Get Back Up

Did you know that Thomas Edison tried over 200 different elements before he figured out what was the right element to use in the light bulb? And in 21 years, baseball great Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs but he struck out 1330 times? He struck out nearly twice as often as he hit a home run. He once said, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from taking a swing.”

John Creasy, a famous novelist in England, got 753 rejection slips from publishers before he published his first book. He went on to publish 564 books. Can you imagine the persistence? And R.P. Macy failed seven times as an entrepreneur in retailing before he started Macy’s department store.

The Bible is filled with stories of those who failed during a season of their lives, but got back up and refused to quit. From Moses to Joshua to Esther to Paul—they all made their share of mistakes, but they continued on in perseverance. They refused to quit. Paul the apostle says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7 NIV). Notice the progression in this verse. When God calls us to start, He will see us through to the finish, but there is always a fight until the end! Sometimes our greatest act of spiritual warfare is simply to not quit.

Let’s not waste our mistakes, but learn from them. Then we purpose in our hearts to not to do it that way again. The God who has begun the good work in our lives will see us through until completion (Philippians 1:6). We can trust Him! So get back up and refuse to look back. Today is a new day.

On a personal note, I am writing this from the Washington-Dulles Airport on my way to Europe to minister at a conference in Ireland this weekend. And the real blessing is that I am taking this trip with my daughter Leticia. I am a blessed man!