‘Overnight success’ usually takes many years

Country-music star Randy Travis and his manager, Lib, remember the lean days of his career – all 3,650 of them. For ten years, Lib did whatever it took to keep her club open long enough for somebody to discover Travis’s talent. For his part, Randy sang his heart out. And when he wasn’t singing, he was frying catfish and washing dishes in the kitchen. Then it happened. His break came, and everything seemed to click for him. He had a hit called ‘On the Other Hand’, an album contract, a tour offer, and a movie deal. He was hot! Suddenly, everyone seemed to be calling him an overnight success. But Randy recalls it differently: ‘We were turned down more than once by every record label in Nashville. But I’m the kind of one to believe that if you work at something long enough, and keep believing, sooner or later it will happen.’ Randy Travis went on to become an American music legend, winning three Grammys and seven Dove Awards and being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But it didn’t come easily or happen overnight. It happened because he worked hard, remained faithful through the tough times, and trusted God to come through for him. Jesus said: ‘Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.’ And here’s something you need to keep in mind: it will happen in God’s time, and on His schedule. Your part is to keep walking by faith and trusting Him to bring it to pass.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.