Falling in Love with the Process
Reflections on learning to trust the One who authors the process.
I really am NOT in love with the process right now.
I’ve been wrestling with the process.
I’ve been resisting the process.
And this week I’ve been embracing the process.
I’ve been choosing to grapple with it. Face it head on.
Be honest with myself.
I’ve had the conversations I needed to have, asked the questions I needed to ask, and now I’m in the process of accepting it.
Now all I can do is try my best to show up in my life, in my friendships and in my career.
The biggest lie we buy into is: “When X then Y”
When I get through this, then I’ll be happy.
When I have more money, then I’ll be fulfilled.
When I finally “arrive,” then I’ll feel peace.
We will NEVER have it figured out.
We are always learning and growing – and part of the learning and the growing is embracing discomfort and not fully understanding the process.
I have SO many questions.
I want all the answers and what I’ve been learning is that I may never get the answers I’m asking for.
But here’s the thing – I don’t need to.
If I believe God is the God who sees (El Roi - Hebrew) and He is the God who is Lord Almighty (El Shaddai) then why would I fear? Or worry about the future?
"So why would I fear the future? Only goodness and tender love pursue me all the days of my life."
Psalm 23:6 TPT
That means I don’t need to chase or fear the unknown—His goodness is already chasing me.
He holds the future and literally everything that is happening is for my good.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28 NKJV
So if I love Him, trust Him and surrender it all to Him then SURELY it will all work out.
There will be discomfort.
There will be pain.
There will be suffering.
And there will be God amidst it all.
Immanuel - God with Us.
Discomfort often propels us into action.
Which can be a good thing!
But sometimes, it simply leads me to busyness…
Which leads me to always doing things—not necessarily the right things—just to stay busy… so I can say I’ve accomplished something.
And what I’m learning is sometimes I need to stay in the discomfort to become still and listen to what God is trying to reveal to me.
What if I could trust in the Faithful One — and not the outcome?
The world says, “If you do enough, strive enough, perform well enough THEN you will be recognised.”
But Scripture says:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33 NIV
What if I could be happy NOW?
What if I could ENJOY now?
During the discomfort.
During the pain.
It WILL get better.
Instead of having to constantly chase the future–what if the process could be as enJOYable as the end result?
Why am I always RUSHING to get to the next thing?
Naturally, the human condition causes us to either live in the past or the future.
The past induces guilt or shame.
The future induces fear.
And that loop keeps us stuck.
It looks something like this:
Shame keeps us still.
Fear keeps us overthinking.
And we either don’t act at all—or we act from fear, shame, or guilt… which means we’re never fully present.
But it’s not how we have to live.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
If we are gifted with God’s Spirit which gives us power, love and a sound mind then SURELY we are equipped to take on anything that comes our way.
The difficult work situation.
The heavy conversation.
The confronting question.
The uncertainty.
Naturally, we desire to know the outcomes because we want to ensure our success.
No matter what we do, we cannot fully ensure that we will be successful.
It is all a risk and due to the nature of our freewill, sometimes bad things happen to us.
And therefore some bad circumstances are outside of our control.
So what we do have control over is how we respond.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6–7 NIV
That’s what I’m getting at…
EnJOYing the process begins with gratitude.
(Notice how Scripture places it first—because gratitude and fear cannot coexist.)
Only then do we present our requests, hurts, and fears before Him.
How can we simply find PEACE in the present?
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:34 NIV
I don’t know.
That’s the journey I’m on right now.
If I don’t live right now, I will forever wish I did it better in the past.
Or forever wish for a better reality.
So I choose to enJOY now and receive God’s Peace – even when it’s hard or good. Because I know that he gives it freely as a gift for those who receive it.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV
Because it will add up to a beautiful life lived with beautiful experiences and beautiful people and life lessons I could never learn in an institution…
I’m living in the university of life, which has no end date… until Jesus chooses to take us home.
Over the past 6 months…
I’ve found myself constantly longing for a point of arrival.
Or finally knowing the answer of “what’s next?”
“Now I’ve arrived.”
“Yes, this is it.”
That will never happen.
What if we could enjoy the process of getting there and find JOY and contentment and peace and fulfilment in the process?
What if the very present moment is where God wants us?
What if we stopped:
Measuring?
Comparing?
Ruminating on what other people think?
Obsessing over others’ opinions?
And just went for it!?
I often laugh at the reels we find on social media scrolling through where people pose the question,
“They say ‘Trust the process’ but does the ‘process’ know we’re trusting it?”
I think what we get wrong here is forgetting that behind the process is God.
Abba Father.
Who deeply, truly loves us and only wants the best for us.
And that trusting the process is misleading.
But embracing the process is freeing.
Trusting the process can feel vague.
Trusting God is specific, grounded, and freeing.
Because He is the Author of the process—and when we trust Him, we stop striving and start aligning.
"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4 ESV
Note how this verse first suggests “delighting” in the Lord meaning when we focus on and enjoy God, He WILL fulfill the things that we desire, as they are rooted in what’s good for us according to HIS perfect and good will.
If this struck a chord with you…
I’d love to hear what part is hitting home for you.
Reply to this email or drop a comment below. ⤵️
And as always, keep showing up. <3