“Get Back Up”

 “Get Back Up”

Proverbs 24:16 — “For the righteous falls seven times, but they rise again.”

Let us pray.

I’ve got a confession to make: I mess up sometimes.

I know that’s shocking!

I fall short. I slip…

But you know what? I do not stay down.

Not because I’m strong — but because God pulls me up when I cannot pull myself up.

Yes, life is hard. And I am weak.

But God — God is strong.

So this message today isn’t for those who don’t mess up.

It isn’t for those who’ve got it all figured out.

It’s for those still fighting, still falling, still trying to crawl out of the pit.

I want you to know something: God is not done with you yet.

Do you hear me? He — is — not — done.

Say it: “God is not done with me.”

We all fall. If anyone says they do not, they are lying.

Romans 3:23 — “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

That includes me. That includes you. That includes preachers, pastors, your mother, your idol — everybody.

But the question is — do you stay down?

Some of you fell and built a house there.

You decorated your defeat. You gave up too soon.

You let shame become your address.

But that is not your home. That is just a pit stop.

Do you know what a pit stop is?

It’s a quick stop to change your tires.

When we fall, we just need to make a pit stop.

That is not your final chapter.

Do you hear me? You are not your sin.

You are not your mistake.

You are a story God is still writing.

Every scar has a sermon.

Every wound has a witness.

Every fall has a rise in it.

I’ve been there. Rock bottom.

Where the light does not reach.

Where hope feels lost.

I’ve stuck a gun in my mouth.

I took a razor across my wrist.

I sat on the edge of a bridge.

Where you cry so much your tears run dry.

But sometimes God has to let you hit the bottom

so you finally realize — He is the rock down there.

You tried everybody else.

Friends failed you.

Family forgot you.

Money couldn’t fix you.

But God — He was there with you in the dark,

saying, “I’ll be here when you’re done running.”

Psalm 34:18 says,

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.”

Are you broken? Good. Now He can build.

Are you crushed? Good. Now He can make you whole.

See, God does His best work with broken pieces.

He builds beauty out of busted hearts.

Let’s be real — the devil doesn’t care that you fell.

He cares that you stay down.

He whispers in your ear,

“God is done with you.”

“People won’t forgive you.”

“You’re too far gone.”

Lies. All lies.

He’s afraid of your comeback.

He’s afraid of your redemption story.

That’s why he attacks right after you fall —

because he knows the moment you stand again, you become dangerous.

You think your past disqualifies you.

But it actually qualifies you.

Now you know sin is not just some church word —

it’s real. You lived it. You felt it. You know its consequences.

The pain it causes. The division it creates.

Some of the realest followers of God had the ugliest pasts.

Some of the strongest warriors have been through the darkest nights.

Let me tell you something —

God is saying, “Get back up.”

John 5:8 — “Jesus told the man lying by the pool, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.’”

That man had been down for 38 years.

Stuck. Hopeless. Waiting for help.

But when the Messiah spoke — He got up.

He didn’t say, “Crawl.”

He didn’t say, “Think about it.”

He said, “GET UP.”

That is the word today: Get — up.

You fell into sin? Get up.

You lost your way? Get up.

You feel unworthy? Get up.

You need to understand something: God’s for you.

He is never against you.

He desires for all to be saved.

He will never leave or forsake you.

If I as a father want only the best for my children —

and regardless of what they do, I will always love them and be there for them —

how much more will our heavenly Father do these things?

Yes, you don’t deserve it.

You deserve His wrath.

You deserve for Him to turn His face away from you.

But God can’t do that. You know why?

Because God is love.

Now don’t get me wrong —

you can push God away and reject Him.

And then He has no choice but to turn His face from you.

That’s free will.

But if you haven’t rejected Him,

then He is still there — willing and able.

And instead of receiving what you deserve,

you get what you don’t deserve.

See, that’s the definition of grace:

Getting what you don’t deserve.

Grace is not a place you earn — it’s a place you stand in.

You might be limping. You might be bleeding.

But you keep moving. You keep rising. You keep fighting.

David fell. But he got up.

Peter denied the Messiah. But he got up.

Paul persecuted believers. But he got up.

They all fell short — but God lifted them back up.

That is the pattern:

Fall → Repent → Rise → Repeat.

Grace is not a one-time thing.

It is a lifestyle. It is the air we breathe.

You are not falling out of grace —

you are falling into it.

The same blood that saved you still cleanses you.

The same cross that forgave you still frees you.

Some people will remind you of your fall.

Let them talk. They’re not God.

They saw your fall, but they didn’t see your fight.

They saw your failure, but they missed your tears.

They saw your mistake, but they didn’t see your midnight prayers.

Tell them:

“I am not who I used to be,

but I am not yet who I am going to be.”

God is still writing.

The pen has not left His hand.

The thing that tried to kill you —

God will use to heal somebody else.

The storm that broke you —

will build someone else’s faith.

The chains that held you —

you will use to break others free.

Romans 8:28 — “All things work together for good to those who love God.”

That means even the bad stuff. Even the tears. Even the losses.

There is no wasted pain in God’s plan.

If you survived it — you have a testimony in it.

Sometimes, God lets you fall to prepare.

You’re God’s seed.

A seed — before it grows — is buried. Covered. Forgotten.

But deep under the dirt — it is becoming something.

That is you.

You are not dead — you are buried.

You are not finished — you are forming.

You are not lost — you are in process.

And when God says, “Rise, my child,”

the same people who buried you will have to watch you bloom.

God said, “I am going to prepare a table for you before your enemies.”

But getting up once is not enough.

You have to keep getting up.

Every day is a battle.

Every temptation is a test.

Every fall has a comeback.

Every loss has a lesson.

Every tear has a reason.

So when you fall again — and you will —

don’t hide from God. Run to Him.

He’s not angry — He is merciful.

You are His child, not His project.

You are His son, not His statistic.

You are His daughter, not His disappointment.

The devil tried to break you,

but all he did was train you.

He tried to bury you,

but all he did was plant you.

Now watch God make you grow.

You will be stronger, speak louder, love deeper, and be better than ever before.

I don’t know what you all are going through —

but I know what you are going through.

Does that make sense?

Get back up…