“I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again”

 

                 Several years ago, the band Chumbawamba (Yes…that is the band’s actual name), released a song that had some very catchy lyrics.  The song was entitled, “Tubthumping” (Yes…that is the song’s actual title).  Now, I cannot endorse the language of the song, nor can I endorse what the song is encouraging, however, there is one phase that just keeps getting repeated over and over and over, “I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down.  I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down.”  Although that song has absolutely nothing to do with Paul, I can’t help but think of it when I read Acts 14.  A mob of people had followed Paul and Barnabas from Antioch and Iconium to Lystra.  These men and women had not liked what Paul had to say, so they wanted to do something about it.  They dragged Paul outside the city and stoned him.  The Bible said that they left him there “supposing him to be dead” (Acts 14.19).  In my opinion, I believe Paul was dead when they left him.  However, God was not done with Paul and I think he brought him back to life.  When the disciples gathered around him, he just got right back up and entered the city preaching the same Gospel he had preached before.  This was not the first, nor will it be the last time, Paul is persecuted for righteousness sake.  Yet when he is knocked down, he gets right back up again.  He isn’t going to let anyone keep him down.  How many of us give up too quickly when we face opposition?  Remember how the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again!”. We will all be knocked down as we live out our Christian life, but what matters is that we keep getting right back up again.  We cannot afford to allow Satan, or anyone else, to keep us down.