When We Fall and Can’t Get Up  - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - February 9, 2026

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive”--1 Corinthians 15:22

Have we ever felt like we had everything in our lives running well, our homes, relationships, careers, all seemingly under control, and then in a few short moments, hours, days, or months, everything falls apart? 

As the popular seniors’ commercial saying goes, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”

Although millions have marketed it for gain, joked about and made fun of the saying, for those who have experienced falling and not being able to get up by themselves, it’s no laughing matter.

Instead, it’s a fearful feeling of hopelessness and a sense of dependency on someone else to help them up. 

As Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Falling and not being able to lift ourselves again is precisely what happened to humanity with one act of willful disobedience. Within a moment’s sinful choice by Adam and Eve, their perfect existence crashed down and fell, taking away their ability to spiritually lift themselves again.

When Mankind Fell and Couldn’t Get Up

Genesis 3:6 describes the event: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

In those moments following their fall from perfect lives to despair, they experienced the truth of no longer being sinless. Adam and Eve went from being totally open and honest with God to being fearful and hiding from Him.

Genesis 3:7-8 records the account. “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Genesis 3:10, Adam responds to God’s call to them, “He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’”

Fallen but Not Forsaken

Although Adam and Eve fell, taking all humanity with them, God did not forsake them, or us, even though He had every right to turn His back on us all. 

Instead, God set in motion a plan to lift all humanity, knowing we had no way to get up on our own.

As well, God reminds us that even if we fall again, He is there to lift us. As Psalm 37:24 describes, “Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

God’s Uplifting Plan and Purposes for Our Lives

Even though God warned Adam and Eve that if they sinned, they would die, they didn’t truly grasp the consequences of sin and what their falling would mean to them and all humanity, or how it would devastate and affect their lives, their future, and all of their posterity to come.

As Genesis 2:16-17 records, “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’”

It’s unlikely, too, that they realized the provisions and blessings, both physical and spiritual, they would lose and experience, and the sorrow and pain death would bring them.

Still, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 5:8, our sin didn’t keep God from loving us and providing a way to lift us from the fall, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Let’s pray:

Dear Father, our hearts are full of gratitude that You did not forsake us and leave us fallen without a way to get up again. Thank you for giving us Jesus, who provides a way for us to be spiritually lifted and to live in Your presence once again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Photo credit: GettyImages/LoveTheWind

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

Related Resource: Instead of Doing More This Summer, Maybe You Need to Do Less

If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.

Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.

Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.

I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!