Get back up again

I’ve thought a lot about the purpose of opposition in life. Opposition seems to be a definer. The bigger the hole dug, the higher the mountain of soil stacked up. The low defines the scope of the high and vice versa.

I’ve not found anyone yet who has lived a life without trials of some kind or another--although some do a pretty good job of hiding it for awhile.

My friend Roger Anthony is well versed in the trials of life. He told me of a particularly low time when it seemed everything was combining against him to put him down and keep him down.

As he sat in his office feeling the world closing in around him, a large man by the name of John Carlisle from an office down the hall suddenly came striding in to Roger’s office as if sent with a direct message from heaven.

John hammered Roger’s desk with his pointer finger like a hammer and with a booming voice said,
"When they knock you down, you get back up again. When they knock you down again, you get back up again. When they knock you down again, you get back up again. Pretty soon they're going to get sick and tired of knocking you down."

And with that said--almost through clenched teeth at the end--John turned and walked out without another word.

I think the Lord is telling each of us the same thing. He reassures and invites us to keep going and to never quit. He tells us that those that are with us are more than those that are against us. He encourages us to have faith not fear. And no matter how hard it gets, He promises to save us if we will just hold on and never give up following Him:

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)

This journey with Talitha has shown me again that it’s worth getting up one more time. And one more time after that. And one more time after that…

No matter how hard it may be to see it in the moment, I know that God lives and keeps His promises.