07/28/2026
A Holy Plodder
What does faithfulness look like when nothing seems to be happening?
William Carey went to India as a missionary in 1793. His five-year-old son died. His wife’s mental health deteriorated. He faced hardship, learned a new culture and language, translated the Scriptures, preached, and prayed.
For seven years, there were zero salvations.
No church. No converts. No visible fruit.
When someone asked how he kept going, Carey said:
> “I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”
He was a plodder. He kept going day by day, moment by moment, living and doing his work. After seven years, he finally baptized his first convert, and he eventually became one of the most influential missionaries of the modern era.
That is the kind of Christian life James describes.
Every day can feel like a grind. You get up. You go to work. You come home. You go to bed.
Repeat.
Some days, you do not notice God. Some days, you barely notice God. Still, James tells us to be patient, strengthen our hearts, stop complaining, pray, confess our sins, and pursue those who wander.
Christianity is not a sprint. It is a marathon. Every day, little by little, mile by mile, we faithfully plod along until Christ returns.
The faithful Christian is not always the person who moves the fastest. Often, he is simply the person who refuses to quit.
Keep plodding.
(Pic: cool church in garland, TX)
