Down But Not Defeated

By this I know that you delight in me;

My enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

Psalm 41:11 (ESV)

My dad used to tell the story about a father who told his young son to sit down but the boy wouldn’t sit. The father told him a second time, “Sit down.” The boy still didn’t obey. Finally, the father took him by the shoulders and forced him down in his seat. The little boy answered, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!”

While this boy’s statement was meant as a rebellious retort, it’s one you and I can use when the enemy trips us up. Though we may fall down, inside we are still standing.

Micah echoed King David when he stated, “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (Micah 7:8). In other words, you can push me down but you will not be given the chance to cry ‘victory’ because the LORD will pull me back up again.  You can lock me up in a dark place but the LORD will be the light that chases away the darkness – because God delights in me.

You and I will face seasons when we get knocked down again and again. That’s life. What should give us concern is when we get knocked down and we stay down. Never give up the struggle. Never settle for down. God has already declared you a victor in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).