I grew up on a farm, we grew our  food for the most part.  Not like the previous generation, we bought things like meal, flour, sugar and butter. But we raised our own meat and gardened for our vegetables. We processed our meat in the kitchen with knives and meat grinders.  I remember grinding sausage with a grinder attached to the kitchen table.  Oh and the gardening!  Hours of planting, weeding, picking and the the process began. Green beans, peas, corn, and tomatoes and the like.  Each had a specific process to preserve. My mother was a stickler for preserving our food in a way that kept the food value in place.  It was such a process but my goodness it was wonderful to eat!  

I have noticed most of the time in our prayer life we are after the end result. That is why we pray we are after a thing!  Certainly we know to pray according to the word and believe what God says.  For sure God is for us and wants to have what he has promised…..but I have noticed God is very much into the process!  Now I have not always been happy about the process but as I am learning God is intent on it and seems to enjoy it.  But why!?!

I think I understand at least in part why in one word..  Relationship.  God is faithful to His promises but the process of receiving what He has promised brings us into a place where we must come to Him, listen, hear, and respond.  Relationship is the very heartbeat of our loving Father God.  It isn’t always easy, sometimes it is work, time consuming and the process varies from situation to situation.  Much of the time we have to change what we think and believe as the process causes us to change.  The process is part of transforming us and bringing us into the image of Christ.  The process is much like the gardening and preserving food for winter. Many of my best memories of my family are of conversations we had as we broke green beans, silked corn or shelled peas.  My parents would tell stories of their childhood and listen to our interests and ideas. There was something very satisfying about those times.  At the time it didn’t seem pleasant to me always but the results have enriched my life even to this day.  

I believe that is the way it is in the spirit.  In a time in history where fast and immediate is what is expected in life we must shift.  We must embrace process and specifically the process of God in our lives.  It is by this process we come to know Him, love Him and trust Him.  It seems to me that many times our promise is delayed because we don’t engage in the process. God always does His part it is our part that is in question.  

The children of Israel that came out of Egypt ….all but two….missed their promise because they didn’t engage in the process.  The process of walking through the wilderness was so they could know God, His ways, His provision and faithfulness.  But they chose not to listen, believe and respond in faith so they failed to receive what already been given to them from the foundation of the world.  Hebrews 4:3 tells us.  

Yet the two, Caleb and Joshua engaged in the process even though it took a long time and received what God promised.  Can you imagine the process they walked through.  But the reward was entering the promised land.  

The reward is worth the process!  It is in the process many times we find Him, know Him in ways we never knew possible.  To live this way we can go from glory to glory! 

It is a PROCESS!

–Melody