Keep on Keeping on

In some of the most poignant writing in all of the Bible, the apostle Paul from house arrest wrote: "As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has dome. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

"I have fought the good fight," he says.

Sometimes that's all we have, all we can do. It's not glamorous faith. It's not spectacular faith. It's not pie in the sky where everything is rosy. It's gritty, it's determined, it's one dragged step after another.

I've been that way recently in terms of the latest book I've written. I've sent it to, I believe, 20 agents. I have been turned down by, I believe, eight thus far.

One of the latest replies wrote this:

Billy--
Thank you so much for your recent book proposal. Unfortunately, we must respectfully decline the offer to represent your work.
Due to the volume of proposals we receive, we are not able to give you individual feedback on your work or why we concluded we must pass on the project. There are a number of reasons why we may not move forward; some are related to the book concept and writing, but many are due to factors outside of your control.
We hope you'll press on. Consider:
John Grisham's first novel, "A Time to Kill" was rejected by 16 agents and a dozen publishers. Madeleine L'Engle's Newberry Award-Winning "A Wrinkle in Time" was initially rejected by 26 publishers. JK Rowling was turned down nine times for the first Harry Potter book. Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind," 38 times. "Chicken Soup for the Soul" was rejected 134 times. Even "War and Peace " and "To Kill a Mockingbird" struggled to find a publisher.
You get the point.
We wish you well as you continue to seek literary representation and a publisher for your work.
Thank you again for thinking of us.
All best.
Karen

Did you get the main point there? Press on.

In Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, he put it this way: I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[a] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

Life, even the abundant life that Jesus talked about, doesn't come easy. It simply doesn't. We must press on through rainy storms and through desert conditions. We press on when things are good and when things are bad. We press on.

When books are picked up and when they are not.

Pressing on means we don't quit and we don't give up. Paul nearing the end of his life, with perhaps days left, maybe hours, wrote, "the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom."

For Paul, there was always the next letter to write, the next church to establish, the next moment to preach the gospel. For Paul, all of life was about this man named Jesus who touched him deep in the recesses of a Pharisee's heart. For Paul, life was about continuing the fight, and it was most certainly a fight.

I understand.

If I never sell the book, it's okay. By God's grace I wrote it. I did the best I could. I like what I accomplished through Him who saves me. I don't see where Paul ever congratulated himself for how a church was going. He never basked in the limelight of a church plant. He never took roll. He never did anything but fight that which would stop the gospel from being preached. Life for Paul was about effort, not success.

That, ultimately, is all we have.

We press on, fingernails clinging to the cliff at times, till we see His face. We are survivors -- spiritually, mentally, emotionally and sometime physically.

We press on.