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Key Bible Verse: We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going (2 Corinthians 4:9). Bonus Reading:2 Corinthians 4:1-18

David Smallbone made a living as a Christian concert promoter in largely unchurched Australia. But too few fans filled seats in a national tour David was promoting. When ticket sales fall short, artists still get their guaranteed money; the promoter eats the loss. David took a $250,000 bath in red ink.

Creditors swiftly repossessed his house, and the father of six looked for work elsewhere. A top artist asked him to become his manager—with one catch: he had to move to Nashville, Tennessee. Moving without his pregnant wife, Helen, and the children, ranging in age from 1 to 14, was unthinkable. So, in the fall of 1991, the Smallbones sold their furniture and purchased tickets to America.

They bunked in two motel rooms and survived on fast-food until an unfurnished rental house was found. Helen, now seven months pregnant, slept on a mattress they bought. The rest slept on the floor.

After a couple of months of work, David was told his position was "no longer available." For several days, David literally couldn't get out of bed. Then the family got on their knees together and asked God to help them. [continued 8/6]

—Luis Palau in It's a God Thing

My Response: A time when my world fell apart was …

Thought to Apply: Fall seven times, stand up eight.

—Japanese proverb

Adapted from It's a God Thing (Doubleday, 2001) by permission.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, don't allow failure to paralyze me. Let me hang on to You until I experience Your deliverance.

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