Get Up Again

Read: Micah 7:7-10

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise.                                                                                                                                 Micah 7:8 

     Have you noticed in a football game how many times the players get knocked down when they are trying to carry the ball? They get knocked down by some pretty hefty opposition over and over again. Quite honestly, I don’t know how they handle all that banging around week after week. But have you noticed the main characteristic of those players whose names have become synonymous with football greatness? As many times as they get knocked down, they get back up. They don’t get their names in the NFL record books and in the Pro Football Hall of Fame because they made one great play. They become famous because they carry the ball, get knocked down, carry the ball, get knocked down, and they keep getting up.

     Perhaps you have been knocked down by some temptation that Satan keeps throwing in front of you. He doesn’t want you to be able to carry a Christian testimony or to carry the message of the Gospel to the world. He is afraid of what you will be able to do against him and his team of fallen angels. He is going to do everything he can to knock you off your spiritual feet. Just like there is no perfect running back in football who can run the ball into the end zone every time he carries it, there is no perfect Christian who can go through life without caving in to a temptation every now and then. The issue is whether or not you are going to get back up. If you stay flat on your back and quit because you had a small setback, then the devil has accomplished his purpose, and he has won.

     Another aspect of determination is that your team is depending on you. They rely on you to get up and keep going. There are others who are watching you to see how you will move on for Christ. Don’t you want to inspire them? How exhilarating would it be to hear someone say, “Because of you I didn’t give up”?

     The devil is doing everything he can to drag you down and hold you back. Learn from your setbacks and mistakes; but get up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward. Your Lord and your team are depending on you.

 

Quote of the day: “You were given this life because you were strong enough to live it.”