The Righteous Rise

The author of the ancient Proverbs spoke not only great words of profound wisdom, but regularly exercised brilliant insight into the day to day reality of life. One of those insights is found in Proverbs 24:16.

“For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”

As this Proverb is considered we must ask ourselves what is it about the righteous that motivates them to rise even after repeated failures. At least four things could be noted in that regard.

First, the righteous understand that they are not on this spiritual journey alone. Their very standing as righteous is an outgrowth of the fact that they have placed their trust, confidence, and lives to the hands of One who promises to never leave them.

Secondly, they know that God is far more concerned with the ultimate outcome of their journey than the momentary setbacks, failures, or shortcomings. God is committed to working for them a “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” not just a life of ease, accomplishment, and blissful circumstances. He is working to transform them into the likeness of His Son and that cannot happen without occasional lessons learned only in failure.

Thirdly, they rise again because they understand that their ultimate victory is dependant not upon their goodness or strength, but in Christ alone. And so their failure, they recognize, has nothing to do with God’s failure to keep them, but their foolish transition from God-confidence to self-confidence. So aware of their folly, they rise again in the strength of the Lord.

Finally, they rise because resurrection is part of their confession. At the very heart of the Christian belief is an awareness of the power of God. He calls those things that are not as though they were and gives life to the dead. And so, their fallen position is not permanent. In the power of the risen Christ they rise again, hand to the plow, hearts more thoroughly cleansed, and eyes more completely fixed on the prize set before them.