I first heard these three words when we were going through our first and only round of in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Naturally, I was feeling anxious, overwhelmed and somewhat emotionally exhausted with the amount of medication to take and injections to administer. We were about half way through the process when someone close to me encouraged me to trust the process. Here we were doing all we possibly could to have another child when someone suddenly stopped me and reminded me that now I just need to trust the process.
This meant that I needed to trust that our infertility specialist with his 40 plus years of experience knew what he was doing, that he had a detailed plan laid out just for us. I also needed to trust my body that it too would do exactly as it should in response to all that was taking place. Then of course I needed to trust God, that He would do exactly as He said He would and deliver on His promise…whether that be this way or another.
Trusting in the process isn’t always easy. It’s admitting that we are mere humans but that we have a powerful, almighty God who knows more and can see further than we can. It’s being okay with the here and now yet being unsettled enough to believe God for more. It’s trusting that God can and will use anything to achieve His ultimate purpose and to know that when we do all we can, then He steps in and does the rest.
Faith in action
In life we have to trust the process, that even better than an infertility specialist having a plan for us, our God has the greatest plan for our family.
Our son loves to know where we are going when driving. He loves being able to watch the map in the car and follow the little blue arrow to see where we are in proportion to where we are headed.
Many of us are like this, we are content/happy when we can see how it’s all going to play out. We are okay with the here and now when we can see what’s going to happen a little further down the track. Unfortunately, we don’t always know nor can predict the twists and turns that lie ahead but this is what faith is all about.
Long Play Concept
I recently heard a preacher talk about the ‘long play concept.’ That we mustn’t just be excited about the here and now but be excited to be in this faith journey for the long haul.
Like a farmer who plants seed knowing that it may be years before he reaps a harvest, we too must embrace the here and now and trust that God will use everything for His purpose. That those deepest desires and dreams we all have will come to be if we just stay the path and don’t give up!
Pontius Pilate was the man who convicted Jesus of treason and ordered for him to be crucified. Jesus’s crucifixion was a part of God’s plan in Jesus becoming the saviour of the world. Pontius Pilate was a part of the process, a very important one. I believe even Jesus knew and trusted that this too was a part of the greater process. I’m sure it didn’t come without doubts or questions.
As we choose to trust the process, we too must remind ourselves and those around us that He’s got it, not to quit or give up, to stop looking around, that we are exactly where we are meant to be.
Elise Pappas and her husband are Campus Pastors of a Church on the Sunshine Coast. They have one son, Jonathan and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of another child due in April. Elise has a heart for God’s word and people. She also enjoys trail running and spending precious time with her friends and family.