When you have an expectation that something good is going to happen and an unanticipated or sudden event occurs which reverses your anticipation, you have just experienced a setback. If you are facing a setback, know that God isn't done yet! A whole host of people in Scripture had setbacks. Some allowed the setbacks to completely destroy them, but others went on to victory.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
(Job 1:1)

Because Job was the most shining example for God in the earth, Satan wanted him taken out. You need to understand how the enemy attacks you. He comes rapidly, repeatedly. Satan hits you once. He hits you twice. He hits you three times. He comes at you again and again.

Patience in the Face of Setbacks
When terrible circumstances happen to people, many begin to question God. Job experienced setbacks, but he is held up in James 5:11 as an example of patience:

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Job overcame all of his setbacks and wound up being more blessed than he was before. In fact, God gave him twice as much as he had before!

Courage in the Face of Setbacks
Let's look at another person in scripture who suffered a setback. God first sent Joshua to conquer Jericho, a huge walled city, the most impregnable fortress in the world at the time. The expectation was that his army was going to have a quick and easy victory. Instead, the Israelites experienced a huge military setback right after a great military victory. They were beaten so badly that their hearts "melted, and became as water." In other words, they lost all of their courage (Joshua 7).

Joshua responded to this setback by getting on his face, putting dust on top of himself, and staying there all night. Joshua is known for his courage. Thanks be unto God, regardless of your strengths or weaknesses, God will work with you individually to help you get to your Promised Land!

Obedience in the Face of Setbacks
Moses always had a call in his heart to deliver his people, and when he saw an Egyptian striking an Israelite, he killed the Egyptian and hid the man's body. Realizing the next day that his secret murder was known, he fled to the desert.

Moses' setback came about because he missed God's timing. You can get behind the timing of God, and you can get ahead of the timing of God. Moses needed to deliver his brethren from bondage, but he went about it the wrong way, and he did it too soon. When he realized that his secret murder was known, Moses went from being in Pharaoh's palace where he had ultimate influence to living in the wilderness with no influence, just herding sheep and animals, thinking that his life was over.

Forty years later, God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, and Moses finally accepted God's assignment. After God sent ten plagues, and after Moses had experienced what looked like total setback, Pharaoh decided to allow the Israelites to leave. They were headed to the Promised Land, and it looked as if the story would have a great ending.

Pharaoh and his army, however, followed the Israelites. With the Red Sea in front and Pharaoh's army behind, the Israelites cried out to Moses (Ex. 14:13-16). Moses was beginning to understand God's ways. He obeyed God, and God delivered them. You may have had one setback after another, but you don't have to stay in setback! You can get up and march forward again in greater victory than you had before!

Confidence in God's Will in the Face of Setbacks
In Acts Chapter 9:15, we see a man named Saul who persecuted Christians. Saul had an encounter with the Lord while on his way to Damascus. Saul, now called Paul, had a three-fold call call: to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, to his Jewish brethren, and to those who were in power.

Paul experienced many setbacks while obeying God. While in Macedonia, Paul was, obeying a specific Word from God to go to a specific place and to do a specific thing. He and Silas were beaten and humiliated, then thrown in an inner prison and placed in stocks (Acts 16:22-25). Now this is clearly a big time setback.

But, they sang praises! They didn't allow their circumstances to cause them to doubt God's will for their lives! Their setback was sudden, and their deliverance was sudden (verse 26).

When you experience a setback, know that God is setting you up for a greater blessing! The setbacks become setups when you are patient, face trouble with courage, obey God, and stay confident in His call on your life.

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