I invite every one of you, wherever you may be as members of this church, to stand on your feet and with a song in your heart move forward, living the gospel, loving the Lord, and building the kingdom. Together we shall stay the course and keep the faith, the Almighty being our strength.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Stay the Course", General Conference, October 1995
When we get knocked down on our faces, it's human nature to lay there and rest for a bit. Problem is, that little bit turns in to a lot bit, which turns into a while, then a long while. Pretty soon, we don't want to get up again at all.
Is that human nature though? Or is there another force at play trying to keep us down?
I'd venture to say it is the latter.
Satan (or his minions) is usually the one who knocks us down in the first place. And, once down, he puts a knee in our backs to keep us down. Sometimes, when we attempt to get up, he calls in reinforcements to pile on our backs to make it difficult to get up. That's how bad he wants us to fail.
Every time, I've noticed, that when I get up, he calls over even more reinforcements to trip me up again. Then again, I get up after stumbling, and he calls over yet more.
As I mentioned in a thought before, my math says the ratio of evil spirits to one living person, is, on average, 90-100. That's a lot of unembodied spirits to trip us and make us fall. Now, the further we go away from the gospel, the less that number becomes. But...the closer we are to the gospel and Christ, the greater that number becomes.
Do you think that we can carry that extra weight alone? Of course not. But there is One that can carry that weight. In fact, He carried the weight of all 1/3 of the hosts that were cast out and trying to stop Him, plus the added weight of sin and pain and suffering of every single person who lived, is living, and will yet live on this earth. Then, multiply that number by the numberless world's He created.
So, you can't tell me that He can't handle my situation. I can't by myself, but with Him, nothing is impossible, even getting back up with many evil spirits trying to keep me down. Philippians 4:13