David Lee Martin

We cannot talk about continuation without touching on persisting in prayer.

Prayer is the foundation of everything we do as Christians.

I write to the Faithful Creative community largely about two things:

PRAYER (plugging into the Source)

and SHARE (making things and sending them to the world to help and bless others).

The first essential on that list is prayer. Never forget that!

It’s here that persistence and pushing though is required more than anywhere else.

Jesus taught:

"…that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (give up)." Luke 18:1

The inner man (or woman) is the helmsman of the ship, steering your vessel in the purposes of God.

Way too many people segregate their lives into spiritual and natural.

Whole swathes of life are relegated to the natural box and fail to get saturated as they should in healthy conversation with the Father.

Bring it all.

Bring your books, your ideas, your stories, your pictures, paintings and plays; the whole kit and caboodle. When your steam to continue with a project dwindles, the most productive thing you can do is retreat to the prayer closet.

Let the Father refill your tank. In His presence, your will can be strengthened and your resolve renewed.

Never neglect prayer.

Creative life is not fuelled by sheer stubbornness of will. It’s propelled by the Creator who lives and breathes within you. Yielding to Him is the key to continuation. He will fill you up as often as you choose to come and you will be empowered to approach your creative projects with fresh impetus each day.

Not only is He faithful to complete the work He has begun IN you (Phillippians 1:6), but He is faithful to bring to completion the work He has begun THROUGH you.

Each believing step builds not only the thing you are making, it builds you. Creativity acted upon and exercised develops resilience, patience, and faith – it forges fresh ties with the Creator who lives within you.

This is a partnership.

Hope wistfully gazes to some future day wishing for things to change.

Faith gathers the strands of hope and shapes them into simple actions. Faith acts on hopes and drags them to the now.

This is not a one time occurrence. We ‘walk’ by faith. We ‘live’ by faith.

Faith and patience are the two legs that hold us up and allow us to make progress.

As an example, I hope to build an audience of faithful creatives. Christian men and women with a desire to make a difference.

How?

Send them encouragement each day freely and liberally. Believe that sowing always leads to reaping. Ask that they share with others if they find it helpful and inspiring.

And continue for as long as it takes.

What’s your plan?

And are you prepared to continue with that plan until you see the results you desire? It takes dedication to do so. To continue when you would sometimes rather quit. To double down when you feel discouraged. All of this juicy resistance is the raw material to build your breakthrough.

The Bridge

This bridge from start to success is called “sustaining” or “stamina”.

It speaks of your resolve to take consistent action in one direction over time.

Crossing that bridge, most often a far longer one than you anticipated, is the leg of the journey that builds the skill, the self-awareness, and the ability to dig deep and deliver diamonds to an audience.

Last week we spoke about commencement.

Starting creative endeavours.

This week I want to talk about continuation.

(Next, we’ll touch on Completion).

You need to get these three elements down. Each requires a different (but similar) set of skills.

Another way to say it would be that you have to Start, and then Sustain to Succeed.

Being able to continue beyond that promising beginning is what makes the difference.

Remember this, gumption gets you going, grit keeps you going.

It’s often easy to put your all into beginning something. Whether a creative or spiritual endeavour the start of something can be spicy. The anticipation, curiosity, excitement and novelty fuel the early stages. But it takes stamina to continue. It takes faith to carry a project forward beyond the initial thrill.

There are ways to ensure that the fuel in your engine doesn't run dry.

The same applies to the development of your spiritual and prayer life, marriage, and other aspects of your pilgrimage here on the blue ball. Shifting gear for the Continuation stage is what’s required. With the right gear locked in, you’ll cruise your way to completion.

Continuation Pains

It’s easy to lose steam once the novelty wanes. The grand mountain of unfinished opuses climbs to the sky. Hard drives are the graveyard for half-written books and other creative adventures.

Is that true of you? Has your resolve to make something awesome come to a standstill?

Pick yourself back up, brush yourself down, and continue.

Don’t kick yourself for falling off the wagon.

If you started something, perhaps many things, and have not brought them to completion, let yourself off the hook. Stop beating yourself up, and don't define yourself by the things that you've not done.

Many people don't even take that first step. You've done that, and that’s something that you should commend yourself for.

But now’s the time to apply that same creative fire that helped you to instigate and initiate to build and breakthrough.

So first thing, forgive yourself.

Dust down.

Climb back on the horse.

And let’s tame and take that stallion to the finish line.

I’m repeating myself, I know.

I’m repeating myself, I know.

But sometimes repetition is the hammer that drives home the point until it sticks.

The key to getting results?

Here are three things I have found that always work.

Consistency.

Show up daily regardless of your feelings and do one thing toward your goal.

Small Steps.

Be realistic about what you can achieve in a day. Break your creative and prayer goals down into small steps. Hit one or two each day and be content, knowing that you will be back tomorrow to continue.

Celebrate Small Wins.

Be willing to celebrate small wins and encourage yourself in the Lord. Don’t get caught in the glaring lights of comparison, competition and envy. Run your own race well and let others run theirs.

Embrace the grace to run your race

In this manner, I have built a million-dollar book business. I’ve written a Bible School. Penned over 50 books, created countless courses, recorded hundreds of podcasts, developed a daily newsletter, and encouraged thousands of other prayerful creative Christians to embrace the grace to run their race.

How?

One small consistent step at a time. Sometimes 200 words on a page (like this one), learning an aspect of a new skill I want to master, creating a page or two on a website, or shooting a quick video. Sometimes jotting down book ideas or streamlining recurring tasks.

It differs from day to day.

Each day builds on the previous one. And I’ve done it for decades.

My prayer is that you’ll be strengthened in your resolve. One day at a time.

Don’t fret. Take your next step!

As Christian creatives are called to use our divine gifts to serve and inspire others. However, the initial resistance we face can sometimes feel overwhelming.

How do we overcome this inertia and push through resistance to bring our God-given ideas to life?

1. Ground Yourself in Faith

Before any creative journey begins, grounding yourself in faith is essential. Remember that your talents are gifts from God meant to be shared with the world.

2. Seek Inspiration from Scripture

Writing, composing, or designing, scripture provides timeless wisdom and encouragement. Don’t give out without drinking deeply and feeding yourself abundantly on the Words of life.

3. Break Down Your Vision into Manageable Steps

Combat overwhelm by breaking down goals into manageable pieces. Small steps over time = big results.

4. Embrace Community

Isolation amplifies feelings of resistance and self-doubt. Engage with fellow Christian creatives who share similar passions and struggles.

5. Utilize Practical Tools for Productivity

Having the right tools frees up the capacity to create instead of hesitate. Find and use the tools that fit your way of working. Invest in your creativity as required, but be careful not to get caught up in buying software, tools, and subscriptions that suck your attention from the simple act of making. A tool should simplify your workflow not complicate it

6. Confront Fear Head-On

Feel the fear and do it anyway. You’ll discover that the voice of fear diminishes and faith rises with every decision you take to move forward. What was once hard becomes easy over time.

7. Celebrate Progress Regularly

Finally yet importantly – celebrate every milestone reached!

Recognize every minor achievement along the way.

Thankfulness will fuel your future efforts!