One of my favorite shows is America's Got Talent because it showcases some of the extraordinary gifts that God has given his children. However, that is not the only reason I like it so much. It also tells the stories of people who have reached there despite tremendous odds. These stories offer immense hope, which is something all of us can use in these days of despair and misery.

Let me tell you a story. An eagle's egg once rolled out of its nest and came to rest among the eggs of a chicken. The mother hen didn't realize she had an extra egg among her own and sat on top of them until they hatched. If she thought there was something strange about a black bird in the middle of her golden chicks, she didn't let it bother her; she raised the little eagle like one of her own.

I find Peter one of the most fascinating characters in the Bible. He was a very impulsive man, often letting his heart guide him instead of his mind, and it is perhaps one of the reasons he was able to accomplish as much as he did. I'm pretty impulsive, too, so let me explain how this works by telling you about the mind and the heart, but from the poetic, not the biological perspective. 

All of us have experienced failure, and the impact of the fall is directly proportional to the height we have risen. Very often, those who reach the pinnacle of success believe they are untouchable, even though history should have taught us that no one stands so firmly he cannot fall. If you are one of these people who has fallen, take note of another lesson that history teaches us: no one has fallen so terribly that he cannot rise again.

Have you ever dropped a water glass and watched it shatter into a million pieces? Our lives can seem like this. Long periods of illness, poverty, unemployment, heartache, miscarriages, addictions, abuse—the list is endless—can make us feel like shattered glass, broken beyond salvage. Like Humpty Dumpty.

There is not a single person among us who hasn't struggled with a major calamity in life. It may have been a severe illness that left us bedridden for weeks. It may have been a broken relationship that shattered our hearts into pieces. It may have been an addiction that we couldn't break. It may have been the loss of somebody very dear that caused us immense sorrow. It could have been one of a hundred things. We might have asked the question we often ask in such a situation, "Why me, Lord?"

There are times in life when everything appears to be at a standstill. We all experienced this during the recent pandemic. During such times, everything appears frozen. All doors get slammed shut, and no new doors seem to open. Things that once were exciting now seem tedious and boring. It feels like we are treading water or jumping in one place. We are tempted to do something crazy just to make something happen. But nothing changes. We start to feel frustrated and frightened. So, what are we to do?

Who among us has not been guilty of sin? Our lives are full of it before we come to know our Lord, but many (most?) continue to sin even afterward. We engage in sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft. We are given to hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies. All are sins that Paul warned against in his letter to the Galatians (see 5:19-21).

Life is full of disappointments and setbacks. Some of these are of our own making, but many are not. When we are unfairly laid off at work, when a lover walks out of a relationship without reason, when we are cheated in a business deal, we are often left broken and miserable. We can become angry and bitter, resentful and hating, but this serves no purpose. It only corrupts our soul. It is far better to fix our eyes on God and trust in him. He is not unmindful of what has happened, and he will ensure he renders justice.

There’s a famous saying that goes: “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Well, it’s true. We constantly hear about superstars in the entertainment business falling from pinnacles of fame and success. We hear of the same thing happening with powerful and influential men and women in other industries. They all come crashing down. Bada boom! However, falling isn’t the exclusive domain of the rich and famous. We all fall.

Fortunately, most of us are not prominent enough for our falls to be noticed by many. However, our falls can be equally terrible. Failing in an important exam. Going out of business. Being imprisoned for a crime. Getting way over our heads in debt. Having to file for bankruptcy. Such failures can be demoralizing and devastating, tempting us to give up on life. How many people have thrown themselves off bridges, or swallowed sleeping pills, or blown their brains off when things have gone wrong!

Don’t do it! Don’t give up! It doesn’t matter how low we have sunk or how badly we have fallen; we can always make a comeback. If we need evidence of this, we only have to look at the comeback king of all time: Jesus!

When he rode into Jerusalem, the people thronged the streets, welcoming Jesus as their king. A few days later, these same people thronged the streets again, only this time they were jeering, not cheering, as he was stripped naked and hung on a cross to die. When he was laid in a tomb, his enemies thought the story was over (as did most of his friends), but the story was only just beginning. Three days later, Jesus was up and about again, resurrected from the dead.

Talk about comebacks!

His comeback resulted in comebacks for all of us who believe. Spiritually dead, he brought us back to life. How can we doubt for an instant that someone who can do this cannot bring us from failure to success? Nearly every hero in the Bible has failed at some point, but God raised them up, even higher than before. He will raise us too.

So, enough of the pessimism and morbidity and other negative rubbish you have been feeding yourself with. Declare with Paul: “I am hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

And if you like famous sayings, there’s another one that goes: “The harder you fall, the higher you bounce!” This isn’t gonna work if you jump off a building. But this will most certainly work if you put your faith in God.

So, trust God and bounce back higher!

God bless you.

When we journey through life, we are filled with zeal at various points, burning with passion, and eager to realize the many dreams that we have. We hope for a great career, a wonderful spouse, and amazing opportunities to come our way. We believe wonderful things are at hand.

Yes, I know it hurts. When people close to us turn their backs on us, especially during our moments of greatest need, there are no words to describe the heartache. But God teaches us one of the most important lessons of our lives through this, and the lesson is this: Don’t depend on people; depend on God.