Overcoming Setbacks: Facing Life's Storms and Being Made Well

Introduction: How Do We Overcome Setbacks?

This week our lesson asks a searching question: how do we overcome setbacks? Our theme text is Romans 5:3–5:

"Not that only, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope."

Four things here — and guess what, brethren, we cannot jump over any of the steps. That was one of the things I picked up from the lesson this week. I cannot jump over the tribulations. I don't want that persecution, I don't want that trial, I did not ask for it — but as I looked at the lesson, I recognized that we cannot skip this. It is a refining process. It is something that we must all go through.

The Girl in the Storm

The introduction to the lesson told the story of a young lady walking home in a storm. The rain was pouring, the lightning was flashing, and her mother watched from the window, wondering why she kept stopping in the rain instead of running straight home.

When she came in, her mother asked, "Why did you stop and look up? And not only that — you smiled?" She said, "Oh, I stopped to look because God was taking my picture."

Can you imagine — in a storm full of thunder and lightning — being able to smile through it? Some of us would dive under the bed. I watched my students at school last week when there was a little lightning; you'd think they're tough, but they were scared. Yet here was this young person who could smile through the storm. That's what we are talking about this week.

How the Lesson Will Be Presented

We have five presenters in the congregation. Each has taken a day of the lesson, will present on that day, and open it up for questions. By God's grace we'll get the answers we're looking for. Our first presenter is sister Angela on Sunday's lesson.

Sunday: Facing Life's Storms (Sister Angela)

Good morning. I'm focusing on Sunday's lesson, which talks about facing life's storms.

What Does It Mean to Face a Storm?

To face something means to acknowledge that something is actually in your face. It's something you have to address, deal with, and recognize as a challenge.

So when we talk about life's storms, what are we really talking about? Why does the writer compare them to storms? What are some of the storms we may be facing now?

• Bankruptcy — a very serious one
• Ill health
• Death
• Sicknesses, circumstances, and situations that seem to have no way out

Our Coping Mechanism

How do we cope? Who is our ultimate source? Jesus. And what do we need to get through the storm?

• We need faith
• We need to pray
• We need to believe that God is able

We see Jesus calming a literal storm on the Sea of Galilee. In life we have many challenges — but can we prepare in advance for them, or do they simply creep upon us unaware?

Preparing for the Storm

Yes, we can prepare. When we come to church, read, and our faith grows, we are preparing. That's why when the storm comes, we don't have to break into pieces, go mental, or surrender to depression — because we have been physically, spiritually, and emotionally preparing.

Think of Daniel in the lion's den. Think of Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. Those disciples were fishermen; they knew storms. That's why they took so long to call Jesus — they thought their experience would carry them through. But this storm was a different dimension, and they needed Jesus to help.

How Jesus Responded

The Spirit of Prophecy tells us Jesus waited for the Father to unfold the daily work for Him — He would go and commune with His Father. Jesus knew the storm was coming, yet He still told the disciples, "Let's go ahead."

Christ was the one driving the boat, and He fell asleep because He took humanity and was very tired. When He got up, in His full character as God, He extended Himself and rebuked the sea and the waves — and the disciples were amazed.

A Call to the Remnant

We too, as the remnant, with so much going on in our lives and in the church, need to ask God to transform and change us through prayer and studying the Word of God. Ask for:

1. Revival
2. Reformation
3. Transformation

You cannot have revival without transformation — the three work together. Ask God for a double portion of His Holy Spirit. Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion, and his miracles were almost like those of Jesus Christ, even to the extent that his dead body raised someone up. We can do it, because Jesus took humanity.

Teacher's Reflection: Where Are Our Eyes?

Thank you, sister Angela. One of the things we realize is that when we're going through storms, our tendency is to focus on the storm. We keep looking at all the problems, all the things happening, instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus.

"Do You Care That We Perish?"

When we ask God, "Do you care?" — what are we really doing?

• "Do you care that my loved one has been sick, and we've been praying for years?"
• "Do you care that I'm vegan but cancer is eating my body?"
• "Do you care that my children have wandered and I've been praying for them to come back for the longest time?"

When we ask those questions, we are really questioning God's character. But if we take a moment to think — the God of creation, the God who loves us, the God who told the disciples they would cross over to the other side because He invited them — He is with us in our storms.

Monday: Made Well — The Woman with the Bleeding Condition (Sister Kelly)

Monday's lesson is titled "Made Well." It focuses on the woman who suffered from a bleeding condition for twelve years and was healed by Jesus. The lesson uses her experience to explore how setbacks and prolonged suffering can actually deepen our relationship with God rather than destroy it.

1. Faith Does Not Guarantee a Trouble-Free Life

The woman had suffered for twelve years despite desperately seeking help. Her story reminds us that being a believer does not exempt us from pain, illness, disappointment, or prolonged trials. The Christian life is not measured by the absence of suffering, but by how we trust God through it. So many assume that if God loves them, He will remove every difficulty — this story challenges that assumption.

2. Setbacks Can Either Produce Despair or Deeper Trust

The woman had exhausted her financial resources and every human solution, yet she did not give up. Instead of becoming bitter, she kept seeking and eventually sought Jesus. Long periods of disappointment reveal where we place our trust. We can either surrender to hopelessness or continue trusting God when circumstances haven't changed.

3. Faith Begins with Hearing About Jesus

Before she touched Jesus, she first heard about Him. The lesson highlights the biblical principle that faith grows through hearing God's Word. The more we learn, the more confidence we develop in His power and character. That means:

• Regular Bible study
• Sermons
• Testimonies
• Christian fellowship

These strengthen faith during difficult seasons.

4. Genuine Faith Acts

Her faith was not merely intellectual. She pushed through the crowd despite weakness, embarrassment, and social barriers. Belief motivated action. Faith pleases God, faith perseveres, and faith acts even when the outcome is uncertain. James later summarizes it: faith without works is dead.

5. Jesus Sees Individuals, Not Just Crowds

Many people were touching Jesus, but He immediately recognized her touch of faith. He stopped, spoke with her personally, and called her "daughter." This restored not only her health but also her dignity and identity. In the middle of life's crowd and crisis, God does not lose sight of individuals.

6. Suffering Can Produce Christian Character

The lesson connects her story with Romans 5:3–5 — suffering → perseverance → character → hope.

• Her twelve years of suffering developed endurance.
• Her endurance led her to Jesus.
• Her encounter with Jesus produced hope that did not disappoint.

This is one of the central themes of the lesson: God can use hardships to shape character and strengthen faith.

Discussion: What Did She Risk?

Teacher: What were some of the things this woman risked to see Jesus?

Response: In the Bible, when women were in that condition, men wouldn't go near them. She risked — we don't know what they would have done to her. Men couldn't even be in the same room.

Sister Angela: The woman was very weak. There was a crowd. She could have been thrown down — remember, she had been bleeding for twelve years and had spent all her money. In that condition, you weren't supposed to go near a rabbi, and they all believed Christ was a rabbi. But as the gospel says, she heard about Jesus. She heard what Jesus had done, and faith grew in her. Jesus positioned Himself so this woman could touch Him. God always cares for us. She could have been stoned — death was a real possibility. Amen.

Twelve Years of Uncleanness

That's the point I wanted us to get to. This woman had been unclean for over twelve years. Back in Bible times, a twelve-year-old girl was of marriageable age. So if we picture it, she had this condition for the entire span of her entering adulthood.

She was rendered ceremonially unclean. Can you imagine — if somebody in that crowd knew she had this issue, she would have made the whole congregation unclean. Touching Jesus would have rendered Jesus Himself unclean.

She risked her life because she heard. Somebody had spread the gospel message to this young lady, and she heard.

Just to Touch the Hem

Maybe she wasn't even looking to establish a relationship with Jesus — "I just want to touch and be incognito and disappear." She had so much faith to know that just touching the garment would render her clean.

"We get Christianity very wrong. For some of us, we believe that Christianity does not come with trials — and it's not true. There's nobody in the Bible who has followed Christ and it has been easy sailing. Yet when we come to Christ, we're expecting an easy road."

She touched Jesus's garment, and Jesus established a relationship with her by stopping and asking, "Who touched me?" A conversation developed.

Beware the Prosperity Gospel

As Christians, we know there are preachings out there — the prosperity gospel — that tell us all will be well, you'll get the big house, you'll be healed. We need to remember: we all go through storms. The storms will bring us closer to Jesus.

The Blue in the Hem

Sister: Looking at Jairus — as a ruler of the synagogue, he was patient. He didn't say, "Why did you have to stop and deal with this woman?" He was very humble. That's how we have to be: patient, loving, humble.

And do you know what the hem was that the woman touched? The hem was blue. After the children of Israel came back from searching the land, God told them that on every garment they made, under the hem they should put blue — to remember to keep His commandments. So the woman touched the law of God.

A Setback for Jairus — and a Word on Job

And that was a setback for Jairus. We all know Job's story — a man God bragged on. The Lord said Job hated evil, prayed, and was very rich. It doesn't mean that if you're rich you can't worship God. He always thought ahead: when his ten children had a party, he would call them, pray for them, and intercede for them, because he said there might be sin in their hearts.

One day the children of God came together, and Satan came representing — representing whom? Because Adam sold out. Adam gave his dominion to Satan. God asked, "Why are you here?" Satan said, "I've been walking to and fro."

Do we understand when someone says, "I go to and fro," or comes to your house and says, "I go in and out"? What is that person trying to say...?