Tests, trials & (career) setbacks, and how they set the stage for your story.

Tests, trials & (career) setbacks, and how they set the stage for your story.

God is the creator of everything. Including your story.

He literally wrote the screenplay of your life.

Like any great story, it contains many elements.

+ Careful casting
+ Dreams and goals
+ A villain
+ Insurmountable obstacles
+ A sympathetic hero
+ A message
+ A surprise, yet inevitable ending

>> Let's fast-forward to insurmountable obstacles.

Someplace between your dream and your destiny, you will experience a great setback. So severe, it will shake you to your core.

It will affect your . . .

career
finances
health
relationships
purpose
and faith

There's a high probability if you are reading this, somehow God has directed this message to you because you have experienced a setback.

14 years ago, I experienced the tsunami of setbacks in my life >>

- our 10-year-old son Alec died unexpectedly

- my wife was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer

- our other son was diagnosed with superior mesenteric artery syndrome, which has a mortality rate of 33%

- I was hospitalized and diagnosed with diabetes

- both of my businesses failed

- we lost our home, cars, and savings

- at our lowest point, we had $9 in our account

>> What did I do to deserve all this???

The setback was very public and I felt humiliated.

Friends began to disappear. Spectators began to criticize. Both friends and family talked behind our backs.

Though I was far from perfect, up until this point God had rewarded and blessed us abundantly.

God gave me a business acumen that accelerated everything I touched.

My wife and I developed a reputation for generosity.

We self-funded community services helping thousands of people.

We were, and still are, full of love for others.

My life theme was to ...

be faithful
be humble
be grateful
be generous
be confident

Bad things happen to good people and bad people. Though we weren't perfect people, we are good people. More importantly, we are God’s people.

After what seemed like an eternity, God delivered, transformed, and restored us. Just like He did with Job.

If you have experienced a great setback, I am sharing this so you won't feel alone.

My heart breaks for you.

>> Yet, I have great hope for you.

Why? Because I know the creator who wrote your story. The best part of the script is in front of you.

But here’s the KEY. Don’t allow your IDENTITY or DESTINY to be determined by your circumstances, or what other people think about you.

Get a copy of the script. How? Discover your calling, God’s plan, and purpose for your life.

You’ll develop a vision for a future full of hope, supported by the promises of God’s Word, and the dreams He puts on your heart.
Whatever you do, never ever give up.

Never stop dreaming.

Your greatest enemy is discouragement. Discouragement will blind you of God's full destiny for you.

The only reason to survive a setback is to THRIVE after it.

Your story is not over.
God is not done.

The best chapters of your life are yet to come

>> This setback — is a setup — for your comeback.

God has a comeback for every setback. Romans 8:28.

God’s specialty is carving out our future, right from the wilderness.

If you are >>

unemployed
underemployed
or a struggling entrepreneur

Focus on discovering your marketplace calling. Get a copy of God’s script, and read it!

- look at what God has said about you.
- look at what God has done for you.
- look at what God is doing in you.

The stage set.

- Gerald

PS- reach out if you need help. [email protected]

#comebackstronger #purpose #yourstorymatters