The Wipeout: Getting Back Up and Paddling Out Again

A Surfing Devotional

Every surfer wipes out. A lot. You miss a wave and fall. A current catches you. You misjudge the break. You commit to something and it doesn't work. You go under. The ocean tosses you. You tumble underwater, not knowing which direction is up.

The terrifying part isn't the fall. It's the moment underwater when you're disoriented and panicked. The instinct is to give up, to be ashamed, to decide you're not a surfer.

But experienced surfers know something: wipeouts are part of surfing. They're not a sign you shouldn't surf. They're a sign you're trying. They're a sign you're pushing your limits. Wipeouts are how you learn.

The question isn't whether you'll wipeout. It's what you'll do after you wipeout. Will you paddle back out or will you go home?

Proverbs 24:16 says: "For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes."

Fall seven times. Rise again. That's the difference.

Psalm 37:23-24 says: "The Lord establishes the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand."

Stumble, not fall. And even when you stumble, God upholds you.

1 John 1:8-9 says: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Confess. Get back up. Paddle back out.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 records Paul saying: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me... For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Weakness. Falling. That's where God's grace appears. That's where power comes.

The tragedy is when Christians wipeout and don't paddle back out. They fail at marriage and give up on relationships. They mess up spiritually and decide they're not a Christian. They try something and it doesn't work and they assume they're not called to it. They don't understand that wipeouts are part of the journey.

Tomorrow's Practice: Identify one area where you've wiped out – where you've failed, fallen, made a mistake, or something didn't work out. Instead of staying on shore, paddle back out. Try again. Don't give up. Failure isn't a sign you shouldn't try. It's a sign you're learning. Get back in the water. The waves are still there.

Reflection Question: When you wipeout spiritually – when you fail, stumble, or things don't work out – do you paddle back out and try again, or do you stay on shore and give up?