Trust the Process Series #13

Do not give up!

Once you possess God’s love, His promises, and the peace He gives, and once you know He is with you: how could you reach a point in the process where you decide to quit? We sing: “To the very end, I want to follow You, in good times and bad, at Your feet, Jesus, forever.” That implies a decision to remain faithful to the very end. Because there are moments that require you to leave certain things behind. “You must leave what you love.”

Sometimes, you have to let go of what you cherish. You must learn to bear being misjudged by others. You must learn to endure days when people do not understand you or when they despise you. That, too, is part of the process. Not everyone will understand what God is doing in your life. Whenever someone’s words threaten to shake your faith or pull you out of the process, you must learn to create some distance. “You must leave what you love.” If something you love is holding you back, sometimes you have to leave it behind. That is sacrifice.

Sacrifice is part of the journey.

Sacrifice is when something causes you pain, yet you choose to obey because you know there is a higher purpose. It could be an environment, a person, or a situation. Even when you have a promise from God for your life, and even when you know the truth, reality sometimes looks nothing like what God said. But you must understand: it is just a stage. You cannot let difficulties cause you to drop out of the process. You must not give up. If an environment is holding you back, you must decide to leave it so it doesn’t destroy you. Sometimes, you even have to talk to yourself, because negative thoughts may try to hold you prisoner. It is these thoughts that can derail you from the process. “You have to leave behind what you love.” This could mean leaving a person, a job, a situation, or even abandoning certain harmful mindsets. Because those thoughts can keep you captive and cause you to step out of the stage God has placed you in.

No comparison

Do not tell yourself: “I’d rather do what others are doing; it’s easier.” No. Because that will take you out of the process. It will undermine the confidence you once had. It will erode the faith you have in God. Some people get almost to the final stage, only to fall. It is like someone climbing a mountain: they are nearly at the summit, but something happens, they slip and slide all the way back down to start over. I would not want that to happen to you. When you know who you are, you must confront anything that seeks to hinder you, kill the process, or force you to retreat. If it involves a person, learn to manage the relationship. If it is a situation, seek to control how you react to it. If it involves negative thoughts, learn to control them. In this way, despite everything, you remain committed to the process. We will continue this discussion in the next episode to explore it further. Thank you for following us!