Falling is falling. Failing is failing. The difference between us and the world is that we will rise up again.
"Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the [uncompromisingly] righteous - the upright, in right standing with God; destroy not his fold or his resting place; for a righteous man falls seven times an rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity." Proverbs 24:15-16, Amplified
The protects those who belong to Him. We all make mistakes but He is there to help us up again. The wicked man is overthrown because his strength resides within himself. Our strength resides in the Lord. Micah wrote, "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light on me." (Micah 7:8, NKJV) He always covers those who are His children.
In the book of Job, after everything has happened to him and he is sitting alone, three friends come to his side to try and comfort him (poorly I might add). Eliphaz, one of the three, says something profound, considering that Job has sinned and this is why God has judged him so. But we know that the Lord was bragging on Job to Satan. God allowed for Satan to affect Job's life. Though Eliphaz is wrong in that Job had not sinned, what he said is no less profound. "Behold, happy is the man whom the Lord corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds but His hands make whole. He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you." (Job 5:17-19, NKJV)
What is it about the number seven that is so significant? Seven is the number of completion (i.e. seven days complete one week). I think that we need not focus on the seven times in which the man falls, rather focus on the seven times that he arises. It is a complete rising. We need not hobble or hunch our bodies in condemnation. There is no condemnation in Christ. Yes, we fall. But by His blood, we rise completely.
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