“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” — Psalm 40:2
Last time we talked about how the righteous fall, but they rise again.
But what about the days when rising feels impossible?
What about the person who has been carrying grief for years?
The one whose anxiety won’t let go.
The one who made the mistake they swore they’d never make again.
The one who has prayed the same prayer over and over, but still feels exhausted.
Sometimes life doesn’t just knock us down.
It leaves us wondering if we have enough strength to stand again.
Maybe that’s where you’ve been.
If so, I want you to notice something about Psalm 40.
David doesn’t say, “I climbed out of the pit.”
He says, “He lifted me out.”
That’s a huge difference.
We often imagine faith as God standing at the top of the pit shouting instructions.
“Come on! You can do it!”
But that’s not the picture Scripture gives us.
God climbs into the pit with us.
He reaches down.
He takes hold of us.
And He lifts us out.
That’s grace.
Sometimes we have the strength to take another step.
Sometimes we don’t.
Either way, God remains faithful.
Think about a father walking with his toddler.
The child stumbles.
The father doesn’t stand back with crossed arms and say, “Try harder.”
He reaches down.
He steadies the child.
Sometimes he picks the child up altogether.
The child may think he’s holding onto his father’s hand.
In reality…
The father has never stopped holding onto the child.
Isn’t that what Jude says?
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling…”
Notice the focus.
Not on your strength.
Not on your determination.
Not on your ability to hold on.
The focus is on the One who is holding you.
There will be seasons when your prayers feel weak.
When your faith feels small.
When worship feels forced.
When simply getting out of bed feels like a victory.
Don’t mistake weakness for abandonment.
God is often doing His deepest work in the moments when you feel least capable.
Paul discovered this firsthand. Three times he pleaded with God to remove his thorn in the flesh. God’s answer wasn’t immediate relief. It was something better:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
That’s backwards from the way we usually think.
We assume God works best through our strength.
God says His power shines brightest in our weakness.
So what if today you can’t get back up?
Then don’t.
Let God pick you up.
Let Him carry what you can’t.
Let Him strengthen what has grown weak.
Because the goal has never been proving how resilient you are.
The goal is learning how faithful He is.
One day you’ll stand again.
One day you’ll look back and realize you didn’t survive because you found another ounce of strength.
You survived because God never loosened His grip.
So if today you can’t get back up…
Don’t lose heart.
Your Father knows exactly where you are.
And if you can’t stand today…
Rest in the hands that have never let go.
Because before you ever reached for Him…
He was already reaching for you.
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