Processes and procedures. Those are two words that I don’t like. When I hear the famous “trust the process” or “follow procedure,” I know it means to wait. No one likes to wait. I prefer instant results because it’s easier.
But for the most part, everything we do in life has a process or procedure attached.
Rats.
Trusting the process translates to more work
For me, trusting the process and following procedures usually means more work. But, as irritating as it can be, I’ve learned not to buck against it. There’s a reward at the end of the process, and it only comes to those willing to wait.
For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
Judges 13:5 ESV
The process has a beginning and an end. Everyone wants to get to the end, but few want to begin.
A curious judge
Of the judges in the Old Testament, Samson is one of the most curious. He judged Israel for 20 years and is known for his relationship with Delilah, which ultimately contributed to his downfall, and for his supernatural strength. If you ever wonder whom God can use, look no further than Samson’s life. A curious man whom God used.
God didn’t assign Israel’s deliverance to one person. He said Samson would begin to save Israel from the Philistines.
Begin.
Samson wasn’t responsible for completing everything God intended. He was responsible for his part.
There was no magical deliverance or sudden change. God was working through a process He had determined. Why did He choose this way? That prerogative belongs to God. We are assigned to trust.
I don’t know where you are in your process. If you’re like me, you’re probably in the middle of several separate processes at once.
Maybe you’re at the beginning. Maybe you’ve been somewhere in the middle for so long that you’ve forgotten what the beginning looked like. Or maybe God has asked you to begin something whose ending you may never see.
Samson reminds me that God is not only the God of the outcome. He is God of the process.
