Setbacks And Comebacks

from May 2020

Sons Of Grant Sporting Goods

34 // May 2020

by Tina Rhodes

Tina Rhodes lives in Cedartown, Georgia, with her husband and three of their four children. Her oldest son and daughter-in-law reside in South Bend, Indiana. She is the pastor’s wife at Restoration Church Cedartown. About The Author A setback is defined as a slowing of progress, a temporary defeat, or a reversal. Everyone experiences them in many different arenas in life. A comeback is defined as a return to life or vitality, to recover from a deficit, or to regain a former favorable position. Everyone loves the comeback kid, but no one wants the setback that precedes it. You can’t have the comeback without the setback first.

Everyone has setbacks, but does everyone experience comebacks? Unfortunately, the answer is no, no they don’t. I know from my own personal life that not every setback has produced a comeback. The truth is some setbacks can’t be reversed; the good news is they can still be beneficial. What is it about a person or situation that inspires a comeback?

One of my favorite examples of this in the Bible is Queen Esther. In a nutshell, we know that she was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, because her father and mother had died. In an amazing turn of events, she later becomes queen. After becoming queen, an evil man, Haman, plots to have the Jews killed (she has hidden her identity as a Jew up until this point). Esther literally risks her life to save her people. In Esther 4:16, she says in response to Mordecai, “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

We know Esther went before the king and he granted her petition and spared the life of her and her people. We know that not every situation has a pleasant ending; we have to remember that her parents had apparently died when she was young. She was familiar with pain. I believe that because of what she had endured in her life, she was willing to say, “…if I perish, I perish.” She was willing to take the risk to save her people. We may not be asked to save our people, but there will be times we are asked if we’re willing to step out in faith.

Life is full of risks; personally, my family took a big one last spring. We uprooted our lives and took a step that could have gone a myriad of ways. It was one of those times we had to choose to go “all in” as a family. We left a comfortable, predictable way of life and chose to step out into a truly unknown for all of us. Was it scary? Yes! Was it painful? Yes! Was it worth it? YES! Helen Keller once said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

When we choose to look at setbacks differently and view them as opportunities instead of threats or losses, then we are set to experience the satisfaction of a comeback, and we will be better people for it.