When Your Setback Seems Irreversible

SETBACK: A loss of progress, a defeat in a plan, or a reversal of good fortune.  

Anything that sets you back. 

What do you do when your setback seems irreversible and permanent.

Job lost everything in a day including his wealth, family, and health.  

Job 30:26-27 (NIRV)  I hoped good things would happen, but something evil came. 

I looked for light, but all I saw was darkness. 

My insides are always churning. 

Nothing but days of suffering are ahead of me. 

These are the five things that Job did T.R.U.S.T.

Tell God exactly how you feel.

1. When God listens to you,He wants you to be honest. 

2. God can handle any emotions that you have because He gave them to you. 

3. You are made in the image and likeness of God, and you have emotions because God has them. 

4. God never wants you to fake an emotion. 

5. Because you believe in God, You can complain Him.  


Who does an Atheist complain too? 


If you complain to God, that proves that you believe there is a God. 

6. What frustrations have you never talked to God about? God can handle it.   

Refuse to become bitter.  

1. Bitterness is saying that you don't trust your God.  

It proves that you're not seeing the big picture. 

2. Will you love God and trust Him no matter what happens?

3. You are not promised a perfect life on earth. 

4. Your faith will be tested. A untested faith is no faith at all. 

5. Life is not always good, but God is. 

Our brains are not big enough to understand our pain. 

6. How do you trust God when your heart is breaking? 

How do you keep your eyes on God when they are filled with tears?

7. The antidote to bitterness is praise. 

It is focusing on God and not your problems. 

8. You can build your life upon these principles even when you don't understand.   

a. God will never stop loving you. 

b. God has a plan for your life. 

c. God cares about every detail of your life.

d. God is in control of things even when you don't understand it. 

e. God will protect you. 

9. Bitterness will only hurt you.  Resist bitterness. 

10. Both bitterness or happiness are choices. 

You have a choice of one or the other. 


Which one do you want  happiness or bitterness?

Unite with other people who will help you to focus on God. 

1. God never intends for you to go through life on your own during...

a. Sorrow

b. Pain

c. Loss

2. Our natural response to pain is to withdraw from others. You need to grow closer to...

a. Church small groups

b. Weekend worship

3. Pain is a great equalizer.  Both rich and poor experience it. 

4. Never use evil to escape pain. (drugs, affairs, etc...) 

5. Increase the amount of time that you spend with God's people. 

6. What do you ask God for in a set back. 

a. Wisdom for a clear perspective. 

b. Strength to overcome your pain. 

7. Worship relaxes you and is good for you. 

a. It will extend your life.  

b. You'll remember that God is bigger than your problem. 

Surrender your future to God.

1. Beware of bad advice. 

2. Trust reveals itself in pain. 

3. Worry is the warning life that your faith is weak.

Trust Jesus for every detail of your comeback. 

1. What is in the gutter of your life that one little spark would burn your house down?

2. Pray for others before yourself.  When Job prayed first for others, God doubled what He lost. 

Message by Rick Warren, Saddleback Church
https://saddleback.com/visit/locations/onlinecampus?autoplay=true  

Faith that attracts God's attention.

The environment of faith attracts the power of God.  

In order to have great faith, we have to have the right mind. 

Our mind will believe what we tell it.  

We don't walk by what we see, but what we know.  

God will always leave a need in our life that makes Him relevant.  

Everyday we need to remember something that God did for us that day.  

His promise gives us the courage to take our eyes off the problem, and fix them on Him.  

Our faith wins the heart of God and shakes heaven.  

When the praises go up the blessings come down.  

We don't fight for victory, but from it.  Open our eyes to see you, God.  

When our faith comes alive, miracles happen.  

Excerpts from Brandon Isbell, Church of the Highlands.

Pray through to your break through

If we want to get through, then we've got to pray through.

  

We need a relationship with Jesus.

  

The only power that we have is the power of our God through prayer.

We have a Holy God with open arms, so we've got to pray. 

We must pray first!

If we don't get this right, we'll spend all our time thinking about our trials. 

In Isaiah chapter 40 starts encouraging.  

If we change the way we think,  

we can change the way we feel.

  

Isaiah 40:27 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

27 Family of Jacob, why do you complain,
    “The Lord doesn’t notice our condition”?

People of Israel, why do you say,
    “Our God doesn’t pay any attention to our rightful claims”?

Don't we hate it when someone downplays our problem?  

1. The struggle is real.  

Don't we hate it when others don't identify with our struggle?

We're going to go through trials and tough times!

It's a big deal.

We need to get into groups who won't downplay our trials who'll walk through it with us.

We would rather talk about our trial instead of our trophy.  

We can't preach a gospel that is going to be easy.  

We've got to get our eyes off the trial, and we've got to get through it.

  

Isaiah 40:28-31 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

28 Don’t you know who made everything?

    Haven’t you heard about him?

The Lord is the God who lives forever.

    He created everything on earth.

He won’t become worn out or get tired.

    No one will ever know how great his understanding is. 

29 He gives strength to those who are tired.

    He gives power to those who are weak.

30 Even young people become worn out and get tired.

    Even the best of them trip and fall.

31 But those who trust in the Lord
    will receive new strength.

They will fly as high as eagles.

    They will run and not get tired.

    They will walk and not grow weak.

We're so focused on our pain.  We can't see our trophy.  

The Chinese government is raiding churches, and they are putting cameras in all the churches.

Perspective is everything.  

If we focus on our pain, we can't see our promise.

Don't always talk about your pain.  

We're so used to whining. 

We don't know how to worship. 

We have to have our eyes on something bigger than our problem.  

We have to have something outside of us to give us purpose.

Herod Agrippa had already killed the Apostle James, and had Peter locked up in prison with 12 soldiers.  

Tomorrow Peter was going to die. 

Peter was asleep (Acts 12).

  

Peter had a word from God that He was going to die as an old man, and He was still young.  

Peter had a promise to rest on, so He was sound asleep. 

John 21:18 B -19 A New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

18 What I’m about to tell you (Peter) is true. 

When you were younger, you dressed yourself.

You went wherever you wanted to go. 

But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands. 

Someone else will dress you. 

Someone else will lead you where you do not want to go.” 

19 Jesus said this to point out how Peter would die.   

2. Don't forget what God said.

Hebrews 13:5B New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

“I will never leave you.

    I will never desert you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Life is hard.  

We aren't a people without hope. 

The joy of the Lord is our strength.  (Nehemiah 8:10)

Some of you run businesses.  

It involves risk. 

Risk says I'm willing to lose it.  

Faith says I can't lose.  

I live. 

I win.  

I die.  

I win.  

Even if it looks like we've lost in life.

When we pray, God's voice is louder than the enemy who is trying to destroy our purpose.

We get God's attention and Satan's both.

  

2 Corinthians 2:11 New King James Version (NKJV)

 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

We want to study the Bible to show our selves approved.  

Go to www.youversion.com. 

I don't like big churches.  

God does.

As long as people are on their way to hell, we've got a job to do.  

We've got a calling on our lives.

Nothing on the test is something we haven't seen.  

We have a study guide. 

It's called the Bible.

It contains mock tests.  

We will be tested.  

Our trial isn't something we haven't already seen.  

We can't go to the next level until we pass.

God is not trying to kill us.  

He's trying to inspire us.  

If God wanted us dead, we'd be dead. 

We must be careful of the voices that we allow in our head. 

Whoever's voice we listen to will dictate our destiny.  

Let's be careful of who we listen to and watch.  

Who has our ear the majority of the time? 

Let's just listen to worship music to fully understand the magnitude of our God.  

Our task is too big to do otherwise.  

Let's quit fighting other Christians in other churches.  

We're on the same team.

Our eyes must not be focused on the wrong things. 

We are connected to the trial whether we want to be or not.  

The power of God is like an iceberg.  

It's bigger beneath the surface.  

Our God is so much bigger than our problem.

He could show us more, but we couldn't handle it. 

It's not about our effort or works.  

We've got to release our pain.  

It begins with our worship. 

We want zero credit for God's work. 

Let's stop trying to do it on our own.  

We are always greater than me. 

Matthew 7:11 New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Jesus speaking...

11 Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. 

How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Jesus, I draw a line in the sand, and I trust my pain and my purpose to you.  

Jesus you are the Messiah.  

I believe that you died and rose for me.  

I'm trusting my life to you.  

I worship you as my Lord and Savior.  

Notes taken from Jeremy Foster, Hope City Church, Metro Houston    https://hopecity.com/sermons/trials-trophies-part-2/

How to give Problems to God.

1. Recognize you have a problem.

2. Believe God is interested in your problem.

3. Understand God is bigger than your problem.

4. Go to God first with your problem, and give it to Him. If you don't go to Him first, it is offessive to God. (Who you go to first. Reveals who your real God is).

5. Realize God knows exactly how to handle your problem.

6. Focusing on God's ability and desire to handle our problem makes our problem seem really small.

7. Listen to God's Holy Spirit as He leads you over and through your problem. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

(Charles Stanley with my comments)