did in some situations.Sometimes it's just that God got somewhere that he's taken us and he has to, uh, grow us in character and develop us in our faith a little more. Um, because I, like, I, I feel like. God. God got somewhere that he want to take us, but. I think about myself, if he would've placed 19-year-old me in the position that I am now, there's no way at all a 19-year-old me would've been able to handle this, right?Uh, he didn't allow it to happen until he built me up enough to deal with it. And being in this situation is building me up even more to get to the next phase. So I'm just glad that with God, he doesn't. Skip levels. You know, he take us, uh, uh, through each specific level, one step at a time. And, uh, you know, like right now where I'm at now, um, God got me in a place where I gotta, I gotta learn to forgive more, you know, forgive more 'cause like, you know.Sometimes it's a little stressful, you know, dealing with situations that you have to sit in and, you know, things seem like every door is closing in your face. Everything you put your hand to to is falling apart. That, that, that's, that's a little bit of a struggle, but. Another problem that I seen that can happen to us is that darkness that we can carry for from having an unforgiving heart.So yeah, for sure that, that's one of the phases that God brought me to at this moment is the darkness that get released from forgiving somebody and just letting some stuff go. You know, like. That that's something that I needed to see in myself and I, I probably wouldn't have saw that as much as I do now if I wasn't going through the things that I'm going through now, and that's the next thing that I'm working on just to walk around with, with more joy, more peace, just knowing that.I let an offense go that happened to me years ago. Or you know, sometimes we feel like we let something go and so we see that person again and everything that's, uh, buried in us rises up. Yeah. So that, that's like another one of the blessings that, that I seen now, like, okay. It is, it's time to let go of a lot of grudges you held in your heart and, and be free.Being free. 'cause I feel like that freedom, uh, bring you closer to your relationship with God and just, just bring more joy and more of a light into, into my heart, you know? And, uh, I just feel like none of this, these inner blessings that I've been getting would've came if everything just went smooth. You know?Uh, I talk to my wife a lot and. She was going through like a real, real deep, dark depression when she first woke up. Um, 'cause she couldn't move. She couldn't really, she couldn't talk at first. And uh, it took a while, but she got out of that depression and she has found peace, um, within the struggle. And I see, I see a lot of changes within my life, you know, like.Right. I see more of God shining through her. Like for a person to be in her condition and still be able to smile, still be able to crack jokes. It took us a while to get there, but that right there is a symbol of God's spirit inside of her. You know that. Her joy is not based on her conditions. Um, her peace is not based on the conditions that she in.Like, there's so many ways that going through struggles can be a blessing to us. You know, like I feel like we as individuals, um, we get caught in the wrong. Uh, definition of what it is to have a blessing 'cause we so locked in on, uh, material gain as a blessing. Yeah. We so locked in on finances as a blessing, but peace.Peace while everything around you is falling apart. That's a blessing. To be able to have joy and to be able to smile from your heart when your life is in shambles, that is a blessing to go through some of the worst things that life has to offer and still be able to say, I'm gonna praise God and I'm thankful for God being in my life.That's a blessing, you know, like it is just. A lot, uh, a lot of mental changes take place. And, uh, yeah, I just want to, I just want to be a motivation and encouragement to others, uh, through my story because you, you, you know, people, it's people out here that don't have no hope. Believers and unbelievers.They, they just lost hope. They just gave, gave up on life and they defeated. But I want to be a person that's a symbol of hope, uh, a vessel of God to encourage people like, yeah, life may not be exactly how you want it to be, but still get up and live with what you have. Still get up and make something happen with what you have.Still be able to find happiness even though you're not in the space that you want to be. That that's, that's what I want to be like a, a symbol of that, because. It is a lot of us is like more based on the materialistic side and uh. We got, uh, too much of a connection to material possessions and stuff like that.So I feel like, like you, like you spoke with job, like, job is a great example, like losing everything materially, losing everything family wise, like, and still be able to praise God. Like I, I know he got sad and depressed sometimes, but at the end of the day, he remained loyal and faithful to God. And that's what type of person that I would like to be, even though I know it's people that been through way worse situations than me.I wanna be that type of person that people could look at and be like, wow, he went through that, but he, it made him more closer to God. Or it made him get back into the church. It made him stronger in his favor instead of breaking him. Like that's, that's what type of person I want to be, like a symbol of hope.In my community and not to be looked at as a person for people to feel sorry for, I want to be looked at as a person that's victorious, even though, uh, my outward circumstances I. Might not show that, but inwardly, I wanna walk around with the spirit of a champion, you know, more, more than a conqueror. Uh, I know it's gonna be a lot of things that we all have to go through, you know, um, a lot of challenges.And as long as we live, it's going to be challenges, you know, like it's gonna be some challenges and it's going to be a fight with the enemy. Uh, I'll never forget. This one thing that this, uh, female preacher said when I was, uh, younger, she talked about how when Jesus was on the cross, one of, one of the thieves was still talking crazy to him.Like, if you the son of God save us and save your, save yourself. And she was just explaining like, you know, uh. You're going, going to be tried until the day that you die. Like Jesus was on the cross and still had somebody like rising up against him while he was on his way to physical death. Yeah. So if I like, you know, I'm if, of course I would like life to be just a smooth path, but that's not the way it's designed, you know, but I'm thankful to God that.We have hope. I'm thankful to God that we have hope in the life after this life, but we also have hope in this life. You know, I feel like God going to give us all some, some blessed, some blessed times and some blessed seasons like. Something like a Renaissance period. Like, and I, I, I wanted to make sure my eyes is open and or aware when my season of joy and blessings come, so I could just ride the wave.I'm not gonna let nothing distract that, you know? Yeah. You know, it's interesting you bring up the two criminals on the cross that were crucified with Jesus Christ because a buddy of mine, he sent me a Instagram post the other day that said, when you look at, you know, it was a, it was a sermon on lust and how, mm-hmm.It's not lust that destroys or ruins, you know, men and women, but it's the wallowing and living in despair. You know, it's the not getting over it because he said, you know, Jesus, and, and, and God, they, they for when we repent of lust, and we are, yes. And this is not even lust, just any sin, you know. It's not the sin that keeps us down, it's the living in the despair of it.It's the not talking to God about it. And I was thinking about the two, you know, criminals on the cross. One of them knew that they were a sinner and they asked for forgiveness. And Jesus said, I will see you there with me. The other had just accepted we, I'm a criminal. You know what? Mm-hmm. There's no chance for me.Save yourself. You know, like he could have. Yeah. Even knowing like. Hey, like, this is the man right here who could possibly save me. And he just said, no. And I wonder, you know, what was going through his mind? Did, was it despair? Was he saying, I'm already, I'm so close to death, it doesn't matter, you know?Whereas the other person said, until death, may there be hope. And that's yes from Jeremiah. God says, even in the last hour, right before destruction, if they turn their hearts to me, they shall be saved. You know, God says throughout the Old Testament eki, especially, you know, if a city repents and I had said I was going to destroy it, I shall not destroy it.And if a city was gonna be saved and they go turn wicked, I shall destroy it. You know? So. Amen. I love, I love that you had these two examples, both men on, on the foot of death, and one says there's still hope and one says. Screw it, you know, for lack of better word, right? It's already the end. It's too late.But God himself said, even in the last hour, if you turn toward me, I shall save you. I think that's, that's beautiful. And I was thinking a lot about, you know, questions about, you know, job question God. And I was thinking about, you know, the Book of Jonah is one of my favorite teachings, uh, to talk about.Mm-hmm. And that book is interesting. You know, because, and even in job, God proposes a bunch of questions that don't get answered, but to some degree they do. And Jonah, it's just a straight up ends with a question. And I was thinking about what kind of man, 'cause we don't know what happens is Jonah really, it just ends with that question that God proposes.Yeah. So what kind of man. Was Jonah after God proposing that question. And sometimes I wonder what kind of people are we gonna be after we propose a question to God that goes unanswered, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because we have, we all have a lot of questions, and you talked about one of the important things going back to.Yeah, sometimes just sitting there watching boxing for example, or watching couple of Knicks, whatever you're watching to comfort someone, you know, just sitting there is, is just presence is what you need sometimes. And I think, yeah, you mentioned like some people are saying, Hey man, this is your fault or this or that, or you could have done this better.There's a time and place for accountability. Yeah, there's a time and place for it. And sometimes right when all that tragedy is happening is not the time and place unless things are gonna get worse. If you can wait until afterwards, if someone's one in the right place, to be receptive of that and to hear, you know what, Hey man, now that everything's kind of settled, here's what could have gone better.And, and, and I care about you and I wanna see this not happen again. But in the moment it feels like intact. If there's, if someone's in the middle of suffering and you come saying, Hey man. This is your fault again, with Job, what makes people come from you. Right. And I think, you know. A Bible quote too. I, I'll paraphrase it here, that I came to mind when you talked about your fellowship coming together.Mm-hmm. Know we all have friends, but there's a friend who sticks closer than a brother, you know, than a Brenda. Yes. Through those times of adversity, so it's great. Now I just wanna summarize, you've, you've pretty much hinted at it a lot and kind of mm-hmm. Conveyed it to us, but just to, to wrap up here.Your reason for, for guesting and your, and your book, what is the main message and takeaway you want people to leave with? And then on top of that main takeaway, I'd love for you to share one Bible quote with us that is, is on your heart right now that you wanna share with us. Oh yeah. Um, I just feel like the book is called A Marriage Broken by Covid produces Diamonds for You, but I feel like it's for everybody because.It just, the whole purpose of it is like, through our struggles, there is wisdom and illumination again, like our struggles, there's something to learn. Like every time I go through something, I sit and I think like, okay, what is the lesson in this, uh, that I can carry with me to move forward? So I just wanted to write this piece of work.I. I wrote it in real time, uh, just hoping to see the changes and document changes and, uh. Yeah, I just want it to be motivation and encouragement to those that feel hopeless because I feel hopeless many, many days, and there's still days to this day that I have to, uh, encourage myself in the Lord and, and get back up and get going.It is a constant process, but I just want people to be motivated, encouraged, and to look for the beauty and suffering because. Sometimes God can create something beautiful from nothing or something beautiful from something that's been burned down. Beauty from ashes. You know, God is a master, a master artist, like so I feel like just hanging there through those darkest times and just know that these darkest times is what God is using to buildone of the scriptures that. That's heavy on my heart. Um, all the time that I always used to hear quoted all the time is, uh, Romans 8 28. Um, all things work together for the good to them that love God to those that are called according to his purpose. I used to hear people, um. Speak that all the time, and I even quoted it by myself.But that's the mind state. Like all things work together for the good. Like so much we, we could be caught up into looking at how things appear to be so bad and how things is not working for us. But all these things might be in the recipe. For everything. Working for the good. Like I, I, I try to think about it like this.Who knows, like God might have been protecting me and my wife from some form of destruction that would've came upon us if, if he didn't use this situation to move us out the way. But God is such a mastermind while he's moving the sign of destruction, potentially, he also can be working on us as Doug.Potter in the clay, I mean the clay in the potter's hand or, or we, the canvas that God is creating some beautiful piece of art. Like God is such a mastermind, like we don't know what he's working out and we don't fully grabs hold of God's timing all the time, but God's timing is totally different. So.Sometimes we just gotta be patient and believe within our hearts that all things work together for the good to us that love God and to us. That's called according to his purpose, like no matter how bad it gets, it is working together for my good. Even if it's not exactly what I want or how I want it to be, it is still working together for my good.Amen. Yeah, it reminds me of partners. Well, with a quote, Genesis 50 20 is one of my favorite Bible quotes. A lot of people paraphrase it as whatever the enemy will try to use against this guy will use for us. And their real quote is from Joseph talking to his brothers when they discover him in Egypt and he says, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.So when you talk about. All things are working together. If you love God and you repent and you acknowledge God, even your sins will be used to bless you And others, though it may not seem like it, and like you said, for things later down the road that we don't even know about and, and the most important thing is what we want isn't always what God knows we need.And I love an analogy that I'll share real quick, which is someone talked about. How we want things that are sinful for us or will destroy us, but we don't even know it. And they used the analogy of, and I, yeah, I love this 'cause I have a dog and she begs to eat everything and they go, just as your dog begs you to eat chocolate or to give it boiling water from a stove.They, they want it. They had no idea that it's gonna harm them or could kill them, but they beg and beg for it. Yes. So we crave these material or sinful things, not realizing how much harm it would do for us, but God knows, just as we know for our dogs. So God knows sometimes the things that we beg for and want.He knows that they are harmful to us or will harm us or kill us, yet we ask and beg for them, and then we get upset and cry when we don't get them. So I've always loved that analogy because my dog, she always begs for everything in the kitchen, and most of it would kill it. But she has no idea, you know, to her, she, she sees it and she thinks it looks good.She sees us enjoying it and, and that's the thing too, as a believer, you will see. Nonbelievers or, or the sinful, wicked people enjoying stuff. And you're gonna say, well, I want that too. And just as my dog sees me enjoying something that she can't eat, so they partake of stuff of the flesh that is not good for your soul.And so, yes. Yeah. Mr. Jmel Powell is so glad to have you here. Like I said, I. Love having faith-based guests on because there's just a connection, uh, unspoken. You know, they say we're all the children of God, and I, I feel that yes, more closely when I speak to someone of the faith. And I just love going back and forth with Bible quotes and stories of hardship.I always encourage everyone find other believers because as we said. You're, you're gonna have a lot of miserable comforters in life, but you're also gonna find some people who, through adversity, will stick closer than a brother or sister. And when you're feeling down, they're gonna have stories of faith to bring you up.And when you're too high up, they'll have stories of faith to hold you accountable. It's very important to to have that. And so, Mr. Jamel Powell, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your time today to share your story. And I really hope that it has blessed a lot of people today. Oh yeah.Thank you for having me. Uh, Mr. Winky, and, uh, oh man, I, I could tell you one of my brothers in the lawyer because, man, I just talked to you like we already been knowing each other. Yes, sir. I didn't feel like, I ain't feel no form of uneasiness. And hey, I thank God for you and, um, I'm praying that your podcast continue to grow and that God gives you the needs and your desires.Sailing through the ocean blue nuclear reactors. My crew got in the shoe. The stars is our guide through the waves we ride. Jokes laugh to fill the, on this voyage we have to share working together side by side as one family. We'll by in the heart of ship, we nuclear operators with pride powering the vessel with.Our mission, the source of great pride.
