There’s a moment that happens in the middle of almost every God-given pursuit that nobody really warns you about.

The beginning was clear. You felt the calling, you said yes, and you stepped out with faith and a full heart. But somewhere between the start and the finish line, life crowded in. Progress slowed. The gap between where you are and where you hoped to be started to feel less like a journey and more like a verdict.

And in that gap, doubt finds its footing.

Maybe you’re in that place right now. Not in crisis, exactly — but quietly losing ground. The thing God stirred in you still matters, but the energy to keep pursuing it is running low. You’re not ready to quit, but you’re not sure how much longer you can keep pushing forward when the results are so hard to see.

This week I wrote a devotion for Proverbs 31 Ministries called “Tired of Waiting for the Breakthrough” that speaks directly to this feeling — and I’d love for you to read it if any of this resonates. But today I want to go a little deeper with you here, because I think what we do in the middle determines everything, so I have three suggestions for you to consider:

Stop measuring progress by outcomes and start measuring it by faithfulness.

When we’re deep in the hard middle of something, we instinctively look for evidence that it’s working — results we can point to, milestones we can celebrate, signs that the effort is paying off. And when that evidence is slow to come, we interpret the silence as failure. We start questioning the calling instead of questioning our measuring stick.

But faithfulness isn’t measured in outcomes. It’s measured in days. In decisions. In whether you showed up when you didn’t feel like it, prayed when you weren’t sure anyone was listening, and took one more step when everything in you wanted to stop.
That is not nothing. That is everything.

Remind yourself what you said yes to — and why.

There was a moment when you knew. Maybe it was quiet and private, or maybe it came through someone else’s words at just the right time, but something in you recognized a nudge from God and said yes. Go back to that moment today. Not to romanticize it, but to anchor yourself to it. The middle of hard things has a way of making the beginning feel distant and unreliable — but your yes was real. And God doesn’t extend callings He intends to abandon.

Philippians 1:6 puts it plainly: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Not might. Not if you perform well enough. Will.

Do the next right thing — just one.

One of the most paralyzing things about the hard middle is that we can see how much is still left to do, and the whole of it feels impossible. So instead of tackling the whole of it, don’t. Pick one thing. One step, one prayer, one act of obedience that moves you even slightly forward. Not because one thing will finish the wall, but because one faithful step leads to another — and momentum is built exactly that way. Quietly, steadily, one stone at a time.

Whatever God has called you to, He hasn’t changed His mind about it just because it got hard. The work is not wasted. The waiting is not wasted. The breakthrough is still coming.

Don’t let a hard middle convince you to walk away from what God hasn’t walked away from.

Keep going. He’s not finished yet.

PS … If the thing God has called you to is writing a book, there’s a next step waiting for you. The Book Proposal Intensive is a small-group coaching experience for women who know they have a story or message worth sharing. And here’s something most people don’t realize — developing a book proposal shouldn’t happen after you’ve written a book. It isn’t just about landing a publisher. It’s one of the most clarifying things you can do for your book before you ever write a single chapter. You’ll get clear on your message, your reader, your over arching felt need, exactly why your book needs to exist and why you’re the only who can write it. If you’re ready to stop wondering and start building, CLICK HERE to learn more!