I don’t know who needs to hear this but getting up is going to be one of the hardest things you’ll have to do today. Somebody, once you get up you have to deal with the funeral arrangements, hurt and grief of losing a loved one. Somebody else, getting up means having to face the reality of the relationship ending. Somebody else, getting up means looking at the debt that didn’t disappear while you tossed and turned last night. Somebody else, it’s another day of sickness that won’t leave you alone. Somebody else, it’s the spiritual war you’ve been fighting or the call on your life you’ve tried to ignore. Somebody else, it’s this or that but you have to get up.
Yes, it hurts but getting up is necessary to your survival. You don’t have to believe me, but have you ever had to get up after surgery while pain coursed through your body? Do you remember how much it hurt while the doctor and/or nurses told you how essential it was to your healing? See, doctors need you to move, even while in pain to prevent blood clots, to reduce swelling, decrease gas pain and weakness and it’s good for your lungs.
Getting up is hard and it hurts, but walking promotes the flow of oxygen throughout your body, it sustains normal breathing function, it strengthens your muscle tone, and it reminds you that you’re alive. Being alive means there’s still a remnant of hope for you to hold onto. When Jesus met the man at the pool of Bethesda who couldn’t get himself into the water to be healed, He told Him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk,” because although this man’s faith played a part, his healing came by getting up.
Why am I sharing this? For somebody who dreaded getting up today. Ma’am/sir, I don’t know what you have to face today, but I pray your strength to get up even if it causes pain to course through your body. Ma’am/sir, I don’t know what you’re trying to avoid but get up because it’s not going away on its own. Get up, it’s the only way you can deal with it. Ma’am/sir, get up even while it hurts because it’s necessary to your healing. And while you get up, I’m going to pray your faith doesn’t fail.