Kirk Franklin - This Is It Lyrics
Lyrics
Introduction
Check it out, ya'll
(There've been times in my life)
I'm tired and I wanna give up
(I've been wondering why)
Why is the world gettin' so crazy?
(Still, somehow I believe)
I've come too far to die now
(I always survive)
If you're a survivor, get up!
Let's get it!
Verse 1
Gonna cry now, go ahead and get it out of my system
Know I'm hurt now, but soon I gotta get back to livin'
Can't be here next year, givin' you these same tears
Hope you enjoyed it, 'cause it's the last time you'll take a piece of me
It start right now, I don't know how I'm gonna get thru it
I'm broke right now, I pray somehow 'cause I can't do it
Can't keep livin' like this, there's gotta be more than this
Jesus, I'm ready, I'm ready for what you have for me
Chorus
(Are you gonna wait for a sign?)
Are you ready for your miracle
God's people it's time to (stand up and fight)
Let's get it, let's get it
This is it!!
You can't mess with my mind anymore
This is it!
I'm smarter, see I've been here before
This is it!
It's a new day, I'm not afraid anymore
This is it!
Yes, I believe, if you believe, help me say
This is it!
I'm a child of the King baby, look at somebody and tell 'em
This is it!
Verse 2
I look back now, I look at how you tried to break me
To take my life, my peace of mind and drive me crazy
My self esteem, my dreams, my destiny
So, God allowed it, because He knew He had big plans for me (Hallelujah!)
It's your grace, I know today it's how I made it (Thank You, Jesus)
When I thought that it was over (Lord, have mercy)
Chorus
Everybody that's been holdin' you down, look at 'em and tell 'em
This is it!
I feel my help coming on right now, ya'll
Break
You think that maybe it's over (You're life ain't over)
Not unless you want it to be
(Are you gonna wait for a sign?) your miracle
(stand up and fight)
Rap
This is it ya'll, this is it ya'll
You've been waitin' and debating , here it is, ya'll
All your stuff from your past, shake it off ya'll
Though they said you wouldn't last, who you is ya'll?
Want your dreams back? Let's get it!
Your peace of mind back? Let's get it!
Want your family back? Let's get it!
Are you ready? Let's get it! (This is it!)
I speak against everything that comes to destroy the purpose in your life
This is it!
Worrying about your finances, your future, when you can't even sleep at night
This is it!
I speak against depression and fear, every attack from the enemy
This is it!
This is your day, the Lord made it baby! God has set you free!
This is it!
You can't mess with my mind anymore
This is it!
I'm smarter, see I've been here before
This is it!
It's a new day, I'm not afraid anymore
This is it!
I wanna hear ya'll sing this with your boy!
Every body say
This is it!
You can't mess with my mind anymore
This is it!
I'm smarter, see I've been here before
This is it!
It's a new day, I'm not afraid anymore
This is it!
Yes, I believe, if you believe, help me say
This is it!
Video
Kirk Franklin - Declaration (This Is It!) (Video)
Meaning & Inspiration
My hands aren't as steady as they used to be, and there’s a particular ache in my joints when the rain turns cold, but I still find myself reaching for the music when the house gets too quiet. Kirk Franklin has a way of turning the volume all the way up, which is a far cry from the hymns I grew up tracing with my finger in the pew. Sometimes, when the noise hits, I wonder if it’s just frantic movement—a young man’s urgency to outrun his own shadow.
But then I hear him say, "God allowed it, because He knew He had big plans for me."
That line stopped me cold. I’ve sat in the hospital waiting rooms, I’ve buried friends whose laughter still echoes in my head, and I’ve spent long nights staring at a ceiling, wondering where the grace went. To look at the wreckage of a life—the parts where the enemy clearly meant for harm—and say that God allowed it for a purpose? That isn't a young man’s noise. That is a hard-won truth. It’s the kind of thing you can only say after you’ve seen the furnace and realized you didn't burn. It reminds me of Joseph, standing before his brothers, holding the weight of all those years of exile, finally seeing the thread of providence running through the betrayal (Genesis 50:20). It’s not a comfortable thought, and it doesn’t make the pain less sharp, but it gives the scar a name.
Franklin shouts, "I'm smarter, see I've been here before."
When you’re young, you think the trial is a wall. You think it’s the end of the line. But after forty years of walking, you start to see that life isn't a straight path; it’s a series of circles we climb like a mountain. You find yourself back in the valley, but the air is different because your lungs have already learned how to breathe there. Being "smarter" isn't about intellect; it’s about recognizing the pattern of God’s faithfulness. It’s knowing that if He kept me through the last fire, He isn't going to abandon me in this one.
There’s a tension in the music, though. It’s so insistent, so loud. I sometimes worry that we’re trying to shout our problems into submission rather than waiting in the stillness for the still, small voice. Is "This is it" a battle cry, or are we just scared of the silence where we might have to actually grieve? I don't know if I have the answer to that. Some days, I just need the volume up to drown out the doubt. Other days, I just sit and watch the dust motes dance in the light, wondering if I really believe the "it" is actually here, or if I’m just waiting for the next round. Regardless, the promise remains. That’s enough to keep the old hymnal open for another day.