Faith@First: Rise and fall

Dear Noblesville First Family,
This week many of our eyes have been glued to the olympic trials. There are many incredible sports and athletes on display but I’m always drawn to the gymnasts, and more specifically, Simone Biles. Simone holds 37 Olympic and world championship medals, making her the most decorated gymnast in history. Many commentators have debated on what makes her so great. Her form, levels of difficulty and dismount technique are all legendary. Yet, when I watched this clip from 2021, I believe we witnessed what makes her and any person of faith really great: perseverance.
In this clip, Simone falls from the balance beam. This was so unexpected from her that the commentators were momentarily silenced, unsure of what to even say. But Simone just hops back on the beam. She fell down but she gets right back up.
I think that’s a timely reminder for us this week. We don’t have to flip on beams to discover that life is full of ups and downs. Just keep on living and you’ll see that even the most faithful among us will stumble and fall sometimes. But the key to discipleship is not in never falling but in always getting back up. Proverbs 24:16 says it this way, “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again."
In falling and rising and falling and rising again, we develop a persevering faith that strengthens our resolve to keep living, learning and growing. I pray you’ll join us this Sunday where we'll continue to explore this theme as we preach on the movie Rudy. We’ll learn together about the “Faith of the Underdog” and how we too can persevere through the game of life.
Until then, may you hop back up after whatever may have knocked you down this week. Trusting that God’s grace will always be there to help us rise again.
Keep the Faith@First,
Pastor Nicole