Sometimes in life we feel like we are going two steps forward and making great progress. However, something then happens which forces us one step back. Unfortunately, life isn't a linear progression where our life graph continues to head upwards all the time.
Even after we come to know the God who created us and has the best in mind for us, we still experience setbacks in life. What then is the difference between a life with God and a life without believing that there is a God who made us in His image and cares for us?
Setbacks
Instead of promising us that we will never struggle or face any setbacks, Jesus in John chapter 16, verse 33 forewarns us of troubles that will come our way - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble….”
If that's all that Jesus told us, it will be hard to have peace. Nobody wants trouble, definitely not me.
We don't want to struggle financially when we already had financial security;
We don't want to be stressed at work, when work was going smoothly before;
We don't want any health issues, when we were always healthy;
Or to have arguments with our spouse, children or family when we were going strong together.
What we do want is to keep progressing forward without regressions and to lead a peaceful life; which often seems impossible when there is trouble. Nobody wants trouble after experiencing successes; nobody wants to move backwards, especially not after just moving forwards.
Setbacks can make us feel like we have failed and that we are not succeeding. What we often don't realised is that while it is true that setbacks bring us back from where we were, it is not all that negative.
Comebacks
Jesus provides us with the reason that we can be assured and have peace even though troubles are unavoidable. Verse 33 continues, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
As Jesus the Son of God, walked this earth and faced troubles himself as the Son of Man, yet overcame it and rose from the dead, we, His followers, can also overcome things that come our way in the same manner. He, the overcomer, enables us through it all.
We can get up and make a comeback although we fall right after some successes.
When we are financially in need, He can provide us with plans to earn money. When we are stressed at work, He can place the right colleagues to encourage us. When we face health issues, He can strengthen us through our recovery journey. When there are cracks in our relationships, He can unite us back together.
One of the things that happens when we face a setback is that it bring us back to where we once were before. When we revisit a place, we often view things clearer and have a greater perspective on the situation.
Because we have once gone beyond that place and have experienced the success that comes after it, we can persevere through it with the knowledge that things will be fine.
As we have a God who has been through it all before, we can have confidence in Him that He is able to turn every setback into a comeback. Like a spring or a catapult that is being stretched back and then released, every one step back we take, He propels us forward double the steps.
From one step back to two steps forward
While we can often magnify and dwell on that one single step back after our two major steps forward, God highlights the next two steps forward we will take after any one minor step back. Instead of getting stuck on the dip down after the highs in our life, God focuses on the highs we continue to reach even after dips in our life.
If we interpreted it in terms of Maths, every one step back after two steps forward still keeps us in the positive. Instead of looking at the one step back as a minus and negative, we find peace in knowing that with God, even the step backs are still positive.
“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.
People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” (Matthew chapter 6, verses 30-33)