Rebound – February 25, 2025 (69/365)

Proverbs 24:10 says that if you faint, or fall, in the day of adversity, your strength is small. We’re to know and consequently move, knowing, first of all, that adversity will have its day. We shouldn’t be surprised that there will be days of gloom and anxiety; in fact, there may be more bad days than there will be good. Apparently, one possible measure for one’s strength is seen in these inevitable days of adversity. We can say that those who are left standing and unfazed are strong – or, rather, that their strength is not small.

Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not plunder his resting place; For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.

Proverbs 24:15-16

Is it, then, for us to work towards being strong, so we would not faint or fall? I don’t think so – I think that no matter how strong we get, there is still no guarantee that we would avoid becoming fluttered or limp when our adversities appear. We will fail. We will fall. We will faint. It’s not for us, therefore, to try to avoid this fate, but to be ready for failing and falling – And to be ready, is to be righteous; For not only are the righteous ready for falling, but they are able to rise again. The righteous bounce back; seven times they may fall, but they rise again and again and again.

We are therefore thankful to Christ, for it is by His finished work that any wickedness associated to us has been removed, that we would become righteous, as He is righteous. We’re thankful to Christ, for it is by Him that we are able to face defeat in adversity, with grace in our hearts and peace in our minds. We are able to confront calamity without bearing the fear of falling, because we know that though we do fall, we get right back up.

This is reassuring, for me. Right at this moment, and in this hour – where it’s a combination of what’s happening outside, and what’s going on in my mind, that form a calamity of sorts, an adversity that is dragging me down by way of having me shuffle my feet to move, but at the same time pressuring me that I must move. Adversary does not always come in the form of a hostile entity; sometimes, it manifests by way of stirring hostility within our own minds, and bodies. Indeed, is there a more devious and effective way for and adversary to succeed – by having us fight ourselves?

But here, even here in these moments of great resistance, we are saying, that our God is good, and that He is glorious! We are – I am proclaiming, even here, in my current state, no matter what is going on in and around my being, that God’s lovingkindness endures forever, and I know this, because it has been proven and demonstrated by no less that His Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. I relish in what I know – that is, His everlasting glory, and His infinite grace towards us – placing my hope in Him, standing on His Firm Foundation. For as the armies of Israel willingly go against a superior army in terms of quantity and quality, so I go – in the front lines, with the worshippers who were placed there, singing and rejoicing in God and who He is.

I say this, whether I am moving forward to my doom, or I am down on the ground – That even during these times, God is good, and God is great. Even during these times, the Creator of the Universe and all that there is, the Creator of all things seen and unseen – By Christ I may say His name, and even more than this, I call Him my Father, to whom I run boldly; He is for me! Who, therefore, can be against me?

It’s by Christ that I rise again, though I fall, even if I fall seven times. It’s by Christ that I can say that in the past, I have risen again – for in these many years of existing in this finite reality, I could say that I have fallen so many more times. I have failed more than seven times, and surely, I have also sinned against God, far beyond seventy times seven times! But see, we give God glory, for by His grace He has seen all this transpire far before it ever even unfolded… and Christ still decided that I was worth dying and coming back to life for!

Indeed, indeed, God’s lovingkindness endures forever; I say this, in the confusion, in the lackadaisical state of mind, in the bondage – Yes, His lovingkindness endures forever!

Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Proverbs 24:19-20

Must we, therefore, be afraid of those who would force calamity upon us? Must we see the success of our adversaries, and gnash our teeth in jealousy? I believe, in this moment, that we have much more to think about, more important matters and mindsets to keep. We should not be so interested in just how the wicked would fall, because we know, even if we don’t have the details, that they WILL fall. What we may want to keep in mind and meditate on, more than the lamp of the wicked – is that our own lamp would continue to burn, fully fueled, and by Christ, its light will never be put out. Let us choose to focus on more than the future (or lack thereof) of the evil man – actually, let us celebrate that because of Christ, we even have a future to begin with; and not just any future, but a bright one.

We give thanks to God, for it is by Christ that we have been given peace that keeps still in time of fear. We have been given power that keeps rising again, even in times of weakness. And it is this power and this peace that would have us celebrating, and in our celebration, we would even go as far as praying for those who would still insist on our downfall, and for those who would persist in taking out our light. By Christ, who prayed for the very same people He was born for, before He lay His life for them, so we are able to pray, and pray intentionally, sincerely, and with full focus.

Friends, if there’s anything you want to remember from me from all of this, is that you will eventually fall yourself; But don’t put too much energy and focus on figuring out who made you fall, or why you’ve fallen; Remember that by Christ, you are able to rise again, and again, and again, no matter how many times you fall!

Until the next post, God bless you.