A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback

This post is in response to the catch-phrase (titled above) coined by Robert Schuller in his Christmas 2009 message at the Crystal Cathedral.

Accidents happen every day.

Everything seems to happen in slow motion.  Except your heart rate.  You can see — feel everything happen in sequence, but there is nothing you can do about it.

And suddenly, your plans are changed.  If you are lucky, they are only changed for a day.   If your car needs work, you will be inconvenienced for a week.  If you are injured, it could be months.

But setbacks can happen outside of cars too.  They can happen in the board room.  In the court room.  In the doctor’s examination room.

Setbacks are one of the great equalizers in life – we all get them sooner or later.  The difference among us is how we respond to them.

Is your setback an opportunity to trust God’s hand?  A chance to rely on hope in order to stay the course and to do the right thing?

One of my favorite verses (and maybe yours too) is this: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God can be trusted not only with our difficult times, but especially during the difficult times.

Do you feel knocked down?  Do you hear life’s sirens wailing in the background?  Your setback is not the end of the story.  God isn’t done with you yet.  While I believe He didn’t cause your setback, I do believe He is setting you up for a comeback.  Will you trust Him to bring you through?