There was once an Olympic runner who tripped right out of the starting gate. As the world watched this top medal contender tumble, I held my breath to see if the Olympian would get up, finish the race, and run against the odds.

To my astonishment, the world-class athlete just stayed on the ground, slapped their hand repeatedly on the track, and began to cry. All the while, I’m yelling at the TV, “Get up! RUN!” But it never happened.

In life, we have a lot of things that try to trip us up and keep us down. So, as a result, we, like this Olympian, just lay there crying, slapping the ground, and accepting defeat. But that’s not the way God wants it.

Proverbs 24:15-16 says, “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”

Throughout scripture, God teaches us to get up and run instead of lying there, taking it from the enemy and feeling sorry for ourselves.

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith.” God never intended or purposed for you to stay down.

Maybe you’re beaten down today, and you feel like the enemy is keeping you there. Then, it’s time to rise!

Here are three steps to take that will help you get up from what’s beating you down.

You must look up.

No one looks down when their face is in the ground. Instead, you look up because it orients you to where you are and where you need to go. 

If you’re down, you must look up to God.

Jesus said when things in the world or your life begin to get bad; you need to “stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:25-28)

You must friend up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says that “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

People who try to go it alone should be pitied. Do you know why? It’s because God never intended you to be a loner dealing with the struggles of life all by yourself. It’s contrary to his design.

That’s why Romans 12:4-5 tells us that “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

You must speak up.

My dad recently had a major fall off of a ladder. It broke his nose, wrist, three ribs and gave him a major concussion. It was bad.

As we chatted on the phone while he was in the hospital, he said, “Zac, God has given me lots of opportunities to witness for him while I’m in the hospital. I’ve just been telling all the nurses and doctors how God sees us through.”

Wow! What a great attitude! While others might lay there, cry, and slap the ground, my dad is speaking up for the goodness of God even in his pain.

It’s precisely what Psalm 107:1-3 tells us to do when it says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.”

The faster you start telling your story of God’s goodness, the faster you will get up off the ground you’ve been lying on.

It’s time to rise!

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