How do I get back up?

Have you ever fallen flat on your face and had to get back up again? I have.

And let me tell you—there’s no cute way to do that. It’s humbling. Embarrassing. Painful. But it’s also where I’ve found Jesus the closest. Because when I fall, He doesn’t stand at a distance waiting for me to clean myself up—He gets down in the dirt with me and lifts me up again.

When things don’t go as planned, my flesh wants to throw a tantrum. I want to explode. But those are the moments when God leans in closest. He already knew I was going to trip. He already knew which of His kids would hit the ground and still rise again.

And just when I think I’ve completely wrecked it, God sends help—His people, His word, His Spirit—to make sure I don’t stay down. I’ve learned that when I fall, He sends an army to help me stand.

Sometimes it’s hard to wipe the mud off my face. Hard to face the fact that I’m human. Perfectionism is sneaky—it creeps in disguised as excellence. But God is calling me out of the wilderness. He’s calling me to greater things in the promise land. Sometimes growth comes with learning really hard lessons while making my way through the dark.

The Wilderness

Isaiah 40:3–8 says:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God…”

You know what word hit me? Wilderness.

That word isn’t poetic—it’s real. Wilderness means uncultivated, uninhabited, inhospitable. A neglected place. A place of disfavor.

That’s what it feels like when I’ve fallen and can’t quite find my footing. It feels cold, lonely, and endless. Like I’m chasing my tail wondering, how did I end up here again?

But then the Spirit whispers—“You are my daughter. Readjust that crown.”

In the wilderness, God doesn’t disappear. He prepares a highway. Every crooked place, He straightens. Every rough place, He smooths. Every valley, He lifts. Every mountain, He humbles. He’s building a road for glory to be revealed—even in the dust.

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Megan’s Translation

“The voice of one crying in the neglected, abandoned place of disfavor:
Make ready the way of the Lord;
Make straight a path in the desert for our God.
Every valley will rise, every mountain bow low,
And every rough place will be made calm.
The glory of the Lord will be seen—together, in unity—
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

I’m convinced that the wilderness is where I’m stuck thinking about me. That’s where my pity parties happen. In the wilderness. That’s where destruction takes place in my spirit and in my mind. That’s where the enemy reigns and God’s Spirit is always the voice crying in the wilderness saying cry out – declare what is written. Now is the time to step out of the darkness and into His marvelous light. To put off the old former things.

What are my former things? A perfectionist. She has to die. A slave. She has to die too. See these old biddies come around to steal my joy. The perfectionist lies saying I’m not good enough. I didn’t try hard enough. I am not enough. And the slave lies saying nothing will change no matter what I do. Poor me. I’m just doomed to be chained here forever.

See the Bible declares that my enemies are spiritual. If that’s the case – then that means that despite what I think, or anyone else thinks – despite what anyone does or what I do – there is an influence behind these feelings and to fight my way out of that place I must recognize the thief that is behind the lies.

Jesus said to His disciples lift up your eyes. Why? Because if I stay here looking around at all this wilderness and listening to the noise of the enemy then I will be destroyed.

BUT GOD. God has given me every weapon needed to win this spiritual war. I have the tools, I have His word, I have salvation, I have the Blood of Jesus, I have the Victory. I just have to be willing to tune my ears to the voice crying out in the wilderness calling me to the higher place where the road is straight and the path is smooth. When I tune in to His voice – all of a sudden that narrow road is so clear and I can see outside of myself. I can see the light leading the way out of this mess of disfavor and there is hope. Hope that no matter how lost I get, the shepherd knows where to find His sheep.

I understand why Paul says:

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:31-39

No matter how far I fall – God will find me. There are no boundaries in His love. There is nothing that can separate me from my God. I didn’t earn this love and I can’t lose it. When all is said and done, the beauty is in falling on my face and knowing that God is able to make me stand. There is such a peace in knowing that though I might find myself wandering, I am accepted, and I am loved. But my favorite part is that God is such a loving father and when I cry out to Him, I realize, He was already there. He knew that I was about to faceplant, and He already had my comeback planned. My steps are ordered. He’s the God who tells the sun when to rise and I belong to Him. I love belonging to Him. I love that because as I grow and learn to trust Him – He reveals to me all the times that He has orchestrated my comeback.

There is so much freedom when you understand how much God loves you.

I hope that if you ever find yourself in a faceplant – you take a moment to listen for the voice crying out in the wilderness telling you to let love in. He desires an expressway right to your heart. So He can come in and just love you back to health.