Setbacks Can’t Derail God’s Purpose

In Acts 27:24 it says, “Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.” (NLT)

Sometimes a setback is rooted in my own actions or choices. I made a mistake. I did something that hurt another person. I disobeyed God. And now I’m facing a storm as a result.

But often the storms I face in life aren’t because of something I did. Instead, I suffer because of other people’s poor decisions—or even their sins.

Acts 27 gives us a dramatic example of suffering a setback because of the foolish choices of others. Paul had been unfairly put on trial for crimes he didn’t commit. He was a Roman citizen, so he had the opportunity to appeal to Caesar in capital-offense cases.

On the prison ship heading toward Rome, Paul told the others that they were headed toward disaster. But no one listened, and it didn’t take too long before they hit a terrible storm.

But that didn’t mean the storm sidetracked God’s purpose for Paul—and a storm doesn’t have to sidetrack God’s purpose for me either.

God’s purpose for my life is greater than any setback I’ll ever go through. An angel assured Paul of that in Acts 27:24: “Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you” (NLT).

The angel told Paul that, despite the setback, he would one day stand before Caesar and share his testimony. God’s purpose wouldn’t be thwarted.

God doesn’t need a Plan B for my life. Hitting a setback—whether it’s my fault or someone else’s—doesn’t mean God won’t work through my life. When disaster hits, God just fits it into his plans.

When someone else’s decision turns my life upside down, God uses it for his glory. When someone else’s mistake puts me in a difficult situation, God works through it anyway.

When I feel like I’ve lost everything, God does the incredible so I can do the impossible.

No one can sink God’s purposes. 

In my own life, things might happen that seem like tremendous setbacks and I wonder if I’m on the right track.  I may not always understand it when it’s happening, but if I look back on it, I can usually see God’s purpose and will being accomplished.