On one particularly boring Saturday morning, my roommate and I were hanging out in the school lobby trying to entertain ourselves. There was nothing special going on and most people had gone home for the weekend. A mutual friend approached us and asked if we wanted to go to a concert with her. We clearly had nothing else going on and jumped at the chance to go.
The concert was a few hours’ drive from the school and on the way, we found out more about the event. It was an outdoor festival featuring a band by the name of Superchic[k]. Now for those of you who are too young to remember, Superchic[k] was a Christian band in the early 2000s made up of two sisters and their closest guy friends. They were the epitome of pop rock and all its glory.
We also found out that our mutual friend knew the band personally and we were on the comp list to get into the festival for free. Not only did we not have to pay, but we met the band, their family, and played with their dogs. It was truly a great day.
What does this have to do with being brave? I’m glad you asked.
One of Superchic[k]’s biggest songs was “Get up”. Here are some of the lyrics:
I’m not afraid to fall
I’ve fallen many times
They laughed when I fell down
But I have dared to climb
I’m not afraid to fall
I know I’ll fall again
But I can win this in the end
If I get up I might fall back down again
So let’s get up come on
If I get up I might fall back down again
We get up anyway
Bravery is often built up to be a monumental event: standing up to a bully in the hallway, proclaiming to an agnostic instructor that you are a follower of Jesus, or openly supporting the pro-life candidate while all your friends support “reproductive rights.” But true bravery is often experienced in the small things, like simply getting back up when you fall down. Yes, you may have sinned sexually with that girl you had no business meeting. Yes, you may have watched something that shouldn’t have been viewed. Yes, you may have become pregnant due to a bad decision. You may have fallen, but you don’t have to stay down. Be brave. Get back up and dust yourself off. Proverbs 24:16 says “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…”
You can do this, and you don’t have to do this alone. There are people who can help: youth pastors, parents, godly counselors. The failure is not in falling, it is in staying down. Be brave and get back up again.
