“Trust the process.” This has become Terry’s and my new, “go-to” phrase. We know we are to trust God. That is a given. We do not always trust His process or His timing, though.
This is when we get ourselves into trouble.
We try to rush God. If He does not show up with an answer on our timetable, we try to play the role of God. And I will say this as delicately as I can … we ain’t God. You will rarely see or hear me use the word, “ain’t.” But to further emphasize my point, we ain’t God, so there’s no need in us trying to be.
My pastor, Jamie George in Franklin, Tennessee and my pastor, Steve Lawes in Big Pine Key both said we need to learn to wait during the tension. To embrace the tension. For two pastors to drive this point home, it must be crucial for our faith to grow.
I have to be honest with you, though. I suck at embracing tension. I act like I have an allergic reaction to tension and I whine, moan and cry to God; complaining the whole entire way.
But every single time I come through the tension, there is beauty. Every. Single. Time.
Because this is how God works. He teaches us to grow in the waiting. Our faith is so enriched while we are in the valleys. We keep climbing and climbing and eventually we reach the mountain top. But during the climbing phase, it feels as though we will never reach our goals. The pain, the exhaustion, the turmoil, the angst on those climbs, is no joke.
The view and satisfaction, though, from the climb, is so worth it. Every time we reach those mountain tops, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” - Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)
But then, when you read a couple of verses down, David nails it.
“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” - Psalm 40:5 (NIV)
If only we could stop and think when we are in the waiting period, “I know God’s got this. I trust Him and I trust His process.” We don’t typically think that way, though, and this is where I want all of us to focus … trusting His process. When we say we trust God, part of trusting Him is trusting His process.
When we trust His process, we get to live out David’s words in verse 5. Our minds are blown by His amazing provision. All the while we are waiting and waiting and wandering and climbing that mountain; falling, scraping ourselves, bleeding along the way, hurting and wanting to give up … God is telling us, “Trust the process. Someone could tell you how amazing My plans for you are, but you would never be able to grasp or fathom it. So trust My process and then go tell everyone else how I kept My promises to you…”
Trust the process while you trust Him. I promise He is always worth the wait.