16 Though a righteous person falls seven times,
he will get up,
but the wicked will stumble into ruin. (Proverbs 24:16 CSB)

We all fall short and sin. We all make mistakes. We all fall on hard times.

But as I have told my kids, ”The measure of a man is not how many times he falls, it is how many times he gets up.”

There are times when I feel like I am stumbling through this life. This has gotten better with age and perspective. Many of the things that caused me to stumble in the past no longer do. I can chalk that up to wisdom I guess. Probably more the fact that I face planted enough in life to learn another of life’s little axioms, ”Pain retains”.

I have never been able to see myself as a righteous person, but too, I do not believe I am wicked. And, I have tried to work on the wicked parts that are there. I try.

But for those who seem to stumble more in life, I think it is good for us to evaluate our state and stance with God. I do not think all who stumble are wicked. No, I think that this world just gives us ample opportunity to stumble. The enemy is ever-present as well to keep us off balance.

I feel for those who it seems just run from bad luck to bad luck situations. It happens. I have had runs of time when life has been less than idealistic. In fact the 2000’s have not been the best and the last hand full of years have been a challenge for everyone.

But there is a silver lining here. When we fall, and things are bad, we do learn a lot about ourselves. Life, and I think God too, gives us hard opportunities to learn needed things about ourselves.