God Gold of the Day

Trust the Process

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 1:3-6

The time is finally here!! I’m jacked for the opportunity to share the God Gold of the Day on a bigger platform, with the hope that these messages can be an encouragement to whoever reads them! I put a little background on how the God Gold got started on the testimonials part of the blog page for those of you who are receiving this for the first time. I’ve been stressing some trying to figure out what the first message on the blog should be since it would be out to more people than usual but thank God for my fiance Sarah reminding me it’s just another day, another message, and giving me the topic of “trust the process.” Just like with the God Gold message and everything in our lives, once we come into a relationship with Christ, Christ starts working on us. That work begins small but the more He has His hand in it, the bigger and better it becomes.

I heard these verses from Philippians last night and the way Paul starts off his letter to the church at Philippi got me thinking. He starts by thanking them and how excited, joyful he is to serve alongside of them for the cause of Christ! I don’t know if you’ve ever just taken a second to look back at the tough times in your life, or even the good, and think about the people that God put in your path to encourage you, pick you up and help you move past your circumstances closer to Christ. I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am for every single person in my life and you that may be reading this right now! I wouldn’t have ever sent these messages, honestly without the people I’ve had around me since day one to now, I don’t have a clue where I’d be or what I’d be doing. Then verse six, where Paul speaks with confidence to them because he knows what Christ is capable of. He encourages them to basically trust the process that Christ is taking them through. As much as I needed my reminder from Sarah this morning and how I need reminders every day it’s easier to understand why Paul would say that. He’s in a prison cell so he may not know exactly what’s going on with them in Philippi but he knows how much of a struggle it can be to keep our eyes on Christ and the prize of eternity when all around us it’s struggle after struggle, obstacles, just stuff to bring thoughts of doubt. “Am I really living out my purpose in life? Why am I still stuck in the same problems as yesterday? Why do I feel like every time I take a step forward, I then take 10 steps back?” Questions like that. I constantly ask myself those questions and if I take them to the right place, they start piling  up making you question everything. Most of all question the process. The funny thing is, when we look at scripture in the lives of great men like David, Moses, or Abraham, their life was nothing but a process. David was anointed king of Israel as a young boy and didn’t start being king until he was 30 years old!!! He had to go through years of struggle, battles, and constant uncertainty before he ever stepped foot on the throne. We can look at it and say “well, I’m not inheriting a kingdom so it’s different.” It’s really not, because as followers of Jesus Christ we are inheriting a kingdom, the Kingdom of God!! The things we go through everyday are apart of the process where Christ is shaping and molding us into the men and women He’s planned for us to be. He’s molding us more into His image and I don’t know about y’all but I’ll take His image over my own any day!

Think about it like you’re going to the gym because you want to get in better shape or some huge muscles. In this fast food, “I have to have it now” world we live in we’d like to think that after the first day we walk out looking like Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson. The truth is, gaining those huge pythons for arms doesn’t happen in a day, or even a few weeks. To get the muscles you want it’s a daily grind that involves a lot of sweat, pain, and maybe even setbacks. But the great thing is, if you trust the process and completely buy-in to the fact that it’s going to be a long time before results are seen, then the daily grind and obstacles aren’t such a big deal. No matter what obstacle or struggle you have that is constantly getting you down and doubting, it’s okay! It’s actually good news because that means Christ is working on you and molding you into someone much better! I know it gets hard at times but after having so many days of doubt and feeling worthless, this process Christ is taking you through is so daggum worth it! Just keep your eyes and trust set on Christ even in the days of doubt. Look at the work He’s already done in your life and be thankful for the people who helped get you here. To get huge sleeve-ripping pythons for arms, it’s not overnight magic but a daily grind! His promises hold true and He’ll be faithful to finish the good work He’s began in you! Praying for you today and please pray for me that we can get a little bit better today than we were yesterday. A little more stronger in our faith each day.