PASTOR’S CORNER: Don’t stay down in 2025

No matter the reason, we fall and experience failure in life. But somebody said, “We’re not meant to live in defeat, shame or regret.”

Remember that and we can put this in our pipe and smoke it no matter where we are right now, how deep the hole or messy things may be right now.

Knocked down? Sure! Stumbled? You bet! Stunned? Oh, my Lord! Blindsided? What are you talking about?

But remember, regardless of what knocks us down, we are not meant to live in defeat, shame or regret. Don’t stay down. Life is too short and time is winding away. We don’t have time to keep beating ourselves up or crying over spilled milk. Before we go any further, the name of the game is “Don’t stay down!”

This is a fighter’s mentality, which if we are going to survive, we are going to have to have. There is no quit in my game, meaning that this year, I pledge to not stay down.

Falling is a part of life. We learn that at an early age; when we first start to walk, we fall, many times, but each time the child falls, they immediately rise. They get back up. How else are they going to learn how to walk if they don’t fall?

Many of us in our quest to better ourselves will admit that we failed many times in our attempt to accomplish something. Those who have tried to kick bad habits, and make New Year’s resolutions will admit that it is not always easy to follow through. But, those who have succeeded will tell us that oftentimes they fell off the wagon, but they got back up, tried again, and then succeeded. If they would have stayed down, they would not have won the battle.

I watch the weight loss commercials on television. They all promise to be the best weight loss product, guaranteeing that you will lose weight. Many who have tried them discovered that they are not what they promised to be but those who have succeeded and lost weight will share that they failed year after year. They fell many times but with new resolve, they kept getting back up. They didn’t stay down.

Somebody said, “Can’t nothing make a fail but a try.” A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins!

In the world of sports, those who win the Super Bowl, NBA championship or the World Series have often lost in their attempts to win. The one that lost has to get back up and try again the next year.

Community, the boxer gets knocked down, sometimes many times. His trainers holler and encourage him to get up before he is counted out. Sometimes he gets knocked out. He must regroup, go back into training and come back stronger than ever before. He can’t stay down!

Community, we are in spiritual conflict. We live in human bodies. We fight an enemy who is invisible and relentless in his attempt to bring us down. In fact, he walks around as a roaring lion looking for every opportunity to trip us up, slice us to pieces, and hang us out to dry (1 Peter 5:8). When we fall he puts us in a choke hold to take us out.

We will fall in 2025 in some way or another. I’m not speaking this to somebody but to encourage somebody. If you are down, if you have already stumbled out the gate in 2025 you are not out, get back up and try again!

In Christ Jesus, we are all winners! You heard that right here. If Jesus is your Lord and savior the battle has already been won for you. There are no losers in this army. The Bible says “The just man falls seven times, but he rises again (Proverbs 24:16). The psalmist said “Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down” (Psalms 37:24).

Friends, figure skaters learn that when they fall to get back up quickly. They don’t stay down. Boxers who get knocked down in the ring find the strength to get back up and fight on. They don’t stay down. Olympic stars testify that in their quest to win the gold medal, they often failed and were knocked down many times by disappointment, but they didn’t stay down. Tiger Woods has fallen, made mistakes, got in a car accident, but he didn’t stay down. Michael Jordan who was cut from his high school basketball team during his sophomore year, was told that he was not good enough to play on the varsity team was knocked down, but he got back up and among other things, he has won back to back to back NBA championships twice. We know the story.

The Philadelphia Eagles got knocked down last year, but they got back up and look at where they are this year; but the greatest comeback happened 2,000 years ago. Our blessed savior was knocked down on a hill called Calvary. They did their worst to him. They scorned him, ridiculed him, spit on him, slapped him, hit him with their fist, crucified him and put him DOWN in a borrowed tomb.

Church, he was down! But somebody knows that he didn’t stay down (help me preach). Bright and early Sunday morning, before the rooster crowed he got back up again, defeated death and the grave.

Church we were not meant to live in defeat, shame or regret. In 2025 don’t stay down! Get back up, get in the game, and with your hands in the air, fight on!

Don’t stay down!