#lifegivingwords – When You Fall, Get Back Up

June 3

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.” (Pr 24:16)

One beautifully sunny and warm evening I was walking my dog and as I got to the bottom of heart attack hill (named so by me because I feel like I’m going to have one if I try to go up the hill – I usually travel down) I caught my toe as I stepped off the curb. I went sprawling on the pavement doing something that probably resembled a belly flop in the pool. After first looking around to see if anyone had seen me, I got up, determined I was unhurt except for a few minor scrapes, the bleeding wasn’t too bad, and I continued on with the rest of my walk.

Sometimes we fall. Hopefully we get back up.

Christians sometimes fall spiritually. But we don’t always get back up. We see our fall as a failure. A disappointment. A glaring fault line that means we cannot possibly be saved. We cannot possibly be a follower of Jesus. If I was then I would never have… God’s Word tells us differently. The NIV translation says “though a righteous man falls seven time, he rises again.” I like this version just a little better because there is assurance here that God knows we will stumble. The number seven doesn’t mean we’ll only make seven mistakes in our lifetime. Wouldn’t that be nice? The number seven is the number used to convey many or multiple times. So, as followers of Jesus, we can be assured that God knows we’ll make a mistake or two, or three, or a lifetime of them, but we also know from this that if we stick with Him, nothing should keep us from getting back up again. If we are followers of Jesus, there is certainty in the promise that we WILL rise again.

Where have you fallen? Maybe you are recovering from an addiction and had a relapse. Commit this to the Lord and you will rise again. Maybe you lost your temper. Commit this to the Lord and you will rise again. Maybe you lost a job, a business, a house. Commit this to the Lord and you will rise again. Maybe you are divorced. Give this to the Lord and you will rise again.

Have you fallen someplace in your life or faith? Trust this promise that nothing can separate you from the depth of God’s love for you. Stay with God and you will rise again.