Get Back Up

There are times in a man's life when he gets knocked down.

Hard.

Sometimes you see it coming.

Sometimes you don't.

A marriage falls apart.

A job disappears.

A dream dies.

A friend walks away.

You make a mistake you can't take back.

Or maybe you simply wake up one morning and realize you're not the man you thought you were.

Whatever the reason, you're down.

And when you're down long enough, something happens.

You start believing you belong there.

You don't!

Get back up.

Not because it doesn't hurt.

It does.

Not because everything is suddenly going to be okay.

It won't be.

And not because you have all the answers.

You don't.

Get back up because God isn't finished with you.

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.”— Proverbs 24:16, KJV

Notice what that verse doesn't say.

It doesn't say a righteous man never falls.

It says he gets back up.

That's the difference.

Being knocked down isn't the same thing as being defeated.

Failure isn't the end of your story.

A bad season isn't your identity.

And the worst thing you've ever done doesn't have to be the last thing you ever do.

You may have fallen.

You may have failed.

You may have walked away from God.

Maybe you've spent years running in the wrong direction.

But if you're still breathing, God is still working.

Look at Elijah.

After one of the greatest victories of his life, he became exhausted, afraid, and discouraged.

He ran.

He hid.

He wanted to give up.

God didn't condemn him.

God met him there.

He gave him rest.

He gave him food.

Then He gave him another assignment.

Elijah wasn't finished.

Then there's Gideon.

Gideon didn't exactly look like a warrior.

He was hiding when God called him.

He questioned whether God had really chosen him.

He didn't see in himself what God already saw.

But God called him anyway.

And Gideon eventually stepped out in faith.

Sometimes getting back up means believing God sees something in you that you can't see in yourself.

And then there's John Mark (later known as Mark).

He started the journey with Paul and Barnabas.

Then he left.

Later, Paul didn't want to take him along again because Mark had previously deserted them.

Imagine that.

You failed.

People remembered.

You got another chance.

And this time, you proved yourself.

Years later, Paul wrote that Mark was “profitable to me for the ministry.”

The man who once walked away became a man Paul wanted beside him.

That's grace.

That's restoration.

That's getting back up.

The Bible isn't filled with perfect men.

It's filled with men who struggled.

Men who became afraid.

Men who became exhausted.

Men who made mistakes.

Men who weren't sure they were enough.

And men who got another chance.

Maybe that's what you need to do today.

Not fix everything.

Just get up.

Put your feet on the floor.

Take a shower.

Open your Bible.

Pray.

Make the phone call.

Apologize.

Forgive.

Go back to church.

Take the next step.

You don't have to know where the road ends.

You just have to be willing to take the next step.

And here's something else you need to hear.

You don't have to get back up alone.

God is there.

He's been there.

Even when you couldn't see Him.

Even when you didn't feel Him.

Even when you were the one who walked away.

He never stopped pursuing you.

So whatever knocked you down...

Whatever you're carrying...

Whatever happened yesterday...

Today is a new day.

You fell.

Get back up.

You failed.

Get back up.

You're hurting.

Get back up.

You're tired.

Get back up.

And if you can't run...

Walk.

If you can't walk...

Crawl.

But whatever you do—

Don't stay down.

God isn't finished with you yet.

Get back up.