KEEP
GETTING UP

Topics: Courage; Endurance; Failure; Perseverance; Persistence; Strength; Success; Winning and Losing

References: Proverbs 24:16; Romans 5:3–5; 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Galatians 6:9–10; Hebrews 10:36; James 1:2–4

Walter Payton, who was five feet ten inches and 202 pounds, was not a particularly large running back for the National Football League. But he set one of sport’s greatest records: the all-time rushing record of 16,726 yards. During his twelve-year career, Payton carried the football over nine miles.

What is truly impressive, though, is that, on average, he was knocked to the ground every 4.4 yards of those nine miles by someone bigger than himself. He kept getting up, and he kept getting up, and he kept getting up.

Great victories await those with great endurance.

—Bill White, Paramount, California