Lord Jesus,

I guess if anyone knows how rejection feels,

you do.

I know it’s a part of being a writer,

hearing “not right for us”

and “not right for our audience”

and “not a good time”

or, worse, nothing at all.

Sometimes it seems so few and far

between acceptances.

I know, I know:

You set your face like a flint

even when you knew what lay ahead.

So, okay.

I’m not trudging to Calvary.

I’m not carrying a cross.

I’m learning to do better,

to write to the reader’s need,

to study the editor’s requirements,

to hone my craft

and trust your timing.

Help me to start again tomorrow,

and the day after, and so on,

while learning to find my acceptance

and my worth

in you.

Amen.

The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, by Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler is the author of fifty books, including The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, and Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (coauthored with Josh McDowell). He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and an Amy Foundation Award. He is the founding pastor of Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford, Ohio. He and his wife Robin have two grown children, Aubrey and Aaron, and five grandchildren. You can find out more on his website: http://www.bobhostetler.com.