"We lose our way, we get back up again, it’s never too late to get back up again / one day, your gonna shine again, you may be knocked down, but not out forever.”
"Get Back Up" by tobyMac, from the album, Tonight

There are many popular sayings about never giving up. “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.” “If you fall off the horse, you’ve got to get back on.” While most of us may not ride horses, the principle of never giving up still stays the same.

I think of all the things athletes go through while training for their sports. How many times does a football player get hit and miss a touchdown? How many times will a baseball player strike out and blow the game for his team? There are many times when they might miss the mark, even if it’s just by a little bit, but it’s in those times where they can sit down and feel sorry for themselves or review the mistakes they’ve made and learn how to remedy them. They train harder, review tapes, study strategies and hone skills. As a result, they get better.

When you fall down, it’s easy to give up and just stay put, but you will never grow if you do. It’s only when you pick yourself up and dust off the mistakes that you have another chance to sharpen your skills.

So often you will read in the Bible about what it means to “take up the whole armor of God,” and “to run the race.” You read all these references to our lives as Christians that compare us to athletes. And in a way, we are. It says in Hebrews 12:1, “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Our lives are compared in this verse to the scale of a marathon runner--someone who trains, prepares and when put to the test, can blow everyone away by their strength in the race.

In the middle of the race, there are times when something unexpected might happen. For example, the runner will fall. When this happens, spectators will sit back and watch to see if the runner will get back up and finish the race, or if he or she will crack and stay down on the ground, unable to go any further.

Far too often in life, I see people choose to get up and finish the race at hand. People can tend to become very apathetic. You’ll hear them say things like, “God can’t forgive me for all the things I’ve done,” or “I’m not good enough for Him.” These are some of the biggest lies that anyone could ever buy into.

One example of someone who got back up after a loss is the apostle Peter. After he denied Jesus three times, just as the Lord said he would, he realized what he’d done and ran away in shame. Yet this is the same man who then went on to preach to thousands and afterward, countless people came to know Jesus as Lord. How did this happen? Was it because Peter was a convincing liar? Was it because he said none of it ever happened so that people would come into the church? No!

Peter is the perfect example of a man who fell, but also, a man who refused to stay knocked down.

It could have been very easy for Peter to walk around and sulk for the rest of his life, going back to his job as a fisherman and wondering what his life could have been like if he’d only just admitted to knowing Jesus that night. You see, Peter didn’t stay on the floor after the fall, he refused to let the guilt weigh on him and keep him down. He repented, moved on, and learned what it meant to become strong in the Lord, unashamed to speak His name.

I love the line in “Get Back Up” that says you may be knocked down, but not out forever. Have there been times when you’ve blown it? Probably. But it is in those times we need to make the decision, “am I going to stay here, or am I going to get back up and go at this thing again?”

Maybe you currently find yourself in that place where you’ve done some stuff your not proud of. I’m asking you to get back up right now. It is not too late for you to stand up again. Shame, guilt, apathy and regret are all things that are not meant for us. It says in Romans 8 that there is not one thing in the whole world that can separate us from the love of God. This is a reminder that grace and forgiveness are gifts open to all who chose to take them.

The bridge of “Tonight” says this is love calling out to the broken. God is calling out to you in this very moment. He is telling you He loves you. His desire for you is to be all that you are meant to be. To not be someone who is weighed down by the baggage of their past, but someone who is running in freedom towards their God-given future.

God’s love for us is so overwhelming and amazing. He will take us back, dust us off and show us where to run from that point on. It just shows that He believes that we can finish any race we start.