Don’t Quit: Faithfulness When the Outcome is Unclear

Every calendar year I start the days off with fresh intention and renewed goals. I make outlines, set deadlines and forge into the next chapter of life with limitless hope. But give it a few days and something happens. My intentions start to wane; outlines go unchecked and my self-imposed deadlines are too hard. So, like many others—I quit.

Did you know that January 10^th is National Quitters Day? Yes, it’s a thing. And, yes, I am afraid to say, that I probably have fit right into the quitter’s category on many occasions. I’m reminded of just last year when my then seven-year-old grandson was wanting to conquer the local park monkey bars. He wasn’t quite strong enough to make it across on his own, but he kept trying. Then one afternoon, as he was halfway across, Papa yelled out to him, “Just don’t quit, don’t quit!” And with those words my seven-year-old  became like a superhero using every ounce of his strength to make it all the way across, with victory, for the very first time. Smiling ear to ear, he kept saying, “Now I believe in myself. I did it! I believe in myself.”

And dear writer friend, if you don’t quit this year, it might be the time you make it across the finish line. So, for just a moment I want to be the one cheering you on with those words,

 “Just don’t quit!”

There is a moment in every creative life when quitting feels reasonable, possibly even responsible. Rejection has hit hard and the silence as you wait for an open door seems long. You begin to wonder if you really have anything to give or anything meaningful to say. But, what if, this is the very moment when the most important work is about to happen.

The Middle is Where Most People Stop

Beginnings are fueled with excitement, endings are marked with clarity, but the middle is a long stretch of unseen work, where everything within  us is tested. The middle is where books aren’t yet contracts, ideas are not affirmed and there is a lot of heavy lifting. Its also where many creatives disappear-not because they lack talent, but because they mistook the middle resistance as disqualification.

Staying is a Creative Discipline

Staying on the other hand looks like revising, even when you thought the first draft was good enough. Staying looks like submitting again, after a disappointing “no”. Staying looks like continuing to write when no one has noticed and applause isn’t happening. Staying takes faith. Faith pleases God.

In a culture that celebrates quick wins, remember that you are being shaped while you wait. The wait is not in vain for God has a time and a purpose for everything. The delay in the process is developing you and producing something that no quick contract could ever give you. Quitting will keep you from this development and from the “yes” that comes when the timing is right.

So, like my grandson with calloused palms trying to conquer the monkey bars—allow yourself the space and time to keep going—even when your heart stings from rejection and your thoughts blur from overthinking what to write. Just keep going. Just don’t quit.

This past year I had a stretch of time when I doubted myself and wanted to quit. And, in kindness God reminded me of this scripture and I held it tight and kept moving forward.

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Hebrews 10:35-36

Perhaps you will be encouraged to keep going too. Don’t quit–not because it’s easy to keep going, but because your story isn’t finished yet. Sometimes the bravest thing a writer can do is keep going quietly because sometimes that quiet perseverance is exactly what ends up changing everything.

May this new year bring you writing mercies and strength  to keep going every day!