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No Matter How Long It Takes…

Maybe we should just go home. Maybe we should call it quits.

“Have you passed any new states yet?”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve answered that question…

People constantly want to know how many states we’ve added to the COS roster. I’m often embarrassed to answer, although I quickly fill them in on all the details: we’ve been making a ton of progress. Our grassroots work harder than anyone I know. We’re laying the groundwork for eventual massive success. We’re almost there.

But let’s be honest. When people ask that question, what they want to hear is that we’re at 30, 31, 32, 33 states. Instead, I’ve been answering “19.”

For three years.

I’ve had friends who have opposed me for being involved with COS simply because “it’s taking too long.” I push back, reminding them that some things are worth fighting for and that not every victory happens overnight. Still, I’m sure I’m not the only one who, at times, has wondered if they might be right.

Are we wasting our time?

Whenever I feel that way, I take heart from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and the 16th president’s unwavering faith in the face of overwhelming odds.

Lincoln’s Hope

After nearly four years, the American Civil War had exacted an immense toll. By the time it was all said and done, an estimated 698,000 Americans lay dead. No doubt, Lincoln must have wondered whether it was worth it.

In moments like these, discouragement becomes our greatest enemy. In moments like these, we’re tempted to despair. Maybe we should just go home. Maybe we should call it quits.

To channel our inner King Solomon, “What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?”

Lincoln spent more than his share of cold, dark, lonely nights in the valley of the shadow of death. But even when he couldn’t see the sun, his feet remained planted firmly on the rock of his worthwhile cause.

“If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which in the providence of God must needs come but which having continued through His appointed time He now wills to remove and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?” he asked. “Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’”

I’m convinced these are among the most stirring lines ever spoken in the English language — and they all hinge on this one word: “Yet.”

Everyone wanted the war to end. And yet, Lincoln was determined, even if the war lingered a thousand years, he would not cease to do his duty. The God who governs the affairs of men had placed a calling on his life, and he would not back down.

A “Though” Faith

And while the Civil War was less than two months from ending, Lincoln’s fight was just beginning. It was a fight, more than a century later, still being carried on by people like Martin Luther King Jr.

There are two kinds of faith, King argued: an “if” faith and a “though” faith. “The ‘if’ faith, says, ‘If all goes well; if life is hopeful, prosperous, and happy; if I don't have to go to jail; if I don’t have to face the agonies and burdens of life; if I’m not ever called bad names because of taking a stand that I feel that I must take; if none of these things happen, then I’ll have faith in God, then I’ll be alright.’” But the “‘though’ faith” — “the permanent faith, the lasting, the powerful faith” — “says, ‘Though things go wrong; though evil is temporarily triumphant; though sickness comes and the cross looms, nevertheless! I’m gonna believe anyway, and I’m gonna have faith anyway; ‘Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, the LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge’ (Psalms 46).”

That’s the kind of faith Lincoln had. It’s the kind of faith history’s greatest world-changers had. And it’s the kind of faith I want, too.

I am committed to the COS cause to the very end. Not because it’s easy. Not because it promises to be an overnight success. But because it’s the right thing to do. The question is not how long will it take; the question is, do I, like Lincoln, believe in what I am trying to accomplish? If yes, then what other choice do I have?

Others may call it quits. Others may go home. But to the thousands of grassroots who have not yet dropped out of the fight (and, frankly, never will), the 16th president enjoins us: “Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us dare to do our duty as we understand it.”

No matter how long it takes.

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Created:	2025-03-28 15:14 GMT
Updated:	2025-04-04 07:00 GMT
Published:	2025-03-28 15:30 GMT
Converted:	2025-11-11 12:05 GMT
Change Author:	Jakob Fay
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