May

27

I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again

Post Category: Authenticity 

I spent the holiday weekend without kids sleeping in something other than a hotel bed and was able to gain a little perspective. It seems that the kind of fresh perspective you need to make it through hard times comes best when you take a few steps back from the situation at hand. That was what I did this weekend with the help of our good friends and spiritual mentors.

One thing I try to do on this blog is be completely honest and transparent about what I’m thinking and feeling. Sometimes that comes in the form of posts like these. But I also try to be equally honest about my “ah ha!” moments. You know what I’m talking about. They’re the times when you’ve read the same verse 500 times but all of a sudden it jumps off the page and slaps you in the face. Like, so hard it leaves a big hand-print on your cheek.

That’s what happened this morning when I read this.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10,17-18)

I realized that I had a serious case of not being able to see the forest of God’s provision because I was focusing on the trees of my present circumstances. Every so often it helps to get a God’s-eye perspective on what you’re going through.

Do you remember those inflatable clowns we had when we were kids? They were weighted in the bottom so every time you punched that annoying clown face it would fall down to the ground and then in a second bounce right back up again. It’s that kind of persistence that keeps bouncing back up with a big grin on it’s face that those verses are talking about. No matter the circumstances, no matter the obstacles, no matter the frustration, we take hit after hit and keep bouncing back!

Or in the words of that song we all sang from the 90s,

I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never going to keep me down!

Yeah, I know. Now that song is going to be stuck in your head all day. You’re welcome.

Comments

9 Responses to “I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again”

  1. brandiandboys on May 27th, 2008 9:41 am

    Hey Brad,
    I was thinking about Lisa this weekend and this journey you are on. I am not sure if she has a Facebook page, but there is a group on there I am a part of for church planter’s wives. It might be helpful to give her a group of women who are going through her same season of life. Anyway…just thought I would pass it on. Feel free to give her my email.

    brandiandboyss last blog post..Why Do I Care?

  2. jason on May 27th, 2008 9:53 am

    Truth be told bro- I’m going through a similar journey right now.

    Keep on tubthumping.

    jasons last blog post..Art Alley in Downtown Rapid City

  3. Abbey on May 27th, 2008 10:54 am

    That’s a great perspective! Congrats. Pastor mentioned a couple of similar things in his sermon a couple of days ago–I’ll have to make sure to email my notes to you. It was so good!!

  4. Kelli Brownlee on May 27th, 2008 11:07 am

    Thank you for sharing. I needed to read this

    Kelli Brownlees last blog post..Who’s Who

  5. Aaron Jackson on May 27th, 2008 3:20 pm

    Great post, man. I totally agree. And also, thanks for the song reference. The last time I heard that was at a Quixtar conference…. good times, good times…..

  6. GregQualls on May 27th, 2008 3:50 pm

    Thanks for the post man…I love it when God gives us those “ah-ha” moments. My wife calls those holy-ground moments.

    On another note, you do know that song is talking about getting totally wasted yet still being able to get up and drink some more….still works in your context (kinda). Just most people don’t know that. Leave it to the beer guy to point something out like that.

    GregQuallss last blog post..Beer Tip of the Week - Episode 5 - The four flavors of beer.

  7. Brad Ruggles on May 27th, 2008 3:58 pm

    Greg - yeah, I knew that. I just figured the lyrics “I get knocked down but I get up again” fit better with this post than “pissing the night away.” :-)

    - Brad

  8. GregQualls' on May 27th, 2008 5:10 pm

    Speaking of “pissing the night away.” I think I just wet myself a little laughing so hard.

    GregQualls’s last blog post..Beer Tip of the Week - Episode 5 - The four flavors of beer.

  9. Kassie on May 28th, 2008 9:38 am

    Good post, Brad. Sometimes when we are in difficult circumstances it really IS hard to focus on the “not being crushed” part when we feel down. This was a very encouraging reminder for me this year. :) I will make sure my hubby reads it too.

    BTW, I just read this right before a staff meeting…so you KNOW what’s going to be going through my head for the next hour or so… “I get KNOCKED DOWN….” ;)

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