Trust the Process

I recently started a new daily devotional book about seeking God. By “new,” I mean that I purchased it at a thrift sale last month, and though it is a 365 day January to December book, I started it in August. God’s revelations are not limited to specific messages on specific days of the year. And I am impatient.

The message I read today (which was actually designated for January 14 or something like that) encouraged me to trust the process. It gave examples of different processes that we may have to go through. It explained why the process is important. I may have something to learn. Someone else may have something to learn.

The photo below reveals how I want to respond to “trust the process.”

The words “trust the process” tell me that I can not jump feet first into what God has called me to do until He tells me to jump. They tell me that I must prepare. I must listen. I must wait.

Wait. W. A. I. T. That word has four letters like so many four-letter words that we are not supposed to say, and at times it leaves the same taste in my mouth. I don’t like to wait. (See the last sentence of my first paragraph.) Waiting means that I am not moving. I feel like I am wasting time. There is work to be done, and it’s not going to do itself! I want to do the work that You have called me to do right now, Lord! Isn’t that a good thing? Don’t they, You know, those people who are always saying things, say that You don’t call the equipped, but equip the called? That means that if I start moving, you will equip me as I go. Right? RIGHT???

There are 17 verses in the Bible that talk about waiting for the Lord. They portray waiting as a good thing.

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5

“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Isaiah 26:8

More than five years ago God placed a call on my life, and now I am just over 4 1/2 years into earning my bachelor’s degree. That is a long time. I have only made it this far by the grace and strength of God, the support of my family and friends, and the gentle encouragement of my husband whenever I feel like I can not go on. (YOU ARE NOT QUITTING!) Meanwhile, I wait. I wait to be done. I wait to be ready. I wait for the Lord to clear the path to the calling that He gave me. This part of the journey is hard, but it is important. I need to pay attention.

Are you in a season of waiting? Do you feel like you should be accomplishing something, doing something, fixing something, making something… or SOMETHING?

Soak in the moments. Look for the lessons. Breathe in the present. And yes, trust the process. Or better yet, trust the Author of the process. Surrender to Him and His process. You never know. That may be all that He was waiting for you to do.

“Take courage my heart.
Stay steadfast my soul.
He’s in the waiting.
He’s in the waiting.”
Lyrics from Take Courage by Kristene DiMarco