Before our victories, our accomplishments, our achievements, there is always a process that we must go through. Everything in life requires a process. There is a process before a baby is born, a student can graduate. Even in research, we go through steps before we obtain results; the process before an experiment is completed or a paper is written and published. A process always precedes a promise. We must trust the process!
Tough seasons of waiting for the promised outcome cause us to self-reflect, to dive into the inner chambers of our hearts. It is a time of stripping the old, whatever thoughts and perceptions which have kept us bound. It is a time of preparation for the very thing that we were promised. It is a time when we are molded and shaped and transformed into the person we were called to be by God. It is in these very seasons that we discover ourselves.
In the waiting, in the process, have you ever had moments where you doubted yourself or believed you may not make it? I have! I have found myself doubting my worth. Am I enough? Am I ready? Do I deserve this? I have found myself on the verge of giving up. Will this experiment ever succeed? Will my research be completed? Maybe this was never meant for me. But it is in these times we must never give up! We come face to face with our insecurities, our doubts and our worries and God steps in the middle and does a miraculous work in us. We grow in patient endurance and perseverance. We grow in our love, our joy, and our inner peace. We come out of the process anew and closer to the image of God. The process protects us from the deadly clutches of pride and the temptation of taking short-cuts that compromise the promised outcome.
‘What you are hoping for and holding on for won’t happen instantly, but if you give up, it won’t happen at all!’
– Dr. T. Richards
What are you facing that may require you to rest and trust in God that He is in the middle of your process? Are you waiting for a paper to be published? Are you waiting for a job? Are you waiting to be married? Are you waiting to move? It is not in our power that these things can be completed. We cannot force someone to give us a job. We cannot force someone to publish our paper. We cannot force the process. We can only trust the process. It is through prayer and trust in God that we ultimately trust the process. When we place our trust in God, we find peace and the ability to push through the trials and tribulations that we face as we go through life. As it says in Psalm 112:7 (NLT), we are taken care of by Him and covered in His presence. Though we face hardships, we can be confident that we will overcome and step out victorious.
‘They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust in the Lord to care for them’
– Psalm 112:7 (NLT)
The journey is hard. It is difficult wading through the rough waters of the process. But the result is so much sweeter that it makes the process worth it!