As a teen, I was enthralled with the sport of figure skating. I loved the blend of artistry and athleticism on ice, with the fast spins, high jumps and perfect poses. When I finally got the opportunity to join some group lessons, I was taught the most important skill for a skater at any level—how to get back up again quickly after a fall. Falling happened often and was always painful. I frequently relied on those key skills for getting back up afterwards.
We don’t have to be athletes to know that falling is part of life. Perhaps we fall because we’ve sinned, we stumble due to a mistake or we get knocked down by an overwhelming circumstance. Maybe we find ourselves being attacked by the devil one way or another. “We are . . . persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). No matter the reason, we all fall and experience failure in life.
But we’re not meant to live in defeat, shame or regret. When the enemy is lurking nearby and trying to plunder from us (Proverbs 24:15), we need to remember that God is fighting for us and will help us get back up, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again” (v. 16).
When we fall, we don’t have to stay there. Let’s quickly turn to God and fix our eyes on the One who gives us the strength to get back up.
By Nancy Gavilanes
REFLECT & PRAY
How do you handle the falls in life? How has God helped you get back up?
Dear God, thank You for helping me get up after a fall.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Proverbs 24:15–18 contains two “sayings”—Saying 27 (vv. 15–16) and Saying 28 (vv. 17–18)—from a collection of thirty sayings ascribed to “the wise” (22:17–24:22 ). The warning in Saying 27 against attacking the righteous illustrates a key theme in Proverbs: the self-destructive nature of sin and evil. Because God has woven wisdom and goodness into the fabric of reality, to live as the righteous do is to align with the way creation is designed to flourish. Choosing evil, on the other hand, is to work against the grain of God’s world in a way that is unavoidably self-destructive.
For that reason, Saying 27 teaches that seeking to destroy the righteous is a futile ambition. Even if the righteous suffer temporarily, good will ultimately always triumph over evil. “Though the righteous fall seven times [the number seven symbolizing many times], they rise again” (v. 16).
Monica La Rose
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