Sometimes you have no other choice but to prop yourself up. Just like a teddy bear that got a little bit off balance on it’s side and needs to be sat up and propped up a wee bit again. This is what happens to us when we try to sit up for a long time and pretend everything is A-Okay, but we’re not. We start to lean on the side a little bit and get off our goals and get sidetracked. We want to keep going but we don’t. We keep getting either distracted or discouraged in accomplishing our goals. Some of us get really discouraged and want to just lie down. I get that totally. We don’t even want to get propped up, we just want to be left alone. But we know in our hearts, if we want to make it to the end we need to get back up and get going. We can’t let discouragements get us down. We can’t have the things of this world detour us from our goals. We need to get back on the road again and get propped up again. We need to get back to the right thinking, the right attitude. There’s nothing wrong with that. Even the scriptures have a word of encouragement for us on this. Proverbs states,
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” {Proverbs 24:16}
Basically speaking, it’s okay to fall or fail, even if you fail more than seven times in a day. The key thing is in not quitting. Quitting is where you’ve chosen to lose. Falling off or getting sidetracked doesn’t mean we’re losing. Falling just shows we’re trying, we’re working towards something. It’s okay to fail and it’s okay to get discouraged. We might get sidetracked seven times in a day, but the important thing is getting back on the right track again and again no matter how many times we get off it. Reward yourself when you find yourself doing the right things. Praise and thank the Lord for it too because all the glory and praise belongs to Him. Praising Him will get you catapulted to another level of victory. It truly is amazing what praising God can do when we choose to do this instead of accepting defeat and throwing a fit about it. I’ve found again and again that praise ushers in victory and chases the clouds of discouragements away. Every time you fall, say I’m going to get up again, I’m going to prop myself up again. I’m going to praise the Lord. I’m going to encourage myself in the Lord. I’m going to push myself by gaining another mile even if everyone else has gone on ten miles ahead of me. As long as we don’t give up, we win.
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” {Ecclesiastes 9:11}
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” {Matthew 24:13}
The key is in keeping our eyes on our goals, not on our failures and our inability to stay focused. The problem is that a lot of us focus on our failures instead of our accomplishments. Obviously this is not good. It only keeps us from moving on. Because in focusing on our failures we get ourselves thinking that is all we’ve accomplished, that is all we’re going to end up doing. But if we keep our eyes on the many times we won or on what we’ve accomplished, then our mind will react to it and our spirit will prop us up to get something done. It will keep us going, instead of keeping us from doing what we need to do. We will not be discouraged, rather we will be fired up to do more. Apostle Paul stated it this way,
“…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” {Philippians 3:13-14}
He is keeping his eyes on his goals not on his failures.
But the most important element in getting ourselves propped up again is getting the Lord involved in our goals. After all, He is the one that can get us promoted and elevated in this life. He also very much desires for us to be successful as well. The key thing with Him though is in doing what He desires for us to do – getting Him involved in our desires. If we only set goals for ourselves and don’t give the Lord a say in them, then it doesn’t matter in the end what our goals are. We’re going to end up losing them. What have we gained if we end up losing everything? Jesus Christ said if we lose everything for His name’s sake we actually will end up gaining everything. So in truth, a part of winning in this life is working towards the goals that matter to God, not just for ourselves. We must have the Lord’s goals in mind at all times so that even if we feel like we’re failing, we will win in the end because we can be rest assured that if God is for us who can be against us? With Him helping us we’re guaranteed to win. He knows how to prop us back up again, He knows how to keep us going, and He knows how to help us when we have lost hope and strength. As long as we keep our hearts and our minds set on Him we will win.
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” {Psalm 34:19}
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” {Luke 9:24}
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” {Romans 8:31}
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” {Isaiah 26:3}
Prayer
Father, I thank You that You never get discouraged or get weak. You are always strong. I thank You that Your love is faithful for me until the end, and that no matter what happens to me and how much I need Your help You are always able to meet me. You will never run out of resources and strength because You are the great Creator of all things. You can speak things into existence. You are my beginning and my ending. The Alpha and the Omega. There is nothing too hard with You. Whatever I need in this life I can always find it in You. I thank You, Jesus for Your great love for me and Your great sacrifice for me at the cross because through You I can overcome today whatever I am facing.
Lord Jesus, I pray for Your grace upon me, to help me encourage myself in You today. Keep my eyes upon You and help me focus on your desires and your goals in this life. The world might distract me a hundred times in a day and get me discouraged on my path of righteousness with You, but please Savior, help me not to ever give up. You are faithful. You will be there. If I only remember to bring my thoughts and my desires to You I will be all right again. Please, Jesus, will You help me? Will you help me get propped up again on the right path with You? Help me to keep fighting in my love for You until the end. I pray all these things in Your most wonderful and lovely name, Jesus. I thank You, Father. Amen.
Image by Javier Campos from Pixabay
Rp9/2017
