living and leading through setbacks

What a depressing title for a blog entry, huh? 

Nobody wants to talk about "setbacks."  Instead we want to talk about moving forward, celebrating successes, building momentum, keeping up optimism, growing, and everything else that is rainbows and lollipops.

But the reality of life on this side of heaven is this:

Sometimes we go through setbacks.

And other times, we go through a season of setbacks.

In the last few weeks, here's what I or those around me have been walking through:

• a terminal diagnosis
• a start to the battle with cancer
• a marriage that is crumbling
• a faith that is waning
• ministry momentum that is slowing
• a lack of clarity about the future
• shrinking back from a difficult decision
• ministry fatigue

And I could go on.  All of this to say, this season has prompted me to ask myself and God this question:

What does it look like to live and lead faithfully through a season of setbacks?

I'm reminded of a pretty serious setback that Joshua faced in Joshua 7.  On the heels of a supernatural, against all odds, shout-til-the-walls-come-down victory at Jericho, Joshua suffered an embarassing, humiliating, crushing defeat to the little town of Ai. He even lost 36 of his men in the process.

And get this:

It wasn't even his fault.  He couldn't have prevented the setback, even if he had wanted to.  It was completely out of his control.  In fact, it came on the heels of some incredible courage and faithfulness on his part.  And now, instead of basking in the glow of this incredible victory, he was facing a nation of people whose "hearts... melted in fear and became like water."

So, what can we learn from how Joshua lived and led through this setback? 

1. He threw himself first not at the problem but at God's feet.  Before he goes to analyze the problem, and before he tries to solve it, he rips his clothes, puts himself in a prayerful posture, and puts it to God full force.  Authentic, honest, and even accusatory - but all focused on God.  I think it's safe to say that underlying Joshua's prayer was a deep and abiding conviction that God already knew what was going on and had a vested interest in seeing his will be done.
   
   
2. He didn't just pray; he prayerfully listened.  Sometimes we have this bad habit in times of prayer - especially prayer for clarity in times of setbacks - of praying for wisdom, saying "amen," and then proceeding to solve the problem as if God will use us as his magic Ouiji board.  You know, "Well, we prayed for wisdom, so whatever we end up deciding therefore has God's stamp of approval de facto." 
   
   Not so with Joshua.  The man said his piece, and then listened for God's response.  And God did.  Boy did He respond.  Joshua acted not on what "seemed to be right," but rather on what God had explicitly revealed to him in prayer.  I'm not saying that God always does this - that he always reveals himself and his will in this way.  However, I am saying that He'd probably do this more often if we more often gave him the space to do so - by listening.
   
   
3. He acted boldly on what God told him to do.  In this case, it was a process of spiritual discernment that ended with a confrontation.  Once the direction God wanted him to go became apparent, he led into it with focus, confidence and conviction.  No wavering or second-guessing.  He faced the setback head-on in faithful obedience.

I'd much rather live and lead through times of success than times of setbacks.  No doubt about it.  But I don't want to miss what God has to say during times of setbacks.

Comments

[Ken Bauer]

Jesse,
Thanks for these insights! I have had so many setbacks at work lately I have been thinking of retirement more than ever before. Your thoughts on this topic have been extremely helpful. I need to go now and seek God's wisdom before I do anything else. ;-)

[Bev Bauer]

Thanks, Jesse, for sharing this good word from Joshua's experiences. I plan to forward it to some folks who have experienced setbacks recently. Hang in there; we love you in Jesus!