Back To Square One

I’m, sure you’ve experienced this frustrating and emotional moment: Life is going great and you are making incredible progress toward the goal you’re confident Christ has called you to. You are praising God and excited when all of a sudden the rug gets pulled out from under you. A key step in your plan fails, or a catastrophe strikes. Whatever it is, as you look around, you realize you are once again back to square one.

You want to give up. You don’t think you can muster the strength to stand and press forward again for the hundredth time. What do you do?

Let’s journey through this pain together.

I Understand

This just happened to me. I’ve been writing toward this goal of getting published for over 10 years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve submitted a book to a publisher only to be rejected.

Recently, I finished writing a fiction novel, and I’m so excited to release it to the world. I love the plot, the world, and the characters, and I think it’s a truly phenomenal story. I’ve entered the Genesis Contest (a contest for unpublished Christian fiction authors like myself). In June my book made it to the semi-finals. I also had a few publishers and agents request I send them a manuscript, which I did a week ago.

In my head, I started believing that maybe, just maybe, this book would break through and get traditionally published.

Then came the crushing news: I didn’t make it to the finals of this contest. This shattered my fantasy about this book. This book might not be the most incredible book of all time. It might just be “another book”. Will I ever get traditionally published? Will my books be recognized and talked about like so many of the other authors I see? Or, will I get to encourage high school Christians to trust God and follow him on a grand adventure? Once again, I’m not sure. I’m now back to square one.

Your Next Thoughts

When you reach this point of feeling like you are starting all over, your very next thoughts are important to note.

This is the thought process I walked through—and I bet you had similar thoughts: “Should I quit? It’s been years of hard work, and for what? Will I ever be any good at this whole writing thing? Will I ever reach this goal I believe God has called me to?”

It’s in these moments that God refines and refocuses us.

Right after we are bombarded by fears and insecurities, we must focus on an important truth. If you truly are following God down this path, then you aren’t striving toward this goal for yourself. It doesn’t matter how hard it is for you, because the end goal is to bless others. How can we quit on them?

After God reminded me that I’m not walking this path for myself, he brought back to mind the promise he made me about my writing. One day my writing will serve and encourage others.

What about you? How did God point you down the path you now walk? Did He show you a vision? A dream? A promise? If God did speak to you, then why is it you are now having a hard time believing him? Did God’s plans change, or is it just your emotions? God is great at keeping his promises. So, if he truly did speak, then you can continue pressing forward in confidence.

Are You Really Back To Square One?

The next day after this emotional crash, I responded to several emails from my email subscribers. Each one thanked me for sending these encouraging emails and for pointing out God’s truths in the midst of trials and setbacks. One email thanked me for writing my two nonfiction books as they both encouraged the sender. As much as it felt like I was back to square one, I’m much further than I was ten years ago. Whether my writing craft is good enough to be traditionally published or not, I do know I’m much better at writing now than I was before.

And the same is true with you.

Maybe you have several new contacts. Maybe you are helping a few people even though it’s much less than your dream number. Perhaps you’ve learned a ton and now know the correct steps to take and how to take them. Whatever it is, take inventory of your progress since you started this journey. You are not back to square one. You might have faced a setback, but you have still gone a long way.

Turning Setbacks Into Blessings

The beautiful truth of our faith is that even trials and difficulties can all be blessings. Your setback doesn’t have to be a loss. Yes, it’s frustrating. Believe me, I understand that. But you can utilize the difficulty to make God’s name known.

You are not alone in your feelings.

Look around you. Is there someone else near you who’s also faced a setback? You probably know exactly how they are feeling. Who better to comfort them than you? And, if you haven’t noticed, that’s exactly what I’m doing through this blog post. If you’ve felt seen, heard, or encouraged, through this post, know that you hold the power to make someone else feel the same way in their hard season.

But there are other ways to turn this difficulty into a blessing.

Use this time to humble yourself and put God first. Remind yourself that this dream isn’t yours alone. It’s God’s dream entrusted to you. So don’t grasp this dream with white knuckles, hold it out before God every step of the way and trust him.

Be faithful in the trials by pressing on. And in so doing, you will be an example to others. You will be a witness to God’s loving-kindness as you point out that he’s the one sustaining you.

Do not be discouraged. Do not let your focus slip from God. You are his dearly loved child. He has a plan. Keep pressing on with me because God has great things in store beyond the trials.

This is how we live wilder.

 

 

If you still feel overwhelmed and want to give up, I’d recommend checking out my blog post: 1 Key To Endure Any Hardship

If you need help finding or refining your calling, I’d recommend my book Discovering God’s Calling