Reframe your setback. Make it your springboard and the start of something big!
“Nobody said that life is fair.” That’s what Major A, my Executive Officer (XO), 1/23rd Infantry used to say when we were stationed together at Camp Hovey, Korea, 1978.
I partly agree. Life is not fair. Some people get breaks that others don’t receive. Take our main character. The evidence suggests that he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth.
He may have grown up in a “gated community” that required an access code for entry.
People from every nation, tribe, and tongue filled the marketplaces he visited as a youth. His developmental years left an impression. The strict faith tradition of his parents shaped his upbringing, as did the multiculturalism around him.
He was a brilliant student, and his parents decided he would receive the best education possible. He was sent over 500 miles from his home in Cilicia (in modern-day Turkey) to the capital city.
Among his tutors and mentors was Gamaliel, the most revered educator of his day. It didn’t take long for the young prodigy to impress the esteemed professor.
The lad possessed intellectual curiosity, was a gifted writer, had a knack for picking up foreign languages, and was very competitive. Then there was that unique attribute that set him apart. He possessed an unusual zeal for the Jewish faith and the traditions of the elders.
He advanced far beyond his peers in mastering the law and the prophets. Consequently, the high priest and other religious elites took note of him. As he matured, he was given considerable authority and he made the most of it.
He knew the chief priests wanted to stop the spread of Christianity. He saw the destruction of the church as an opportunity to make a name for himself, so he violently persecuted the followers of Christ even to foreign cities. (Acts 26:11)
He had Christians beaten in many synagogues to get them to renounce Christ. He had Christians cast into prison. He was consenting at the death of Stephen.
En route to Damascus, his heart filled with murderous rage. He was on the doorstep of the city when it happened. A heavenly light knocked him to the ground; then he heard a voice.
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul was blinded and enlightened at the same time.
He was dumbfounded and in utter dismay to learn that the Jesus he was persecuting was both Lord and Christ.
Jesus told Saul to go into the city and await instructions. Saul was without sight, without purpose, and without direction for three days. He was also full of remorse, vulnerable, and painfully aware that he had made a lot of enemies.
Some would say, “he only got what he deserved.” Major A would chime in with, nobody said that life is fair.
Too bad people say these kinds of things when you are hurting. They’ll write you off, cast you out, and leave you on the roadside, bruised, broken and naked, but not Jesus. The Lord had a plan for Saul.
Jesus told a disciple named Ananias to go and lay hands on Saul to receive his sight and to give him a message. Ananias was wary of Saul; nevertheless, he went.
Jesus told Ananias exactly where Saul was staying. Ananias laid his hands on Saul and his eyes were opened. Ananias then relayed the message:
“Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15)
This message was an invitation to Saul to change course and start over. The message included a warning:
“For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:16)
God gives warnings like this not to discourage us, but to build our resolve for the battles ahead of us. Suffering is part of the process. (Luke 14:28-33)
God’s promises are invitations to do His will. If you are willing to endure the process, you can accomplish just about anything, but the process is the issue.
The process is going to try you, frustrate you, and drain you; the process may turn family and friends against you. The process is not undefeated, but the process defeats many.
On the flip side, the process builds character and takes the committed from glory to glory and from faith to faith.
Saul decided to take God up on his invitation. Damascus became for him, the start of something big.
Regarding COVID-19, nobody said that life is fair. There have been people affected by the virus and people AFFECTED by it. In other words, COVID-19 has been an annoyance to some and DEVASTATING to others.
Whether we have been affected or AFFECTED, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to move forward?
You can look at COVID-19 and the effects of it any way you want. You can see tragedy, setback, frustration or opportunity.
Let me tell you this. If you are a student of the Bible and know the God of the Bible, it is HARD to see a post-COVID-19 future without hope!
Our God is the God of all hope! If I could locate Major A today, I’d request he add “but God” to the end of nobody said that life is fair.
After Saul accepted God’s invitation, he did the hardest thing required in pursuit of any noble ambition. He got started:
Immediately he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:20-21a)
Saul turned that fiery zeal on full-force for the cause of Jesus, and it cost him. The Jews plotted to kill him, and the governor tried to arrest him . He had to be lowered out of a window in a basket to escape Damascus.
The process almost got Saul killed from the start. He returned to Jerusalem to join the followers of Christ only to discover they were afraid of him. God told him he would suffer.
Saul continued to be a witness; he also continued to suffer. (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) He never allowed the process to defeat him. Rather, he allowed it to forge him into perhaps the greatest champion for Christ in the history of the church. More on that in the coming weeks.
Name your setback: COVID-19, divorce, job layoff, emotional or physical abuse, or in Saul’s case, Damascus. Reframe your setback. Make it your springboard and it can be the START of something big.
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin. (Zechariah 4:10a)
Get STARTED!
God Bless! Press On!! Kevin
