Wednesday 5 March 2008

We Fall Down but We Get Up!

Proverbs 24: 16 “for a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (KJV).
I went to the park today to watch the children play, I learn a lot just by observing how they relate to one another and handle themselves on the playground.
There was this one boy in particular, about five years old I guess, but very energetic. He went from one climbing frame to another, one minute he was on the seesaw, and the next he was doing the rolly polly. I sat down there thinking surely this boy would get tired soon. I tell you, boy! Did I get tired just watching him!
Finally, the little boy decided to get on the swings, he went up really high, very fast. I could see the delight on his face with each trip he took up and the exhilaration as he came down again. About two minutes into swinging, he fell off his swing. It was a nasty fall. He cried out really loud. From nowhere his mum came running, she stretched out her hands to him and he got up. She picked him up, dusted all the dirt off him, got some water from her flask and rinsed off all the blood on his badly bruised knees, before finally kissing him and taking him to the bench where she was sitting. There he lay in his mother’s arms sobbing away, while she cuddled him and reassured him everything would be okay and that his knees would soon get better.
Twenty minutes later, the boy suddenly sprung up from the bench and was back on that swing again. You should have seen the determination on his face. He wasn’t about to let that swing dictate to him how hard he could play, how high or how fast he could go. He would master that swing and you know what? He did! He swung higher and faster than before. He had learnt from prior experience to hold on tight to the swing and not let go and even though he had plasters on his knees, he had completely forgotten the pain. There was pure determination on his face at first, but later I could see that he was enjoying being the boss of that swing.
Just like that little boy, we fall down and we get up. That is what separates a saint from a sinner; a saint falls down but MUST get up. And when we fall, our father is right there (He suddenly steps out from nowhere, responding quickly to our cry) to dust all the dirt off, rinse off our bruises with the blood of Jesus, and cuddle us in His arms, kissing the pain away. He allows us to recuperate, and as soon as he’s made us whole again, we must get back out there. Congratulations! Because you fell, you are now an expert on how not to fall that way again, you have now been equipped to deal with that same situation should it arise again and you now await a new challenge.
When God stretches out His arms to you after a fall, you MUST GET UP! Do not be ashamed to run into your Daddy’s arms screaming, there’s no shame in falling down as long as you GET UP AGAIN. The shame is in the staying down. It is the portion of the wicked to fall and not to rise again, Psalm 141:10 “Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape” (KJV).
Did you trip? GET UP IN JESUS’ NAME. Were you pushed? GET UP IN JESUS’ NAME. Did you run out of energy and pass out on the floor? Well, GET UP IN JESUS NAME! It doesn’t matter how or why you fell, just GET UP IN THE NAME OF JESUS. I command your spirit to rise in Jesus name. Wake up! Get up! Get back into the race. Do not let the fall or the pain from the fall dictate to you how hard or how fast you’ll run the race, master that race in the name of Jesus Christ. Run like never before! Depend solely on the strength of the Lord to carry you through, forgetting the past and looking on to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith. Looking ahead and upwards, pressing on, eager to get to the finish line and collect the winning prize.
Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (KJV).
FORGET HOW HARD YOU FELL, OR IF YOU’RE GOING TO FALL AGAIN. IF YOU FALL JUST GET UP! FINISH WELL AND FINISH STRONG IN JESUS NAME. LISTEN TO THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES CHEERING YOU ON, SHOUTING YOUR NAME, TELLING YOU HOW CLOSE YOU ARE TO THE FINISH LINE. DON’T GIVE UP, JUST GET UP.
Hebrews 12:1 “ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (KJV).
(Written by Yewande Erinle © All rights reserved.)

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