When You've Fallen and You Can't Get Up



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"My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber."

Psalm 121:2-3

"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!®"

We've all seen that popular commercial for Life Alert® - that handy device that alerts the authorities when a senior adult is in danger or needs their assistance. Those devices save lives when used properly, but for some seniors their forgetfulness or pride hinders them. Sometimes it's both.

Forgetfulness can be helped with helpful reminders and repetition. We can strategically place notes around the house, reminding them to wear those devices. But pride? Now that's all together different. There are no reminders we can place on their night stand or taped to their bathroom mirror that cures pride.

At eighty years young, many seniors want nothing more than their independence. Bravo to those who are healthy enough to maintain that, but for those who cannot, pride is tougher to combat. I've witnessed this so many times within and outside our family ties. Whether it be a foot that slips or their memory, seniors tend to hide. They'd rather stay where they are, marked-up and needy, than push a button on their Life Alert® or the phone and admit they need help. Eventually, someone finds them calling, "Olly, Olly oxen free!" Game over.

Isn't that the way we are with God, too? Senior or not, when we slip up in our faith walk, our pride gets the best f us and we hide from God. Instead of hitting that Life Alert button called prayer, we run away and hide. Oh, I don't mean we run into the closet or crawl under the bed, be we still hide. We choose to sleep in instead of rising early and spending time in prayer. We ignore our Bibles on the nightstand for days or we skip church until our conscience clears.

Maybe we don't hide in such obvious ways. For some of us, we might go through the motions of prayer, reading God's Word, or attending worship services, but we choose to ignore our wrong doing; we pretend it didn't happen. We think, in time, we can forget about it and move forward.

Funny thing though, unless we do confess our sins, we don't move forward. We stay stuck because we're expending too much energy on hiding.

If we've fallen and we want to get up what should we do? Hit the button on your spiritual Life Alert®:

• Call out to God in prayer - He's always on high alert, waiting to hear from you
• Admit your wrong doing and confess it - Jesus came to save, not condemn
• Ask forgiveness from God and any opposing party- it leads to freedom
• Seek a Godly accountability partner to help you walk through this, if necessary -we're not meant to live life alone
• Surround yourself with a community of faith - where two or more are gathered in His name, God shows up

We all slip and fall and need help sometimes. God, our Creator and Maker of heaven and earth, the one who never slumbers waits for us with open arms and a grace-filled heart. No need to hide.