“Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

Psalm 37:24 (NKJV)

Have you ever watched boxing? There are two opponents in the ring. Either one of them can be knocked down at any time. The one knocked down first isn’t necessarily the one who is knocked out or will lose the fight. Why? Because there’s a possibility that the boxer who’s down will get back up.

All of us will experience “knockdowns” in life due to adverse circumstances. There will be times when we feel there is no wind left in our sails, or all hope is gone. Sickness, death of a loved one, loss of a job, unruly children, a divorce, attack on our reputation, sexual assault, backstabbing, and disappointments will cause us to stumble and perhaps fall. 

If you are a born-again believer, you are resilient. You may get knocked down, but you don’t have to stay down. You can regain your equilibrium and get back up. 2 Corinthians 4 reminds us that we are fragile jars of clay, but the good news is, we have  “get back up,” enabling power within us. Listen to Paul as he declares who we are and what we possess.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (vv. 7-10) 

Because we have the life of Jesus dwelling within us, we don’t have to be destroyed by the vicissitudes of life. This pandemic, COVID-19, is knocking some of us down, but even pandemics have to bow to the name of Jesus. Believers have the supernatural ability to flourish  amid any situation. Notice how the children of Israel thrived during the plagues of Egypt when they listened to godly wisdom. 

The key to getting back up is staying under the protective covering of the blood of Jesus. That’s what the children of Israel did. They followed the instructions given to Moses, and they made it through the plagues safely.

When I think of “getting back up,” I am reminded of 2 musical situations. First, the story of Jennifer Hudson, who auditioned on the third season of American Idol. She was told by Simon Cowell, one of the judges, “I think you are out of your depth in this competition; I think there are better singers and performers in the 11 people left…There are people better than her and I don’t think you are capable of doing anything better to have any chance at all of winning this competition.”

The expression on Jennifer Hudson’s face was priceless as Simon was spewing out those derogatory words. It was the look of “I will show you, Mr. Wise Guy! “ No, Jennifer Hudson didn’t win that competition, but it did position her for a great come back. The words that were meant to shatter her built her career. What a great illustration of “Get Back Up!”

In the story of “Annie,” the orphans sing, “It’s a Hard-Knock Life.” According to them, no one seemed to care about their welfare. I agree with them that life is hard, but for those who embrace the Christian faith, we do have Someone who cares for us. Jesus alone gives us the power to “Get Back Up!” 

Remember, “knockdowns” don’t have to be “knockouts!”

Declare,

Lord, thank You for giving me getting up power. I will get up before the bell rings!

Posted by on Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 @ 10:15AM
Categories: Empowering, Encouragement, Inspirational
Tags: boxer, comeback, Getbackup, knockdown, knockout, pandemic, Resilience