Shaped by Grace Part 2 - Lose the Lies & Gain God's TruthExemplo

Setbacks or Set-ups

Lose the lie: “I have to clean up first before coming to God.”

Ever felt like you just walked into the aftermath of a tornado? There’s debris everywhere, and you don’t know where to start the cleanup. But as you begin the clean-up effort, you then notice the miles of destruction all around you. You want to shout in utter discouragement, “Clean up on aisle 9!”

Setbacks can feel like a storm’s aftermath. When we face setbacks, we’re tempted to curse them, dwell in self-pity, blame others, or hide from them. It takes supernatural strength to jump-start and move forward. We are tempted to believe if we ignore setbacks they will dissipate. Or we hurry to bury disappointments and stuff the pain down. But I’ve found the best thing is to make peace with them and let go. If you don’t deal with the pain of it all, then it can stick inside your heart and be remembered as a failure.

Tragedies, like tornados and hurricanes, take years of disaster relief and recovery. And some landscapes never return to their original state. Despite the best warning equipment, they often are hit by surprise and do greater damage than predicted. Setbacks indeed can feel the same way: devastating. I know the struggle all too well. It took years to climb out of the foodie pit I was in. Taking it slowly, pound by pound, setback to setback, plateaus, and gains, taught me that I can’t do this journey on my own. And if success had come quickly, I fear what I might have missed along the way.

The truth is, we can never clean up on our own. We need God to do that. And if we believe He shies away from our filthiness ... you’re right! That’s why Jesus came to reconcile us back to God, the Father. We couldn’t stand the wrath of God our sin produces; therefore God covered us by the blood of Jesus to cleanse us of our dirtiness.

Gain God’s Truth: Look at setbacks differently and think of them as set-ups. Don’t think you have to clean up before asking for help. Jesus knows all too well the struggle of sin. He carried it all the way up the hill of Calvary! Whatever the case, take hold of His hand and ask for help. No one should go through this journey alone.