Trust the Process

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7) Most of us may have heard this scripture a time or two in our lives for many circumstances when fear arises. Fear has a way of showing up when we least expect it. Fear grips you and causes you to either: not move to your next opportunity or become hesitant in your next steps looking over your shoulder waiting for something to negatively happen. Take heart, God didn’t give you and I the spirit of fear. So, why does fear show up in our lives. It’s simply because we do not trust the process.

What is ‘trust the process’? Let’s define trust and process. According to Cambridge Dictionary, trust means to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable. Process means a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result. ‘Trust the process’ means you believe in yourself, others, or God to not harm you while you are taking actions to achieve a result. When we fully invest in ourselves or others without hesitation it’s safe to say, “I trust the process” with full confidence. When we have seen God show up in our lives we can say, “I trust the process” because we are confident God will show up again. 

For some, placing trust in the process may not be hard; however, for others it is a daunting feeling. Many thoughts begin to flood your mind because of logistics, anxiety sets in because the vision is not quite right, or you need to know every detail because that is your way of having control of the narrative. When asked to trust the process we cross over to unfamiliar territory, known as the fear of the unknown. Many of us can raise our hand to being afraid; not wanting to do something because we don’t know what’s on the other side waiting for us. Although we may not know the outcome, we are hesitant to invest in the next move.

I’ve had my fair share of moments when I had to trust the process; just know you are not alone. I’d like to tell you a story about a poor widow and a flask of olive oil. I believe this story will provide steps on how to trust the process when you are investing in your endeavors. The story takes place in 2 Kings 4:1-7. A woman whose husband has died comes to Elisha, a prophet, for help because a creditor is threatening to take her two sons in exchange for the debt owed. God established a law that every seven years a release of debts can take place. (Deut. 15:1) The creditor was not following God’s law in Deuteronomy 15:1-18. Elisha asked “What can I do to help you? What do you have in your house?” The widow responds, “a flask of olive oil”. (2 Kings 4:2) Elisha instructs her to borrow many empty jars from friends and neighbors; then go into her home with her sons, shut the door and begin to pour the flask of olive oil into the jars, placing each one aside when it is full. She followed the instructions, and her sons kept bringing her one jar after the other. When there were no more jars left the olive oil stopped flowing (v.6). Elisha then instructed the widow to take the jars of olive oil and pay her debts and her and her sons can live on what’s left over (v.7).

There are a few practices you can use from this story as you trust the process.

1. Believe in the Process

When you place trust in someone or something, you ask or go in faith placing hope to see your endeavor come to past. Ponder this, do you trust yourself? Why or why not? Your past can determine how you trust in the future. You may have to dig a little deeper to uncover the root of your lack of trust. Hebrews 11:1 says Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. The key to faith is having a reality for the endeavor; big or small. The other key is evidence even when we cannot see it. You cannot believe in your investment until you can trust. God can use our smallest investment for a greater good. Now, ponder this, do I trust God with my endeavor? Do I trust his guidance? Why or why not?

2. Follow Instructions

When you are given directions or a process to follow; don’t deviate. Those step-by-step instructions are there to ensure you are successful from the beginning until the end. It’s in the moment when you decide to look for a short cut you may miss a crucial step. When you have been instructed to start step one complete in its entirety; then proceed to step two and so on. Take the necessary time for each step and when you do you will have an overabundance. Take inventory, how are you with following any instructions given to you?

3. Don’t Speed Up the Process

The pace of your endeavor may take days, weeks, months, or years to complete. On the other side of your endeavor is a beautiful remnant. Take the time to pour in each vessel what you would like to see as your evidence. The remnant of your process will always be greater than when you started. Have you ever given up on a process due to its pace? How might you wait differently in your endeavor?

As you go forth navigating your next endeavors, TRUST THE PROCESS.

Written By: Shantee' Owens, Founder

Free You Purpose Ministry

Website: www.freeyoupurpose.com

Email: freeyoupurpose@gmail.com

Instagram: @free_u_35

Facebook Page: Walking into Freedom

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.