By Jack Wyman

Just one.

That’s all.

It’s one of the greatest and most mysterious ironies in history.

He was virtually unknown in his own time. No fame. No fanfare. No accolades. No awards. 

He was without recognition or honor. Or money. He painted more than 1,500 works of art in his lifetime. He sold one.

“One must go on working silently,” said the artist, “trusting the result to the future.”

Today, the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh hang in some of the greatest museums in the world. They bring millions of dollars. Simply to say, “it’s a Van Gogh” speaks to the priceless works of an artist universally regarded as a master.

He didn’t live to see his extraordinary artistic gifts acknowledged and rewarded. Still, he didn’t give up. He didn’t stop painting. He had faith. He had passion. He saw something others didn’t. Even his fellow artists were often perplexed by what Van Gogh painted—or how and why.

The eccentric genius kept on. He continued painting. He did not let public opinion, personal taste, or financial deprivation stop him. He followed the beat of that different drummer within his heart and soul. 

Vincent Van Gogh persevered.

For the sake of humankind and the imperishable glory of God-given artistic expression, it’s good that he did. The world is richer and more beautiful because of it. Though often tortured emotionally and mentally, Van Gogh persisted in his confidence in the future. 

So did the apostle Paul. 

Given sometimes to doubt, confusion, and depression, the great leader of our Christian faith grabbed hold of the finished work of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and he never let go. Through painful sufferings, insurmountable obstacles, and unremitting persecution, Paul never gave up, never gave in, and he never gave out. 

Paul had a single driving passion in his life. One consummate goal. One target for which he always aimed. One splendid vision that energized his hope, emboldened his ministry, and encouraged his heart:

“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). Jesus Christ was—to Paul—first, last, and always.

Charlie Brown was in his backyard one day shooting arrows into the fence. He’d then proceed to the fence and draw a circle around the arrow. When Lucy asked him why he did this, Charlie smiled and replied, “Because this way, I hit the target every time.”

“It concerns us to know,” wrote Aristotle, “the purposes we seek in life, for then, like archers aiming at a definite mark, we shall more likely attain what we want.”

Paul knew. 

This remarkable man in Christ did one thing—he pressed on. He didn’t dwell on the past, he looked to the future. History must always be a valued and wise guidepost. From it, we learn the lessons and examples of greatness. But it must never be a hitching post. 

You and I must not be anchored or held back in our lives by the remorse and regrets of our unalterable past. It’s a bleak and hopeless land. We must not live there. We must be confident and unafraid as we face the future—and trust the God who knows it and has ordained it. For each of us.

“This one thing I do,” Paul declared to the Philippians. “I press on!”

Harley Earl, the legendary design chief at General Motors, who was responsible for some of the most beautiful American cars in the early and mid-twentieth century, observed:

“The stylist is never content with what is or what has been. He always lives in the future, dealing with what will be.”

“I’m off and running,” Paul says, “and I’m not looking back.” What’s even more extraordinary in his divinely-inspired optimism and perseverance is the fact that Paul wrote from prison in Rome. He penned this joyful exultation from a dank and cold jail cell.

Paul’s hope was unconquerable. Nothing the devil threw at him could defeat him. He was a man on a mission. 

What was it? To reach the goal of his “high calling” and to win the prize of his faith (Philippians 3:14). He often employed in his writings the metaphors of struggle and endurance; a soldier, a boxer, a runner. Paul was always determined to break the tape. He wanted to win the crown prepared for him when he had finished his course, fought his good fight, and kept his faith.

For Paul, Christianity was not some safe oasis of mediocre complacency and comfort. It was a fearless, exciting, determined, and life-changing adventure in the pursuit of excellence. 

The testing of our faith, the apostle James wrote, produces endurance. Let this endurance be the “perfect result” of our struggles, so that you and I may be strengthened in our faith. For without testing, there can be no perseverance; and without perseverance, our character cannot be built and molded, and used for God’s glory. 

Without that strengthening, Paul told the Romans, there can be no hope. For hope is rooted and grounded—it blossoms and grows—in those experiences of joy and sadness through which our wise and faithful God leads us.

“The world breaks everyone,” wrote Ernest Hemingway, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”

We are blessed in our perseverance, made possible by the omnipotent, loving, and guiding hand of God. He has promised us a crown. “The crown awaits the conquest,” says the old hymn, “lead on, O God of might.”

You’re feeling and thinking many different things these days. About our world, our families, our nation, and our future. If you’re honest, you’ll admit to a multitude of emotions, perhaps fear, confusion, and anger. Or discouragement.

Many things. Many thoughts. Many questions.

God knows them all. Jesus cares about them all.

This one thing remains for you and me to do—in hope and confidence.

Press on!

To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.

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