Falling down, getting back up: This is the theme of many great Bible verses that inspire me on a daily basis to get up and try again when life seems overwhelming. While my natural instinct might be to wave the white flag and run for the hills when I face a challenge, these passages have taught me to stand firm and continue forward in faith.
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Bible Verses About Falling Down And Getting Back Up
Falling down is a part of life. We all experience failures, setbacks, and challenges at some point. However, the good news is that the Bible is filled with verses that remind us of God’s love, grace, and mercy. These verses encourage us to not stay down when we fall, but to get back up and keep moving forward in faith. Here are 12 Bible verses that provide comfort and strength in times of falling down:
Proverbs 24:16
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
Psalm 37:23-24
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Psalm 145:14
“The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”
Philippians 3:13-14
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 4:9
“Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
James 1:12
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
1 Peter 5:10
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
These Bible verses serve as reminders that falling down is not the end, but an opportunity to rise again with the help of God’s strength and grace. So, no matter what challenges you may face, remember that God is always there to lift you up and guide you back on your feet.
What The Bible Says About Getting Back Up Again
In life, we all face challenges that can knock us down. Whether it’s a failure, a setback, or a difficult situation, the important thing is to not stay down but to get back up again. The Bible offers us words of wisdom and encouragement on this topic, reminding us that God is always with us, ready to help us rise again.
Here are 10 Bible verses that speak about getting back up again:
- Proverbs 24:16 – “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
- Psalm 37:24 – “Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
- Philippians 3:13-14 – “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
- Psalm 34:17-18 – “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
- Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
- Romans 8:31 – “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
- Hebrews 10:35 – “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”
- 1 Peter 5:10 – “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
- Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
These verses remind us that no matter how many times we fall, God is there to help us get back up again. With His strength and guidance, we can overcome any obstacle and continue on our journey with faith and hope.
Though I Fall, I Will Rise Again: 11 Powerful Bible Verses & Scripture Quotes.
Micah 7:8, NLT Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
Proverbs 24:16, NIV For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.
Psalm 37:23-24, ESV The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
2 Corinthians 4:8, NIV We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
2 Corinthians 4:9, NLT We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
Psalm 34:18, ESV The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:19, ESV Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Romans 16:20, ESV The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. See also: 7 Bible Verses When You Feel Defeated.
Psalm 20:7-8, NIV Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
1 Corinthians 15:57, ESV But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 138:8, NLT The LORD will work out his plans for my life – for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. (God is working; God will work it out; & God’s got your back! Praise God!)
Though I Fall I Will Rise Again Bible Verse sermon
The message today is about bold brokenness. The main point of the message is that, since we sin against God every day, we should be broken; and, since the throne of God is a throne of grace, we should be bold.
Another way to describe the message of this text would be to say that the message is about confident contrition—concerned because we still sin, confident because we have a Savior.
Or we could say the text is about rugged remorse—remorse because we fall short of his glory, rugged because grace makes us bounce back like a tough leather ball.
Brokenness, Contrition, and Remorse
Do you see this in verse 9? This is an amazing verse from God’s word to us this morning!
I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him.
There’s brokenness and contrition and remorse: “I have sinned against God! And I will not try to defend myself or in any way lessen my guilt. I will bear the indignation of the Lord. He has every right to be angry with me. I put my hand upon my mouth and my back to the rod. For I have sinned against the Lord of glory, and I am ashamed.” But then look at the next two lines of verse 9:
Until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
There’s boldness, confidence and ruggedness: “God will plead my cause. God will execute judgment for me.”
I have sinned against him, and so I am broken beneath his holy indignation. But this very God—this very same angry God—will soon plead my cause; he will take my side and vindicate me, and so I am bold in his grace. He was broken under his indignation but bold in his grace.
“God will plead my cause. God will execute judgment for me.”
What is so remarkable and helpful about this verse is that it keeps these two things so close together. Many of us feel that we can’t live this way—keeping these two things so close together. If we think of God as angry with us, we collapse in despair. If we think of God as gracious to us, then we feel there is no place for brokenness and remorse. And so today, we tend to separate what the Bible keeps together.
The message today, then, is this: Let’s keep these things together. When we sin, let’s accept the indignation of God and not deny it or hide ourselves from it. And not only that, but when we sin, let’s be bold and believe that this very God will soon plead our cause and vindicate us in justice.
That’s today’s message: in your experience of God, keep together what God has joined — brokenness and boldness.
The Wider Picture in Micah
Now let’s step back for a moment and make sure that we see the wider picture in the book of Micah.
The Most Destructive Enemy of God’s People
Here is a prophet that is living and preaching in Judea during the reign of three kings: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1). That was about 700 years before Christ and 2,700 years before us. The great political enemy of God’s people in those days was Assyria, and Micah sees the Assyrians destroy the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. But the most destructive enemy of God’s people was the same then as it is now, namely, sin.
The hordes of Assyria are a piece of cake to God Almighty. In fact, during Hezekiah’s reign, God slew 185,000 soldiers in one night to save the Holy City. External threats are not the most dangerous enemies in our lives. What would bring Judea and Jerusalem to ruin was their sin. And so, God sent Micah to call the people to repent and to warn them of coming judgment.
Micah’s Warnings to a Wicked People
Their sins are very up to date. In 2:1–2 he says,
Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil upon their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
They covet fields, and seize them;
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
In 6:11–12 he cries out for God against the dishonesty in business:
Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
Your rich men are full of violence;
your inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
But it’s not just the businessmen and women that are corrupt. The clergy are phony and driven by the love of money not God. Look at 3:5:
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
In other words, they preach for hire — they say what the rich people in the congregation want to hear so the building gets built faster.
It was an evil day. Micah had the unpopular job of warning people that the corruption in business and commerce and religion and politics was going to bring terrible judgment from God if there was no repentance.
Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in travail;
for now you shall go forth from the city
and dwell in the open country;
you shall go to Babylon. (4:10)
CONFERENCE MESSAGE
When I Don’t Desire God (Part 4)
When I Don’t Desire God
Part 4
AUG 19, 2005
John Piper
The Response God Demands
Now how should the people of God respond to this kind of preaching — full of indictment and warning about the judgment of God? Before I show Micah’s answer, let’s be sure we realize that it’s a question for us too, not just them. The church today needs to hear the warnings of Micah.
I was reading a message last week on revival, called “Fire from Heaven.” In it the writer says he doubts that the church is yet in the throes of revival as some are saying. If we were he says,
Why is every form of moral impurity rampant in our evangelical, Bible-preaching churches? Why is the divorce rate as high in the church as it is in the world? Why do the vast majority of Christians never introduce anyone to Christ? Why do people laugh their way down the aisle to make “decisions”? Why are our churches loaded with people who want a part-time, convenient, weekend Christian experience and who show no serious interest in spiritual growth? Why do pastors have to twist people’s arms to give, to serve, to get involved in the work of the ministry? Why are church splits so common? Why are so many professing Christians barren, empty, hurting, confused, and in spiritual bondage? Why is the world so utterly disinterested in what we have to offer? (SPIRIT OF REVIVAL, “Fire from Heaven,” Del Fehsenfeld, Jr., 18:1, p. 7)
There are some Micah’s around today who see in the American church the same kind of weakness and corruption Micah saw 2,700 years ago in the people of Israel. So now when we ask how a person should respond to Micah’s preaching, the question is not just how they should have, but how we should now, today. We are sinners and the church is in great need of repentance and reform and cleansing.
Micah shows two kinds of response to his preaching. Both are based on grace, but one is right and the other is wrong.
The Wrong Way to Lean on Grace
First, let’s look at the wrong one — the wrong way to depend on grace in the face of Micah’s exposure of our sin. Look at 3:11. Micah speaks to the judges and the priests and the prophets of Jerusalem:
Its [Jerusalem’s] heads give judgment for a bribe,
its priests teach for hire,
its prophets divine for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
No evil shall come upon us.”
What Does The Bible Say About Falling Down And Getting Back Up
Proverbs 24:16 ESV / 49 helpful votes
For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
2 Corinthians 4:9 ESV / 33 helpful votes
Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV / 30 helpful votes
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Micah 7:8 ESV / 30 helpful votes
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.
Isaiah 43:2 ESV / 25 helpful votes
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Psalm 37:24 ESV / 18 helpful votes
Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Acts 9:1-43 ESV / 14 helpful votes
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. …
2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV / 13 helpful votes
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
1 Chronicles 28:20 ESV / 12 helpful votes
Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 11 helpful votes
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
John 16:33 ESV / 10 helpful votes
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV / 9 helpful votes
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Psalm 1:1-6 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; …
Revelation 3:20 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
2 Corinthians 4:1-18 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. …
Romans 8:28 ESV / 6 helpful votes
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
John 3:16 ESV / 6 helpful votes
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Matthew 25:31-46 ESV / 6 helpful votes
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, …
Zechariah 7:1-14 ESV / 6 helpful votes
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? …
Revelation 1:17 ESV / 5 helpful votes
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
2 Corinthians 4:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
Ezekiel 44:4 ESV / 5 helpful votes
Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And I fell on my face.
Acts 9:3-4 ESV / 4 helpful votes
Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
John 10:10 ESV / 4 helpful votes
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Romans 8:37 ESV / 3 helpful votes
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Matthew 7:1-29 ESV / 3 helpful votes
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. …
Galatians 6:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Ezekiel 2:1-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes
And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. …
Proverbs 31:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. …
Bible Verses About Getting Back On Track With God
False Security
What is this response to Micah’s preaching? They respond by saying, “We are secure!” Why do they think that they are secure? “We are secure because the Lord is in the midst of us! There is his temple! There is the ark of the covenant — the covenant! We are the covenant people! We have Abraham as our father (Matthew 3:9). We are leaning on the Lord! Leaning on the everlasting arms of grace! We have a God of grace! Turn your preaching of judgment to the nations, Micah, not to us. Look at 2:6. What do they say to Micah?
“Do not preach” — thus they preach —
“one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
Here is one way to lean on grace, brothers and sisters. And if we do, it will pierce our hand and kill us. There is a wrong way to depend on grace. There is a false security.
Bonhoeffer’s Attack on Cheap Grace
Do you remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the young German theologian? He was hanged on April 9, 1945, by a special order of Himmler at the concentration camp in Buechenwald. He wrote a little book that was read by many in the radical days of the late sixties when I was in college. It is called The Cost of Discipleship.
“We are sinners and the church is in great need of repentance and reform and cleansing.”
I bought it when I was a senior in 1967 and it cost me $1.45. I thank God when I look at my underlining in this book as a 21-year-old student in search of a Cause worth living for.
What Bonhoeffer attacks in his first essay in this book is this response to Micah’s preaching. He calls it “cheap grace.” Listen and see if this doesn’t ring true to Scripture and nail the problem of these people.
Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. (45)
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. (47)
Let the Christian rest content with his worldliness . . . Let him be comforted and rest assured in his possession of grace — for grace alone does everything. Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of his grace! That is what we mean by cheap grace. (47)
The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. (55)
Cheap grace was rampant in Micah’s day. It was rampant in Bonhoeffer’s day in Germany.
We Lutherans have gathered like eagles round the carcass of cheap grace, and there we have drunk of the poison which has killed the life of following Christ. (57)
And today it is rampant among evangelicals in America. And it is the wrong way to respond to the preaching of the prophet Micah. It is the wrong way to lean on grace. And if the church doesn’t change, there will be judgment — there was in Israel. And has there not been in the sterility of the European Protestant church? What the future holds for us and for the church in America is whether we learn the other way to respond to Micah’s preaching — the other way to lean on grace.
The Right Way: Bold Brokenness
That other way is what we were talking about at the beginning. It is the way of bold brokenness. In Micah 7:7–9 Israel has learned to respond the right way to the preaching of sin and judgment. It’s Israel talking in these verses (as we know from the feminine form of the pronoun “your” in verse 10 referring probably to the “daughter of Zion”).
Let me sum up the way of bold brokenness in four steps all taken from these verses.
- Experience Unshakable Solidarity with God
The way of bold brokenness begins with an unshakable solidarity with God. I get this from the last phrase in verse 7, “My God will hear me.” The words “my God” show that the right way to lean on grace is based on a deep unshakable union with God. This is what happens when a person turns from depending on self and begins to depend on God.
It’s what a traitor does when he makes up his mind to surrender to his rightful sovereign. He lays down his weapons of opposition, he accepts the pardon of the king, and then takes an oath of allegiance. From that day on he is the king’s subject and the king is his king. So the way of bold brokenness begins with this unshakable solidarity with God — he is my God!
- Accept Indignation When You Sin
The way of bold brokenness accepts the indignation when we sin against our King. We don’t minimize its ugliness. We don’t play down the terrible offense it is to God. We don’t say God can’t get angry at us. Instead we tremble at his displeasure. We are broken by our sin and contrite and remorseful.
“The way of bold brokenness begins with an unshakable solidarity with God.”
I get this from the first two lines of verse 9: “I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him.” I think this is one of the greatly needed hours in the church today — the hour when we sit quietly and humbly in the ashes of our guilt under the cloud of God’s disfavor and bear the indignation of the Lord in patience. (See Hebrews 12:5–11, 28–29; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Revelation 3:19; 1 Peter 1:17; Romans 11:20; Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22; Philippians 2:12.)
- Take Bold Confidence in the Grace of God
The way of bold brokenness never loses confidence in the grace of God but boldly believes that this very God of indignation will plead our cause and bring us from the darkness of judgment to the light of life. You can see this powerfully and boldly expressed in the next lines of verse 9.
I will bear his indignation
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me forth to the light, I shall behold his deliverance.
My darkness is the darkness of my sin and his indignation. But he himself will bring me forth to the light. He will be my deliverance. Look at the boldness of verse 8:
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
The difference between this and “cheap grace” is that sin is taken so seriously. There is a reprehensible fall. There is real and terrible indignation from God. There is a time in awful darkness. There is brokenness and contrition and remorse as we bear patiently the chastisement of our God. If this is missing from the Christian life, it becomes shallow and inauthentic.
“We scan the horizon constantly for his coming to help us.”
But in the ashes of our regret, the flame of boldness never goes out. It may flicker. But when Satan taunts us that we are finished, we lay hold on Micah’s sword and say, “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me . . . He will bring me forth to the light; I shall see his deliverance.”
- Look to God for Deliverance
Which brings to the last step in the way of bold brokenness. Since we believe that our God is our only hope — even the God who is angry at our sin — we look to him for deliverance. We scan the horizon constantly for his coming to help us. I get this from verse 7.
But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Call on Your God
My closing exhortation this morning is that when you sin, you bear the indignation of the Lord in brokenness, and that in this brokenness you boldly believe that this very God will plead your cause, and that you look to him and wait for him with this confidence: “My God will hear me.”
Can you call God your God this morning? Is there an unshakable solidarity between you and him? This is not inherited. It is chosen by an act of forsaking all other gods and swearing allegiance to the one true God, the Father of Jesus Christ. Choose ye this day whom you shall serve, says the prophet (Joshua 24:15). Let him break you. Let him bless you. Let him make you bold.
