QUICK, GET BACK UP!!!!
Proverbs 24:16"For a just [man] falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."
In Rocky II, the final scene is played out like this: Apollo Creed has a lead on rocky through their entire fight that Rocky couldn't possibly beat. However, due to Apollo's obsession to knock Rocky out, he tires himself out (thus the rope-a-dope effect). Finally in the final round Rocky lands a punch on Apollo that knocks him down, however the exhausted Rocky falls to the canvas as well. The ref starts the 10 count of defeat. Both fighters are on the mat. Rocky barely stammers his way up pulling himself up by the ropes right before the referee reaches "10".
It's true we are fighting a hard fight against the devil. You may not see it, but all your prayers, all your fasting, all your worship, all your witnessing- has beaten him down beyond belief. He already came into this fight defeated. Our Savior went 3 rounds with Him and whooped Him by a mile; defeating Him on the Cross in the burial and in His ultimate resurrection for the K.O.. Your enemy knows where his destination is. A win for him means that you're gonna fall with him. Under no circumstances is it o.k. to stay down until you're out. Now it will get tiring, you may get knocked down a few times, but that's why there's a ten count called grace. With the strength of God within us, we are destined to be champions.
So what do we do when we fall? What do we do when we get exhausted, and forget to go to our corner to renew our strength in the Lord and the power of His might? When the devil as he's falling sneakily grabs us by our collar and yanks us down with him? That's why the scripture says "For a just man falls 7 times and rises up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief." Even the just men fall sometimes. The thing that makes them just is they confess their sins, and get the strength to go on and win this fight! They get up before it's too late. According to Strong's concordance, the Hebrew for the word mischief is "ra". Besides doing wickedness, a meaning of this word is also to be in "distress". This comes from the root word "ra'a" which means to be broken. When we fall, God intends us to get back up before the 10 count, to go on to be champions with Him in the resurrection. Not stay down in our broken calamity until God says 10, falling deeper and deeper into darkness.
So life is rough. Painful times will come. We might get knocked down. We might feel like it's over. The waters may seem to be overwhelming us. But the Lord on high is mightier than the voice of many waters. Fight with His inner strength, and go on to be the undisputed heavy weight champion over the world, over death and the grave. Amen.
