Seven Times

"Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwellings of the righteous, do not plunder his resting place; for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity."  -Proverbs 24:15-16

As I read these verses in my Quiet Time today, I was drawn to "a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again..." My first thought was, Amen, story of my life summed up in a verse.  My next thought was, Well, what happens on the eighth time and how close am I to eight?  I feel like I keep getting knocked down and each time it gets a little harder and longer to get back up.  Sometimes I feel like a baby giraffe and God is the momma.  I feel like He keeps kicking me down so that I can stand up, just to get kicked down again.  But for this example to work, I need to let it play all the way out.  The momma giraffe has to do that to build the baby's leg muscles because there's a lot of predators in the safari, likewise there are many predators at work in my life (i.e. the devil and all of his followers).  They'd want nothing more than to devour me.  Yet, I will work my best to stand strong against them.  Another funny thing about the wilderness is that often you are told, when confronted with a predator, you should make yourself bigger or in some way stand up to it; the worst thing for you to do is to run away from it.  This is because predators are often faster and have more endurance than we do.  Likewise it is better for us to stand up against the temptations placed in front of us, which are only there to destroy us, rather than to run from them and run from the Truth that gives us the strength to fight.  Standing against Satan and the temptations he's placed in front of us makes us stronger and gives us power through Christ.  For Christ's strength is made perfect in our weakness, in our vulnerability.

As I read the Proverb's verses again as I wrote them in my journal, the thought occurred to me, what if 'seven times' does not mean seven times at all, but rather 'every day'?  Even if the righteous were to fall every day, he will be able to rise again.  This is because of the strength God has given us, which is made perfect in our weakness.  The wicked do not have this strength and will not be able to get up in the day of calamity.  Lord, even if I fall every day, let me rise again; for when I am weak, then I am strong.