For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again Proverbs 24: 16a, NKJV
Heavenly Father, how we rejoice in the knowledge that underneath us are the everlasting arms to lift us when we fall. Thank You Lord! Amen
This is such an encouraging promise! Those who love the Lord, though we fall, we do not stay down. For the LORD Himself lifts us up!
There are many rehabilitation programs. A really effective program is expected to lift up the person who has fallen; it is expected to put him or her back on his or her feet, and help them, to once again, find their place in society. It will help to restore what was lost, and help the person to develop new skills to be able to “cope” with the pressures of life that caused their fall in the first place. It will supply a support group or individual to whom the person will be accountable.
Lift up. One sure way of lifting someone who is fallen, is from the inside-out. We have to start with their mindset. Values and truths must be internalized. “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head” (Psalm 3: 3). When our thoughts are lifted up and placed “on things above, and not on things on the earth,” (Colossians 3: 2) we will be “transformed by the renewing of [our] minds [and be able to] prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12: 2).
Put them back on their feet. When you fall and you feel that you will never be able to stand on your own two feet again just remember the words of the psalmist: “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Psalm 40: 2)!
Find their place in society. Sometimes after you have been down and out, the only way to regain your status is by starting over with a new identity. In Christ, this is what naturally takes place. His word tells us: “Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6: 4).
Restore what was lost. Everything that we lost when we fell will be restored. David said “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23: 3). And Joel prophesied about it this way: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2: 25)! The gospel message is all about restoration!
The coping skills that you need come from having the Holy Spirit in your life. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5: 22, 23).
A support group that provides accountability. “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself” (Romans 14: 7). Therefore, let us “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6: 2).
With a six step rehabilitation program such as this, we may fall down, but by God’s grace, we will get up!