Are You in Need of a Comeback? Here's How

By Tony Evans, Op-Ed Contributor Sunday, April 22, 2018

Book cover for Your Comeback by Tony Evans, 2018. | (Photo: Harvest House Publishers)

Comebacks inspire us because they help us believe that whatever we might be facing – whether it's a financial setback, a health challenge, a relational breakup, or simply discouragement – we too can rise once again to the dawn of a new day. If it turned around for them, it can turn around for us. It helps us believe that where we are today does not have to determine where we will be tomorrow. Comebacks give us hope, and hope is the very thing that makes our hearts beat strong.

But we aren't the only ones who love a good comeback. In fact God Himself is the master at creating comebacks and turning things around. He is the architect of the great reversal – ushering in the defeat of a nine-foot giant by the scrawny boy with five stones. Feeding 5,000 (and then some) with a couple fish and a few loaves of bread. God orchestrated one of the greatest promotions of all time when He took a man from prison to the penthouse, placing Joseph in the second-highest position in Egypt.

Then, of course, the comeback of comebacks – the Savior who was crucified, got up from the grave, ascended to heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

Are you in need of a comeback? Consider doing these things:

Pursue greater intimacy with God. Your relationship with God is a lot like a marriage relationship. Intimacy with Him won't happen by chance. You need to make an intentional commitment to pursue God and seek greater intimacy with Him so He can grow you into a greater likeness to Jesus Christ. When we make that commitment, we have the tremendous promise that He will draw near to us.

Rather than try to escape your circumstances, seek a deeper understanding of God in the midst of them. As you face your crisis, know that even in your own imperfection, if you will begin to seek God and set your heart toward him, it will make a difference. Too many believers today want God to adjust to them without them adjusting to God. In reality, some of the most wonderful comebacks occur when our circumstances don't change but we do.

Submit to God's authority in your life. He is in control of your circumstances. He is not surprised by them. They serve His purposes.

Cast your cares on God. God is always faithful and always present in our lives. He doesn't require any secret formula or strategy from us, just a simple return to our dependence on Him alone.

Humble yourself before God. Humility means we go low so God can lift us high. We know true humility when God has removed all fragments of pride from us. The people God lifted up in the Bible were always taken down first – such as Joseph in slavery, Moses in the desert and David fleeing for his life. God's elevator to the top always starts by going down.

Obey Him, even when it doesn't make sense. If you long for a comeback, if you want God's solution to your problem, you must do things God's way. Think Naaman dipping himself in the Jordan seven times to cure himself of leprosy or the people of Israel marching around the walls of Jericho, blowing trumpets and shouting, before God sends the walls tumbling down. God's ways are often outside the box, and that's one reason walking in faith is sometimes so difficult – simply because what God asks us to do is often so different it makes no human sense at all.

Live by faith. One of the reasons many people don't experience a comeback is that they only go part way. They will do half or two-thirds of what they know God wants them to do, and then when they quit, they wonder why they don't see the change they thought they would get. But part way isn't the instruction. The instruction from God is always complete obedience. God always demands full faith.

Keep in mind, comebacks don't happen just because you want them to happen. They happen because you prepare, study, discipline yourself, position yourself, and allow yourself to be adaptable to God's plan. Comebacks don't happen every day, but that's what makes them so special when they do.

Dr. Tony Evans is the senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. He also serves as the founder and president of The Urban Alternative. His daily radio broadcast is "The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans."