How to Get back on Track After a Big Setback

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I have been failing miserably for months now to do something important. A comforting habit I have conquered in the past through the power of the Holy Spirit, has come roaring back into my life during a time of being emotionally unsettled. As you may have heard me say before, most of my weekly messages are about what I am in the process of learning myself from the Holy Spirit. The key word in that last statement is “process,” as opposed to a word like “accomplishment.” That’s why I hope everyone who listens to or reads my blog knows that I am walking alongside you in this journey of faith, not reaching back to you with instructions from some pedestal of achievement. The only expert in our weekly conversations together is the Word, who is alive and speaking to us through His Spirit. I just try to get out of the way when God pours letters and sentences into my fingertips on the keyboard and out through the microphone. And believe me when I tell you that I struggle with being in His way… often.

And this is one of those times. Every moment in life is a teachable one when I let God be involved, but the Holy Spirit has been whispering to me for months now that I am not yielded to Him into a specific area of my life. I used to seek Him in that place, but now I have shut Him out again. I closed the door and clung to the dark comfort of an indulgence rather than learning to find a deeper, more satisfying comfort in Jesus. Have you ever done that? Reverted to an old, but an enticingly familiar habit, desire, activity, over-indulgence, or attitude? And when disappointment in ourselves arrives, shame and guilt eventually follow, which almost always results in further setback. And before we know it, we can be even more shackled to our mistakes and enslaved to selfish desires than we were when Jesus first came to get us. That’s because our natural state of existence is conditioned to repeat whatever makes us feel good with the least amount of mental or physical effort possible.  If you are intrigued by the science behind this phenomenon, I wrote an in-depth blog post about this topic, which you can read here.

So how do we get back to where we want to be? How do we turn around when we’ve been letting our minds, bodies, habits, choices, or emotions dwell in — or even linger on the outskirts of — darker places? Once we get immersed into something we shouldn’t be — whether it’s as internal as a harmful way of thinking or as outward as the practice of materialism, how do we find the motivation to get out of the quagmire and set our muddy feet on the Rock of Jesus? When we desire for the mud to be magically washed away the moment we decide to give something over to God, how do we find the perseverance and patience to let the gradual healing of restoration take place?

The answers are found in Scripture, as they always are. In our quick-fix society, we just don’t like the often laborious and time-consuming solution that it offers. We want the grace, love, and forgiveness of being yoked with Jesus, but we’d rather not feel the weight of obedience to Him. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Our Savior walked in the land of temptation while He was at His weakest physically, so He doesn’t make that statement lightly. He knows firsthand how weak our flesh is. Jesus submitted His flesh to the ultimate torture and death, to make it so we can live victoriously in ours. So the first step in returning to wholeness from an area of defeat is to renew your understanding of — and gratitude for — the power that dwells within you. You are not owned by your passions, desires, or cravings. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” God did a miraculous work for us so that we could work to glorify Him through the power of His Spirit. This is the essence of our partnership with God and the key to our growth. John Piper said, “Grace does not replace effort in the Christian life, but empowers it.” When you focus on Christ as your source of strength, versus your own, you can take the next step of restoration.

As I was planning for this message, I struggled with whether or not to tell you what my particular setback is, because I didn’t want you to focus on it. I want you to fill in the blank with your own type of struggle. But if you’ve come this far in our journey today, then you’ve probably done that by now. You’ve realized that the Word of God applies to any mistake, sin, or habit you could possibly be dealing with. My struggle right now is finding comfort in food, when I should be seeking it from God. But the principles from the Word apply to anything that we desire more than we desire God. Through a reliance on Him, He expects us to control every aspect of our daily lives. Whether it’s bridling our tongues from gossip or anger or managing our finances to be generous. Our thought lives are to be free of worry or lust, and our bodies are called to holiness in every thing we do with them or put into them. Even our time should all be yielded to His direction.

Whatever you are tempted by or ensnared by right now, God will reveal a way of escape, custom tailored just for you, if you are ready to leave the mud puddle behind. There’s a battle plan outlined in scripture for every believer, but the specific tactical maneuvers will vary based on how God made you. What works for me may not be what works for you. But when we earnestly seek Him through the Word, in prayer, memorizing scriptures against our strongholds, and lifting our hearts to praise Him, according to Psalm 40, He is faithful to provide the resources, wisdom, and help we need. James 1:5 promises, “ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” When we’re open to receiving His wisdom, it may show up in a myriad of forms, but it will always be consistent with scripture.

If you’re ready to return… if your heart is ready to surrender your cravings and desires and allow Jesus to replace them with His, then you can begin the journey by doing two critical things: prepare to defend your temple, which is your mind and body, and put on the armor of God. Lysa TerKeurst said, “God made us to crave — to desire eagerly, want greatly, and long for Him. But Satan wants to do everything possible to replace our craving for God with something else.” When you’re ready for restoration, Satan is going to pull out all the stops against you.

In preparing to defend your temple for God, the Bible gives us endless amounts of encouragement with clear direction. Begin by asking God to examine your heart according to Psalm 139:23. Get to the root of why you have been doing or thinking things you shouldn’t be. What need are you really trying to fulfill? Journal about it and seek God in prayer and in your quiet time with a scripture-heavy devotional aimed your particular issue. Your longing for something other than what God wants is never about the thing itself. It will always point to a deeper need. Ask Jesus to help you seek Him for that need and change your desires.

Also, make physical preparations in your life to reduce your temptation. Do everything you can to make your environment conducive to seeking God and not your bad habit. Finally, make yourself accountable for your decision to return to wholeness. Whether it’s your spouse, a friend, a counselor, or a Bible study group, make your weakness and your intent known. A supportive partner in the journey with whom you can be vulnerable and who is not struggling in the same area that you are is very important. Just be careful of legalism and give yourself the grace to make mistakes along the way back. God doesn’t want your perfection, He’s asking for your heart. He wants you to worship Him, not the thing you have been stumbling over or even the rules you set in place surrounding it.

Next, as you go into battle, put on the armor of God from Ephesians 6. Verse 12 warns us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Take the time to read and study about the armor of God. Ask God to give you a battle plan using His armor to tackle every nitty-gritty aspect of your setback. Don’t wait until the whole plan is revealed, either. Take action immediately and then patiently wait on God to give you one step at a time. Remember, God knows what you’re capable of now and in the future. And those two versions of you are radically different. So don’t resist the Holy Spirit if what He leads you to do seems small at first. He’s looking for consistency in your obedience over a significant period of time. The more incremental and sustained your changes are, the greater the likelihood of your long-term success.

If you’re currently in the middle of a setback like me, then there’s probably a tiny part of you that is tempted to rationalize lingering in the mud puddle a little longer, after all, Jesus will be faithful to forgive you every time. But Love puts a check in your spirit when you think like that doesn’t He? The Holy Spirit whispers to you the truth of Romans 6. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions… present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” God’s grace and love for us are endless, but we cannot claim to truly know Him if our own love doesn’t compel us to obey and honor Him.

You may not be in a place of setback right now, but you could be there again — in a heartbeat — given the right circumstances and emotional responses. And thinking otherwise is exactly the trap that Satan wants to lure us into time and time again. It’s exactly what Proverbs 16:18 warns us about. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” That verse isn’t only aimed at non-believers — it’s a warning from God to His precious children. And the verse right before it tells us how to avoid the fall in the first place: “The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life.” We have to honor the guardrails that will keep us on the road toward Him. Every opportunity from God to draw closer to Him through obedience is also a prime opportunity for evil. Using the most insidious of strategies, Satan will attempt to use our own confidence… our own growth in Jesus… against us. Notice, of course, that I used the word attempt. You and I are not guaranteed to fail again. In fact, through the power of Christ within us, we are guaranteed to succeed eventually if we obey. (1 Corinthians 10:13) And it’s that hope that gets us off Satan’s merry-go-round of shame and guilt, and puts us back on solid ground again. We may find ourselves standing in an old territory or on a new battlefield, but we can begin walking toward God’s promised land again, no matter how far away we are.

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts below! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

For Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
The questions and readings below can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week.
Make a battle plan! Read the passage from Ephesians 6 about the armor of God. Write down each piece of armor on its own sheet of paper. For the next 6 days, take one piece of armor each day and answer these questions on the sheet of paper during your quiet time with God.

• What do you think this piece of armor represents? (You might find the notes in a study Bible like this one to be helpful. If you don't own a digital or print study Bible, you can try this one online or on your mobile device for free for 30 days.)
• How do you think God wants you to use this piece of armor in your life? What can it do for you with regard to your struggles?
• What is He leading you to do to become more adept in battle with this piece? How can you learn to use it better? What spiritual disciplines is the Holy Spirit leading you to do more of or become more proficient at doing? (meditation, memorization, tithing, fasting, prayer, worship, accountability to others, serving others, etc.)
• In the middle of a battle, what specifically is God telling you to do this with this piece of armor? How will you activate it? Be specific. Think about your triggers and brainstorm ways to defeat them with the Word, prayer, and alternative, healthier activities. You may have to alter your routine to avoid even healthy/neutral things/activities for a season to reduce your triggers and temptations. Even little changes to your lifestyle can mitigate the effects of powerful triggers. Rejoice that you will be able to return to them someday once you've returned to spiritual wholeness. 

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