One of the most important factors in overcoming adversity is rising when you fall. Will you rise or just continue stumbling?
(Proverbs 24:16 NASB) '16 For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again,
But the wicked stumble in time of disaster.'
Scripture Thoughts:
For a righteous man, hmm, righteous is a loaded word. Who can be considered righteous, especially in today's world? The word righteous in the dictionary simply means a person whose conduct is morally right or justifiable. It is a little different when the word righteous is defined by the Bible. The word righteous in the Bible means to act in accordance with divine moral law, to be free from guilt or sin. Who is close to being free from sin in this world as we fall short? But yet, this is the key to the entire verse, as it says in verse 16, for a righteous person falls seven times and rises again. So we need to understand the word righteous to fully understand what the scripture is saying to us. To be considered righteous means to act in accordance with divine moral law (nowadays, we would simply say God's Word). But it is a little more than that...
Let me explain! None of us are free from sin except Jesus, and the bad news is that perfect righteousness is not even possible for mankind to attain on their own. So, the only way to address being free from sin is through Jesus. By His blood (being shed on the cross), all who call upon Him as Lord and Savior are cleansed of all wrongdoing (hence the word savior) and, therefore, can walk in righteousness that Jesus provides for us, whew. Simply stated, we can be considered righteous before God because of the blood of Jesus. (Romans 5:1 CEB) 'Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'
Now back to the scripture, it is the Lord that helps us, those who act in accordance with His Word, out of their troubles. He helps us because we belong to Him, He knows we fall short, and He knows we make mistakes even when we are trying to do right. Our assurance is Him, the One who will help us out of our calamity, our troubles, our trials, and our tribulations. We are thankful we have a merciful God, one who gives us grace (unmerited favor) even when we do not deserve it. It is because of the Lord and only Him that we will continue to rise.
This makes the last portion of the scripture easily understandable and a little scary. All those who choose to be without the Lord will come upon a time in their lives when they fall, and they will stay fallen. This may happen during their lifetime, and even worse, if they never accept Jesus in this lifetime, after death, they will stay fallen forever.
My Thoughts:
We are only righteous by the blood of Jesus. I thank Him daily for His sacrifice. I am truly thankful the Lord looks out for me and helps me to rise above my troubles because I have fallen so many times in my life. I realize the older we get, the more we need His grace and mercy. Simply because we will have more times that we fall short in our lives with the more days that we have, even when we are trying to do good, lol. I think of Peter walking on water towards Jesus. For a moment, He lost faith and started to sink, but He called on Jesus and asked the Lord for help. Jesus put out his hand and stood him on top of the troubled waters. Thank You God, for being gracious to all those who love you.
Challenge:
Continue to read and learn of God's mercy and grace. The Lord is willing to help us out of our troubles, but it requires us to believe, follow and call upon Him.
Prayer:
Ask your Heavenly Father to help you to understand His Word and give you the wisdom and understanding needed to act upon it.
Action:
Leave a comment, thought, or opinion in the comments section. We would like to hear from you!
Take Care Family,
Pastor Charles
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©Copyright Charles R. Myles II 2022
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