After the Uppercut

You started the day with the best intentions. Yesterday was hard, and the day before that was worse. They left you with a sour taste in your mouth and a cynical attitude toward life. But deep down you knew something had to change. A shift in your thinking needed to happen because you can't continue this negative approach to living. But how can you do that when you're always emotionally exhausted and fighting for everything you have?

Suddenly the prospect of facing a new day begins to drain you. "Do I need to leave the house today? Can't I just take a mental health day?" You think to yourself.

That's when a burst of positivity comes from out of nowhere. Psalm 118:24 echoes through your soul, "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!" That's right. It is the Lord's day and you are blessed to be living in it. The mere thought lifted your head, straightened your shoulders, and now you promised yourself, and the Lord, that negativity would not win the day. With a newfound sense of optimism you left your home and went to work. You had no idea what was waiting for you there...

Psalm 64:1-4

Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from secret plots of the wicked. From the rebellion of your workers on iniquity. Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows - bitter words. That they may shoot in secret at the blameless. Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

Unbeknownst to you, it appears a lot of conversations about you have been taking place behind the scenes, and now what has been said about you is being thrown in your face. The words hit like an uppercut you never saw coming. They land directly on your chin and now you're dazed and reeling. Your legs become wobbly and the ground beneath you begins to move.

"Don't overreact and make a fool of yourself. Don't get defensive and say something you will regret. Don't lash out in anger over these painful allegations. Don't. Do. Anything."

That's when you realized you were absorbing the pain of the moment, and you didn't have any place inside of you to put it. The emotion had to go somewhere. It had to come out. "Oh no, I'm going to cry," you think think to yourself, "please don't cry. You're going to humiliate yourself." That's when your eyes began to well up with tears. The pain was going to come out.

You looked around the room and noticed that it had gotten smaller since you first walked in. Yep, the walls were definitely closing in. You tried to focus on what was being said, in fact, there were some positive words being shared now, but the opening uppercut brought too much damage and the knockout was inevitable. You were on the mat and the referee had started the 10 count.

"Oh Lord, why is it every time I try to stay positive, this happens? I can't do this today. You knew I couldn't do this today. Why, Lord, of all days?"

Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us. You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net, you laid affliction on our backs. You have caused man to ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; but you brought us to rich fulfillment.

As you sat at home that evening and processed the events of the day, a word from the Lord spoke to your heart, "I know it hurts. I know this was not a good day for this, but trust Me when I say, you're going to be okay. Don't let their words win. Recognize them for the test that they are. I am refining you. I am growing you. I am strengthening you. Yes, tomorrow you will be stronger than you were today."

The uppercut blind-sided you and knocked you down, but you took the punch and got back up! The Lord has shown you that you're capable of taking the hits and pressing on in His power. There is rich fulfillment in realizing that you are not alone in this fight. God is in your corner!

Now you press on with confidence. You're not ignoring the pain of the punch, and you know there is healing that will need to come as a result, but God has revealed something life-changing to you...you survived...and you're gonna be better because of it! God has shown you that you can take even the hardest punches that life can throw at you. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of our Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

Jesus took all the punches. The world threw everything at Him. They even killed Him - yet He still lives! And the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you (Romans 8:11). It's the same power that picked you up off the mat. Yes, God has shown you that He has not left you or forsaken you. In fact, God has given you one of the best gifts. He has shown you that there is still life after the uppercut, so get up my friend, keep fighting. Thank you, Jesus!

Josh Huisman is the senior pastor of Crosswalk Church in Brentwood, TN.

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