Have you ever wished you could see Jesus when you feel discouraged? Picture yourself in this dream.

“I seemed to be sitting in abject despair, with my face in my hands, reflecting like this: If Jesus were upon earth, I would go to Him, throw myself at His feet, and tell Him all my sufferings. He would not turn away from me, He would have mercy upon me, and I should love and serve Him always. Just then the door opened, and a person of beautiful form and countenance entered. He looked upon me pityingly and said: ‘Do you wish to see Jesus? He is here and you can see Him if you desire to do so. Take everything you possess and follow me.’

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“I heard this with unspeakable joy, and gladly gathered up all my little possessions, every treasured trinket, and followed my guide. He led me to a steep and apparently frail stairway. As I commenced to ascend the steps, he cautioned me to keep my eyes fixed upward, lest I should grow dizzy and fall. Many others who were climbing up the steep ascent fell before gaining the top.

“Finally we reached the last step and stood before the door. Here my guide directed me to leave all the things that I had brought with me. I cheerfully laid them down; he then opened the door and bade me enter. In a moment I stood before Jesus. There was no mistaking that beautiful countenance. Such a radiant expression of benevolence and majesty could belong to no other. As His gaze rested upon me, I knew at once that He was acquainted with every circumstance of my life and all my inner thoughts and feelings.

“I tried to shield myself from His gaze, feeling unable to endure His searching eyes, but He drew near with a smile, and, laying His hand upon my head, said: ‘Fear not.’ The sound of His sweet voice thrilled my heart with a happiness it had never before experienced. I was too joyful to utter a word, but, overcome with ineffable happiness, sank prostrate at His feet. While I was lying helpless there, scenes of beauty and glory passed before me, and I seemed to have reached the safety and peace of heaven. At length my strength returned, and I arose. The loving eyes of Jesus were still upon me, and His smile filled my soul with gladness. His presence filled me with holy reverence and an inexpres­sible love. . . .

“This dream gave me hope . . . [and] faith. . . . And the beauty and simplicity of trusting in God began to dawn upon my benighted soul.”—Ellen G. White, Early Writings, Pages 79–81.

Amid life’s setbacks, we need to focus on Jesus and what He reveals about God’s love for us.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

It had been an intense few weeks for the two disciples as they replayed in their minds some of the events and conversations they had experienced. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the clearing of the temple. The Passover in the upper room. Jesus’ prayers in Gethsemane. Judas’s ugly betrayal. The trial, the mocking, the beating. Jesus’ bruised body hanging on a cross and His final words before He breathed His last as the afternoon sky turned black. The loud rip of the temple curtain. The open graves of the righteous. Gently taking Jesus’ body off the cross and laying Him in the tomb before Sabbath. And then the confusion, discouragement, and questions in the disciples’ minds. How had they gotten it so wrong?

Jesus’ followers were disappointed, discouraged, and confused. This was the greatest setback of their lives. What they didn’t see was that this was merely a moment in the greatest story of all time. As two of them walked on the road to Emmaus, Jesus appeared and walked with them.

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Once their eyes were opened, the two followers rushed to Jerusalem to share the things that had happened to them on the road (Luke 24:33-35). As Jesus came and stood in their midst, they were terrified. Notice His questions to them: “ ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?’ ” (Luke 24:38, NKJV).

This is also Jesus’ message for us today. Too often, we forget that He walks beside us in our valleys. Too often we don’t recognize Him. Too often we forget that there’s much more to the story. Too often we feel troubled and allow doubts to arise in our hearts, forgetting that Jesus holds our lives securely in His hands. And too often we think we know better than Jesus does about what’s really happening in our lives (Luke 24:18).

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

When we think of setbacks in the Bible, Job is perhaps the person who first comes to mind. Not only did he lose all his wealth (Job 1:14-17), but he also lost his children (Job 1:18-19) and his health (Job 2:7). His wife then tried to convince him to curse God and die (Job 2:9).

After some time, three friends came to sit with Job. They were so shocked at his appearance that they sat with him, speechless, for seven days (Job 2:13). Eventually, when they spoke, they tried to offer human reasons for why such misfortune had come to Job, but in doing so, they unintentionally increased his suffering. Three friends blamed him, saying he must have some hidden sin in his life to repent of (Job 8:1-22; Job 11:1-20; Job 15:1-35), even saying, “ ‘Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him who does not know God’ ” (Job 18:21, NKJV).

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No matter the tragic events that surrounded him, and the fact that he didn’t understand them, Job remained faithful. He held fast. He didn’t blame God or curse Him. Instead, when tempted to blame God, he declared: “ ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’ ” (Job 1:21, NKJV).

We, too, live in the middle of this same battle. Satan afflicts us with pain, suffering, loss, and hardship as part of his plan to distort our picture of a loving God. In such times, we can respond in one of two ways: blame and reject God, or cling to Him with all our might. Although the battle rages around us, we must remember that, in light of eternity, our momentary troubles are but temporary trials (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). There is so much more to the picture than what we see here and now, and one of the great challenges for a believer is to trust God even in the darkest times. God has, in many ways, revealed to us the reality of His love. We must cling to this crucial truth—that of God’s love—even when we might not sense it at the moment.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV

Last Tuesday, my fiancée, Becky, and I ran off to get married at a harbor on Tampa Bay. The next day, we took off for our honeymoon in St. Augustine, Florida, where I had reserved a hotel room with an ocean view. I asked Becky if we could take her car on the honeymoon since hers is silver and mine is black. I just thought silver was more appropriate for a wedding and honeymoon than black.

Wednesday morning, we left for St. Augustine when we saw the oil light flickering and realized the car was due for an oil change. We stopped at one of those quick oil-change places, thinking a simple oil change would fix it. As we pulled into the lot, the engine started knocking. After the oil change, as we drove a few more miles, we noticed the knocking was not going away. We searched for the dealership to have the car looked at, hoping we would not be set back too much. I have waited 60 years for a honeymoon, so I did not want any more delays.

However, the car never made it to the dealership on its own. It bit the dust and had to be towed. Waiting for the tow truck and then for the car to be looked at had already set us back a few hours. Now, how much was this going to set us back financially? Were we going to have to get a new car? Were we going to have to cancel our trip?

Strangely, the possible financial setback did not scare me. Getting married made me realize it’s not my money anymore. Also, for years as a bachelor, I have seen God put money in my bank account and take money out. I knew from experience that God had a plan.

I remembered when I got sick in 2009 before I had good health insurance, and a friend gave me a side job where I earned way more money than my medical expenses and ended up ahead financially. In 2015, I had substantial credit card debt, and then the church I was working for as a Bible worker had to let me go. Long story short, I was getting paychecks from my new Bible worker position before I even got my last paycheck from the previous church. By Thanksgiving that year, I had a new car and all my credit cards were paid off. Once again, what was supposed to be a setback actually helped me get ahead.

I assured Becky we would be in St. Augustine by early evening. We rented a car and were on our way. On our drive, the dealership called with bad news: the engine was ruined! But they quickly followed it with good news. Because of a recall, the engine was still under warranty and would be replaced with a better, rebuilt engine at no cost to us! There would be minor items surrounding the engine we would need to pay for, but the big picture was that we were getting a rebuilt car that would be much better than before at a very minimal cost.

We also got to our hotel in St. Augustine in time to enjoy a delicious dinner at a nice romantic restaurant before taking a romantic walk along the Atlantic shore.

Meanwhile, Becky and I were impressed by how each other handled the car situation. Instead of panicking, we prayed together and trusted God. We praised God that a few hours’ delay turned into us getting a better car. What we thought was going to be a no-stress, relaxing day actually turned into an afternoon of split-second decision-making: how to handle the car, how to get a tow truck, and whether to get a rental car or hire an Uber to take us back home to our other car. Since we were lost in the middle of nowhere, we had to decide where to find a rental car. By both of us going to God first, we worked everything out smoothly with no inconveniences other than a slight time delay. We even ended up making our own inside jokes about the situation!

Sure, I was a little annoyed that the romantic honeymoon I had been waiting 60 years for was being delayed. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere without a car was not how I dreamed of spending my honeymoon. However, on the way home, Becky and I agreed we were actually glad it all happened! It gave our honeymoon and marriage more meaning. It cemented my faith that our union was meant to be.

Why? Because if everything had gone perfectly and smoothly, neither one of us would have known and appreciated how well we worked together under pressure. All we would have known was that we could enjoy beautiful walks on the beach together. Now we know we can handle potentially stressful situations with the same peace, love, and even humor we share on a romantic beach. Having weathered that storm so well together made our romantic walk on the beach even more meaningful.

Be careful asking for Jesus to calm all your storms. Sometimes it’s the wind in the storm that gets you exactly where you need to be. Those storm winds are not always setbacks. With God’s grace, they are progressing. When I got sick in 2009, what was supposed to be a setback was actually financial progress. It happened again when I lost my job in 2015. And last week, what was supposed to be a setback on our honeymoon turned into not only financial progress, but also a deeper love, respect, and appreciation for each other than we could ever have experienced just walking on a romantic beach.

Imagine the throng of people on the shore of Galilee. They’ve been waiting for Jesus’ return since early morning, and as He steps from the boat, they press close around Him, following Him into the village of Capernaum. Suddenly, Jairus, ruler of the synagogue, appears and begs Jesus to come to make his daughter well.

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One of the people in the crowd is a woman who has been unwell for many years. She’s spent all her money on doctors, but she “was no better, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26, NKJV). She’s heard about this great Man of Galilee and, with hope in her heart, gathers what little strength she had to leave her house that morning to join the crowd. The press of the people feels almost suffocating as she inches closer to Jesus. And then, through the pushing and shoving, she sees Him. She encourages herself: “ ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well’ ” (Mark 5:28, NKJV).

This incident shows Jesus’ care and compassion for the sick and lonely, and those usually lost in the crowd. Many that day were pressing close to Jesus’ side as they drifted along with the crowd, but only one intentionally reached out to touch Jesus to receive the blessing she so desperately needed. However, it wasn’t her touch that healed her; it was her faith that made her well (Mark 5:34). “The Saviour could distinguish the touch of faith from the casual contact of the careless throng.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 344. Jesus’ garment held no special power; rather, it was the woman’s faith and her choice to reach out to touch Him that healed her.

That frail woman, in her suffering and distress, could have stayed in bed at home on that morning, but instead, she deliberately sought Jesus out in the hope of healing. Seeing Him at a distance wasn’t enough; she drew close to Him.

Jesus beckons us to do the same today. He says, “ ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls’ ” (Matthew 11:28-29, NLT).

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Jesus had spent the day speaking to large crowds of people on the shores of Galilee. Jesus’ words would echo in the people’s minds for a long time and down throughout eternity.

As evening fell, Jesus spoke to His disciples, inviting them on a journey with Him. “ ‘Let us cross over to the other side’ ” (Mark 4:35, NKJV). Jesus knew a storm would come but suggested they go anyway. He had an important life lesson to teach His closest followers.

You likely know what happened next.

Consider these points:

1. Jesus falls asleep on what was likely the only pillow in the boat. The fishing boats usually had one pillow, which the driver of the boat, at the stern, sat on. The person at the stern guided the boat to the destination. So here, Jesus is in the position of the boat’s “driver,” but He falls asleep at the wheel.

2. Not all the disciples were new to sailing. Peter, James, and John were experienced fishermen. They knew the Sea of Galilee, and they would have known how to navigate a storm.

3. This is the only recorded Gospel account of Jesus sleeping. During one of the worst storms in their lives, when the disciples are ter­rified and think they’re going to die, Jesus is asleep at the stern.

4. The disciples’ response in their time of crisis is “Do You not care?” They questioned Jesus’ character and His love for them. Too often, this is also our response when we face hard times.

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It’s in the midst of hopelessness that we might try to save ourselves (like the disciples), or sometimes it’s when we feel pain or loss that we start to question or doubt God’s love and care for us. We presume that He should act in a certain way based on what we think and see from our human perspective. But, as with the disciples, it’s in life’s storms that God can work the greatest miracles. God is always faithful, even when His apparent lack of involvement doesn’t make sense to us. He’s in our storms with us and can calm the storm when we cannot.

<–Sabbath Monday–>