You can’t skip the process
*To hear this inspiration on Dianna’s podcast—an audio companion to the written devotion—click here to listen.
Last week, my 17-year-old son, Kedar, spent some time with me sitting at the foot of my bed and playing his acoustic guitar for a good lil’ while.
It seems like only a few weeks ago—though it’s been way longer—that Kedar started strumming his guitar regularly. Now he’s so good at it, he even offered to teach Mommy how to play some chords. I accepted his offer. And though it was fun trying to follow Kedar’s directions, after a bit of time passed, my fingertips started aching. They turned red, and I saw deep grooves where the hard strings had dug into my skin.
It made me think about the early days of Kedar learning to play. He complained that his fingers were hurting and sore, but at the time, he didn’t understand why. After doing research, though, Kedar discovered that pain is a natural part of the process of learning to play the guitar.
And here’s why.
When a newbie player repeatedly presses their soft fingertips against the hard guitar strings, this pressure causes trauma to the fingers. And this trauma, though unpleasant, is necessary, because eventually, it toughens the skin. The only way to toughen up the fingertips is to keep on playing and practicing despite the pain. Eventually, the fingertips heal and develop rough callouses. And when that happens, the hard strings don’t hurt anymore.
So, at first, trauma hurts, but it also heals, right?
And oh, that is what I have been learning over the past two years! 2019 was traumatic for me, going through that incident, that terrible health crisis, coming out of it with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, where the body remembers the trauma and remains in a heightened state of alert.
I can get scared and startled by the smallest thing. But God has reminded me that if I keep trusting Him, and keep on doing the work, and keep pushing past the pain, then my journey to wholeness will not be in vain. And I’ll tell you what, I have seen God move by His power. The panic attacks I used to have regularly have all but faded away. God is able to heal trauma!
God sent me to tell you this.
Somebody here is going through some trauma. And God sent Dianna Hobbs to tell you that He will heal you everywhere you hurt. Doesn’t matter the source of the trauma, the cause of it, or how difficult the road has been. Wholeness is available to you.
That’s a good word for all of us. When we go through something traumatic and difficult, if we don’t give up, and we do the work despite the pain, we come out on the other end tougher, stronger, more resilient and equipped to handle pressure.
By the way, I sounded a hot mess on the guitar if you’re wondering! Even placing my fingers where Kedar told me to put them wasn’t enough to make me sound good. I don’t know the right amount of pressure to apply or how to be as exacting with my finger placement, so I butchered my attempts to do what Kedar easily does.
Why?
Because I skipped over the very thing that qualifies Kedar and gives him an edge over me; it’s called process.
Process in its most basic sense is a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular end or goal. Sometimes, processes are very unpleasant, painful, and undesirable, and I know that nobody likes to go through hard stuff. But, in God’s Kingdom, if you want to reap the rewards of progress, you must sow seeds in the soil of process. We don’t get to skip over process and trauma, no matter how obedient and submitted to God we are.
Jeremiah the prophet, for example, was obedient and fully submitted to God, but his life was not trauma-free or difficulty-free. In the 52 chapters of the book of Jeremiah, which contain the prophecies of the man we know as “The Weeping Prophet,” we see Jeremiah go through tough stuff. At the time of his ministry, the Jews, God’s chosen ones, were not obeying the Lord and had come under divine judgment. Jeremiah’s mission was to warn and prepare the people for this inescapable period of judgment that would last 70 years.
“ In God’s Kingdom, if you want to reap the rewards of progress, you must sow seeds in the soil of process.”
In Jeremiah 1, when the prophet first received his divine calling, God said that even before birth, He had hand-selected and anointed Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. The Lord also told Jeremiah not to be afraid because He would be with him, giving him what to say, and empowering him to fulfill his assignment. Nevertheless, Brother Jeremiah would still go through it, because, my friend, you can be anointed and traumatized. You can be appointed by God and still, the enemy will come for you. Adversity will come against you. Obstacles will erect before you.
Still, with God on his side, Jeremiah had to go through a difficult process because nobody wanted to hear his message of judgment.
They wanted to do what they wanted to do and still be rewarded and favored. Human nature. But Jeremiah couldn’t sugarcoat the truth for the Israelites, more specifically, the southern kingdom of Judah. So, Jeremiah was obedient and delivered the unfavorable news which led him down a path of rejection and ridicule. He was ignored, mocked, and even persecuted despite his divine calling and obedience to that call.
Obedience doesn’t guarantee a life of ease.
Who said obedience makes life easy, that following God’s commands guarantees smooth sailing, or that doing the will of God averts trouble and keeps all the storms away? God certainly did not say that. His word never promises us such things. We don’t get to skip over the process. Even though we are not under the old covenant as Israel was in our text, but the covenant of grace where Jesus paid the penalty for our wrongdoing, that doesn’t mean that we can expect blue skies and sunny weather all the time. Amen?
In Jeremiah 28, a false prophet, Hananiah, painted a rosy, sunny picture for Israel, predicting blue skies instead of the hailstorm of judgment that was on the way. Hananiah delivered a process-skipping word that he said was from God. He stood up before a packed congregation and told the people something completely different from what Jeremiah had been saying.
Jeremiah had been telling Judah the truth which was, the Babylonian-Chaldean army would destroy the temple. They would conquer Jerusalem and annihilate thousands upon thousands of people. They would then carry the survivors into captivity in Babylon—a hub of pagan culture—where the Israelites would remain for 70 whole years before their ultimate deliverance came.
But in Jeremiah 28:3, Hananiah, who was not walking in the spirit of God but operating totally in the flesh, lied, and said that God was going to turn things around, deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity, and completely restore them— all in the span of two years.
Wait, now. Hananiah shaved off 68 full years! Nevermind that Jeremiah and Isaiah, and all the other true prophets that came before Hananiah were all in agreement that it was a 70-year judgment period.
I imagine that while Hananiah’s no-revelation-having self was “prophelying” in front of all those people, Jeremiah was probably thinking, I know this man Hananiah did not just stand up in this church and tell a bald-faced lie like that. I know better than that!
Jeremiah probably wanted to yank Hananiah up and tell him to sit down somewhere.
Daily Cup family, I grew up in the Church of God In Christ denomination. We call it COGIC. And let me tell you, if you said something untrue or were out of line in front of the congregation, you ran the risk of getting embarrassed in front of everybody and told to have several seats, in Jesus’ name. Hananiah better be happy Jeremiah wasn’t a COGIC Bishop, because Hananiah would have gotten his lil’ feelings hurt that day!
But I digress. Jeremiah wasn’t COGIC. And he didn’t call out Hananiah in front of all the priests and congregants. Instead, Jeremiah simply said in verses 6-9 (which I’m paraphrasing), Well, amen and praise the Lord, brother. Although what you’re saying is different from all the other true prophets, I hope you’re right. And we’ll know if you are right if this word comes true.
I’ll spare you the suspense and make a long story short. Not only did Hananiah’s false prophecy not come true, but God killed Hananiah that same year for lying on God and causing the people to trust in that lie. Ouch!
After the bitter comes the sweet.
The real prophecy forced Israel to face the bitter reality that they could not skip over their process. Yet, the bitter phase would have a sweet end. God was not finished with them just as He is not finished with you.
In the following chapter, we find that infamous and encouraging passage in Jeremiah 29:10-11 NIV, where God told Jeremiah:
“‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
God said, while there will be difficulty, there will also be deliverance.
And this word I just read is the word for you today, and it’s the one I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration. As you drink down the contents of your cup, God is saying, though you will have some bad times, I will perform my good word. I will keep my promises. I will restore you. I will bless you. I will establish you. After you suffer, better days are coming.
Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble, but fear not, I have overcome the world.” Fear not my dear friend, God has already declared you victorious. Fear not, this is not the end. Fear not, when this phase of struggle is over, you will be fruitful. Fear not, you shall be made whole. Fear not, every chain must be broken. Fear not, you will be released to walk into the fulness of your destiny. Fear not, even though you don’t get to skip over the process, good things are still on the horizon!
Fear not, Romans 8:28 is still true: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
We know, it ain’t over ‘til it’s good!
No matter how hard it gets, all things are working together. All things are accomplishing the purpose of God. And in all things, according to Romans 8:37, you are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you.
Remember, the God of the process is walking through the process with you, and at the conclusion of it all, you will be even more blessed and favored.
Now, let’s pray.
God, I pray for this my sister, this my brother. Thank You for assuring them that whatever process they must go through, however long, unpleasant, or traumatic, You will bring them out victoriously. Your word says You would never leave nor forsake us. So, I praise You for walking through every valley and storm with Your beloved servant and assuring them that at the appointed time, Your good plans for their life will come to fruition. For this we give Your name the glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
