Take courage from Joshua. When he urged God’s people forward, he faced insurmountable odds. But listen to God’s extravagant promise to Joshua, “I will give you every place where you set your foot. . . . Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. . . . I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:3-5). Who could ask for anything more? The hindrances seemed small compared to the promise.

All of this started my musing about how God can help us transform setbacks into comebacks. Here’s a short list:

• Transform apathy into achievement. Sometimes pastors expect people to invest more energy in Christian service than their spiritual life generates. Spiritual strengthening usually results in great achievement for the Kingdom.

• Transform hunger into spiritual development. A hollow emptiness exists in every human heart. Point them to Jesus who promises, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

• Transform division into reconciliation. God’s reconciling power is enough to heal old feuds, to eliminate competition between believers, and to quell struggles for control. And with reconciliation much of the spiritual short-circuiting in many churches disappears.

• Transform fuzziness into clarity. Fuzzy Bible teaching keeps sinners from salvation and hinders believers from spiritual growth. Current problems of doctrinal and moral confusion can only be solved with crystal-clear biblical preaching and teaching that can be easily understood by common folks.

Here’s a challenge: Take your most frustrating obstacles to God in straightforward prayer. Ask Him to turn them into your greatest blessings for the sake of His Kingdom—and He will.

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