The Only Way Up is Down
The Only Way Up is Down
I was recently listening to a song, and part of the lyrics in the song were “the only way up is down”. I have heard that particular song many times over again, but for some reason those lyrics stuck out to me and created a deeper meaning for me. One can easily question this statement of, “how can the way up be to go down?” When I thought about this deeply, it made a whole lot of sense, and created an amazing perspective that I believe people often don’t understand.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 states, “But He said to me, ‘“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Messiah may dwell in me. For Messiah’s sake, then, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” It says right here in the Bible that through our weakness, we are made strong! If we can accept our weakness in humility, then we can have a peace of knowledge to know we can work to improve ourselves, therefore developing a strength in the process! God does not give us weaknesses and dig us into the ground, so to speak, to torture us and cause pain; He allows them so that we can learn something from our mistakes, learn something from our weakness. We should be thankful to have the opportunity to grow deeper with Him, and to gain a new strength!
Oftentimes it is difficult for one to admit to their weaknesses. This often results in pride, and you end up digging a bigger hole for yourself that you don’t want to be in. If one cannot admit to their wrong or weakness simply to better themselves and create a more intimate relationship with their Father, things can begin to build up inside. Things such as fear of being a failure, doubting, being afraid, etc. I believe people don’t realize what builds up inside of them until sometimes years later when they need deliverance and it all comes out at once. Avoiding this problem is simple. Audit yourself, ask your counselor or a trusted family member to help you uncover your weakness. Sometimes the only way up is down. Sometimes you need to be tilled into the ground to realize you cannot survive without the oxygen you need from above.
Our flesh is weak, but in Yeshua we are made strong! We were not created to be weak! We were created to live our life to its fullest, to its fullest potential. Let us strive for that desired strength. First let us be willing to be pushed down and crushed a little so that we can stand up strong and ready to handle whatever comes at us. Isaiah 40:29-31, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but they who wait for ADONAI will renew their strength. They will soar up with wings as eagles. They will run, and not grow weary. They will walk, and not be faint.”
Jim Staley