Mike Focht 11/13/2026
For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Proverbs 24:16
Righteous men fall.
Is that so strange to say? Solomon dares to say so. Undoubtedly, David’s life was on his mind when he wrote these words. David lied, David despaired in his days as an outcast, David turned to his enemies, David nearly murdered a man who mocked him, David committed adultery with Bathsheba and treacherously murdered an innocent and faithful man to cover her pregnancy. These are sins so dark and human that we don’t want to contemplate them too seriously.
Yet despite all his sins, the Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. How is that true when David committed sins that most couldn’t imagine? David knew how to get back up. David’s righteousness was proven in the sincerity of his response once he had fallen.
When Nathan put a finger in David’s face and said, You are the man! David admitted his guilt. David ceased covering his sin. David admitted when someone was right in correcting him, whether it was Jonathan, Abigail, Nathan, Joab, or God. David never tried to act like his sin wasn’t as bad as it really was. David didn’t work to defend his reputation. David fell more than seven times but always got back up and continued to follow God.
It is hard to see our own weaknesses. It is hard to be corrected publicly or privately. It is hard for our pride and reputation to feel the lash of our own mistakes. It is hard to see and humbly admit our sins. It is hard to fall down and push back up again. But rising again and continuing to follow hard after Jesus Christ is one of the primary responses differentiating the righteous and the wicked.
The wicked fall and stay down. They cover, hide, defend, lie, and run from the sting of humility. They convince themselves that there is no reason to push out of the mud since they have already fallen. They listen to Satan and start to feel that only perfect people are following Jesus. They think that this proverb is true for everyone but them. They fall, and their fall is a calamity, one from which they never rise again.
Fortunately for us, God inspired Solomon when he wrote these words. They remain as true today as they were the day he wrote them. The righteous man may fall. In fact, he may fall numerous times. But his righteousness will soon be seen because, like David, he never seems to stay down. His sins, as vile and wicked as they are, never seem to harm him in a way that keeps him down. Scraped, bruised, muddied, tired, wearied, embarrassed, and humbled, the righteous man will keep getting up after his falls. He continues to walk with God, and God continues to walk with Him.
We are all going to make mistakes on the path to spiritual maturity. That is why this is an indispensable spiritual principle. What we learn about falling and getting back up is a tool we will use in every area of Christian life. We will need to keep getting back up until the day we walk in a New Heavens and a New Earth, where we never have to worry about falling again.
If you fall, repent, get back up, and follow hard after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.