Get Back Up

 By: Lauren Thomas 

My grandpa was a pastor. My pastor. I sat in the congregation and listened to hundreds and hundreds of his sermons through my childhood and adolescence. He passed away several years ago, after a prolonged illness that robbed his ability to speak. And yet, some of the verses he frequently used still live in my mind with his memory. One such verse is Proverbs 24:16:

 

for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,

but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Proverbs 24:16 NIV

 

With this verse, he used the illustration of boxing. And while boxing was – and continues to be – a metaphor that holds little meaning for me, this verse stuck. It stuck because I watched my grandpa live it out. 

This verse describes those who fall but rise again, as being righteous. To me, it seems that a better descriptor might be, “the persevering,” “the enduring,” “the tenacious.” But no, it says, “the righteous.” 

 

Could there be a correlation?

 

My grandpa was a man who I would describe as tenacious. He had what you might call “sticktoitiveness.” Time and again, like the verse, I witnessed “calamity” striking him and his family. But he always got back up. Always went back to work. Always.

 

When tragedy struck, he got back up.

 

When dissension and disunity plagued his congregation, he got back up. 

 

When he was stolen from, he got back up. 

 

When times were uncertain, he got back up. 

 

This is what the righteous man does. This is what the righteous woman does. This is what the righteous do. They get back up. And that is what sets them apart from the wicked.

 

What about your life?

 

Have you faced a devastating loss? Get back up.

 

Have you succumbed to that same sin struggle? Get back up.   

 

Has change that was out of your control, upended your life? Get back up.

 

Has a diagnosis stolen your hope and peace? Get back up. 

Have you been wounded, betrayed, rejected? Get back up. 

 

Why? Because Romans 5:3-5 explains that suffering produces endurance, which produces character, which produces a hope that does not disappoint. 

 

Why get back up? Because that’s what the righteous person does. 

 

Reflection:

Are there any people in your life who illustrate Proverbs 24:16? What can you learn from their example? 

What setback, sin, disappointment, or suffering do you need to “get back up” from? What is God producing in you through that suffering?