Trusting The Process
But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:24-25
One of my favorite movies is The Karate Kid (the original one with Ralph Macchio, “Sweep the leg!”, Kobra Kai, etc.). There is part of the movie where Daniel LaRusso (the Karate Kid) is going through these seemingly trivial tasks that have nothing to do with karate at all, but his sensei, Mr. Miyagi, is actually helping him prepare to learn the art of it. There’s this point where Daniel is ready to give up, and Mr. Miyagi orders him back to show him all the things he was learning. What I got from that scene is that when you place your trust in someone, you must believe in what they are teaching you and ultimately trust the process.
As I read today’s verses, I asked how many times that I thought I was smarter than God or felt that I knew what was best for me? And in those cases, I often found that I was wrong, and as such, pointed up to Him saying, “Ok. You’re funny God, but I get it now.” It is odd because as we get older, we get wiser to understand God’s plan. Yet, we often think know what God wants when in reality it is what we want by massaging in a bit of what God wants. It might sound like, “Well, God will understand because …” I often have to pray about this because I do not want to disappoint God, and yet, it is important that I continue to grow into someone who consistently stands on the values and principles God instills in me. Growth is not about manipulating God’s word. It is about accepting those things that may not seem logical to us at the time but trusting God knows what is best. That is not to say we will not have some things we will have to figure out. What it is saying is that if we trust God in the process, we will in the end always make the right decision or come out better because we relied on His word and not our own.
We must always trust God in the process of our journey of faith. It is sometimes difficult to understand what God wants from us. But if we study His word well enough and take it to heart deeply enough, we will be able to apply its wisdom where we will achieve spiritual growth. Let us do as Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) Where is your trust level with God today? How can you avoid using your own plans and better incorporating God’s wisdom? My prayer is we get better at believing in God and trusting the process. Amen.