The Truth About Setbacks

Have you ever wanted something -- badly? A more reliable car, a wife. Have you ever needed something -- badly? A job, healing. So you get to praying. You fast. You call your prayer warriors. You ask your church -- and any church you can find -- to put your on their prayer list. And things start to happen. You hear of a friend who might be selling his vehicle. Your job interview seems to go well. God is at work! But, just as suddenly...

Setback.

I and many others are praying for someone with serious medical issues. When we began praying months ago, some really neat things started to happen -- positive news, doors opening. This week...

Setback.

I remember when I was teaching our children to ice skate. I would hold their hands, and pull them gently toward me. For those first few attempts, I held onto them constantly, watching their feet, studying their faces, keeping them from landing on that cold, hard ice. As their skills and confidence improved, I'd let go and skate back a few feet, urging them to skate toward me. I never left their sight; I'd watch their feet, I'd study their faces. "Don't look at the ice; look at me," I'd coax. Sometimes, as they began to skate toward me, I'd move back. "Mom!" they'd squeal, annoyed I was making them go farther. But, I wanted them to cover ground they'd already covered, to see we'd come that way before, and everything had turned out just fine; they'd learned some things, they'd gotten more confident. And now, it was time to go further. I had to challenge them to do more and learn more; I had to take them to a new level. It wasn't a setback; I was urging them forward!

I think God works that way sometimes. It may look like a setback, but what He's really saying is, "We've covered this ground before. I'm not leaving you; I'm going to teach you more, to show you more, to give you more. You trusted Me before; trust me again." When the cancer returns, God says, "We've fought this fight before; we'll fight it again. I'm not going anywhere, but I am going to stretch your faith and grow it. Don't look at the road, look at Me!" When the relationship, apparently, was moving along better for you than it did your (now) ex-girlfriend, God says, "What has changed? You trusted Me before that phone call, trust Me as I show you more."

We want "one and done." But that's not who God is, and that's not how life works. What benefit would it have been to my children if I'd taught them to skate five feet, handed them a hot chocolate and said, "Way to go! Check that off your list. No more challenges for you today." They would have never known the feeling of having pushed themselves to truly master a skill, and what I was willing to do for them to make sure they succeeded! They would never have known the freedom of whipping around a noisy rink, feeling the air on their faces and feeling alive.

God is a "big picture" God. He is all about the journey; He is all about growing relationships. He won't leave us tottering around some remote area of the rink. He wants us in the fray. Engaged. Fresh air on our faces. Legs getting stronger. Eyes always on Him. And knowing that what may feel like a setback is God's way of urging us forward.