TRANSFORMING PROCESS IS REAL
“…And in the PROCESS
of time “IT” CAME TO PASS…”
(Genesis 4:3 KJV).
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A PROCESS, of any kind, involves a sequence
of actions or movements that effect forward changes. “…And in the PROCESS of time IT
CAME TO PASS…” (Genesis 4:3 KJV). These forward changes can be a gradual,
or rapid, or extremely slow, or steady procession of activities.
Regardless of how fast or how slow the PROCESS;
it is ALWAYS a continuous sequence of actions or movements with a definite
purpose and end result. “…Through
this PROCESS the priest will purify you from your sin, MAKING YOU RIGHT with the Lord,
and you will be forgiven.…” (Leviticus 5:10 NLT).
PROCESS aims to move or carry things or individuals
forward and the sequence of actions or movements often seem non-existence they are SO SLOW. “…walk BY FAITH...” (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV).
The SLOW sequence of actions or movements, in a
PROCESS, are individual tasks or procedures that ALL link together to produce a
goal or reach an end result. “…Then
he must bathe himself
with water in a sacred place, (NEXT)put on his regular
garments, and (NEXT)go out to sacrifice
a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this PROCESS, he will purify
himself and the people, making them right with the Lord….”
(Leviticus 16:24 NLT).
The
PROCESS of SLOW sequences and actions is about a thing or possibly an individual
BECOMING altered through this procession of forward movements. “…Through this PROCESS,
HE MADE the altar holy by purifying it…”
(Leviticus 8:5 NLT).
Eventually, PROCESS will produce a END result, however,
after a certain amount of time. “…And in
the PROCESS of time “IT” CAME
TO PASS…” (Genesis 4:3 KJV).
Further, PROCESS is a SLOW sequence of actions and
movements that actually REQUIRE a certain amount of time along with particular tasks or
procedures that work together. “...ALL THINGS work (PROCESS) together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE…” (ROMANS
8:28 KJV).
In other words, PROCESS
involves TIME and the WORKING together of tasks or procedures. It takes TIME to MAKE a cake and it takes even more TIME to BAKE the cake.
When does PROCESS
happen? PROCESS is a part of daily life. We constantly find ourselves involved
in a sequence of actions and movements in order to get things done. You may be
in the PROCESS of getting dressed for work, or the process of cooking breakfast
for the family, or in the process of helping your boss with a project at work,
or in the process of checking your social media sights, or in the process of talking on the phone, or in the process of having a board meeting.
PROCESS is a daily
experience. Usually when you finish the tasks involved in the process you will have finished with "that" particular task. However, there are exceptions. There are some PROCESSES that take LARGE amounts of time.
If you are in the PROCESS of losing weight or building muscles; this takes a
little more time such as weeks or months.
Why is PROCESS
necessary? Without PROCESS nothing would ever get
done. The priest in the following
scripture had to bathe himself, put on his regular clothes, and go out in order
to do the sacrifices required for himself and the people.
It was the process necessary to make
himself and the people RIGHT with God. “…Then
he must bathe himself
with water in a sacred place, put on his regular
garments, and go out to sacrifice
a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this PROCESS, he will purify
himself and the people, making them right with the Lord….”
(Leviticus 16:24 NLT).
How is PROCESS accomplished? PROCESS is
accomplished by following the sequence of actions or movements required for a
particular task to be completed. If you want to make a specific
cake; you will follow a sequence of instructions (actions) in order to make it.
If you don’t follow the sequence of instructions (actions) the cake won’t get
done.
Some daily PROCESSES are routine: getting
dressed, going to work, taking care of yourself and family, grocery shopping,
driving to appointments, and/or running personal errands. Normal, daily PROCESSES have a start
and an end. We can pretty much control or get a grip on daily, routine PROCESSES.
What about those abnormal, rare,
uninvited, and uncontrollable PROCESSES? Those PROCESSES that have a start and
end too, but you don’t know how long it will take, or when it will be over, or
everything you need to get it completed?
Those unexpected PROCESSES empower many people to rely upon Romans 8:29: “...ALL THINGS work
(PROCESS) together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE…”
(ROMANS 8:28 KJV). “…And in the PROCESS
of time “IT” CAME TO PASS…”
(Genesis 4:3 KJV).
However, usually you don’t know what the
“things” are that are working together for good (the end result). “...ALL “THINGS” work (PROCESS) together …”
(ROMANS 8:28 KJV). You don’t know the time factor. “…And in the PROCESS of “TIME”…”
(Genesis 4:3 KJV). You don’t even know the sequence of actions or movements necessary
to complete the PROCESS or make it move forward like you would prefer. “…walk BY
FAITH...” (2
Corinthians 5:7 KJV).
This
is the challenge of PROCESS. Most people get tired of LONG, SLOW routine or mundane
PROCESSES and look for more convenient ways to get through or short-cut the
sequence of actions it takes to finish a particular task.
When
the PROCESS of cooking dinner every day became inconvenient FAST foods or
pre-cooked meals gained popularity. When the old-fashion way of calling people
or visiting them became inconvenient social media gained popularity.
Making
PROCESS convenient eliminates many of the routine TASKS, mundane actions, and reduces the TIME allotted to those tasks.
However,
God has NOT changed his method of PROCESS. “…I
am the Lord, I change NOT…” (Malachi 3:6 KJV). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8 NIV).
God does NOT reduce the
sequence of actions nor does he limit the time he has allotted for the PROCESS necessary to complete a WORK in your life. “…And in the PROCESS of time
“IT” CAME TO PASS…”
(Genesis 4:3 KJV).
God's PROCESS HAS A PURPOSE. It is NOT about your convenience, but his WORK in and through you. “...ALL THINGS work (PROCESS) together for GOOD to them that love
God, to them who are the called ACCORDING
TO HIS PURPOSE…” (ROMANS 8:28 KJV).
Without going through the SLOW and often inconvenient sequence of
actions you will NEVER see the end results of what God has in
mind for you. “…Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV).
The part you don’t like the most in
PROCESS has the most IMPACT on your future blessings. Routine, mundane, and time are the most important part of
God's PROCESS with a PURPOSE.
Routine
or repetitiveness gives people their sense of security or
control where skills, abilities, and self-discipline can develop in a liable
place.
Mundane
or ordinary circumstances give people consistency,
predictability, and normality where a sense of self is developed without chaos
or confusion.
Allotted
time, or seasons, or phases give people a sense of calmness where
self can progressively develop without rushing or hurrying through tasks and
procedures.
Routine,
mundane, and time are the most important part of God's PROCESS
with a PURPOSE because they are the components God uses to DEVELOP you. Develop
means to grow or change or TRANSFORM.
PROCESS WITH A PURPOSE serves God’s main
goal or end result for your life. “… GROW
(develop) in the GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…”
(2 Timothy 3:18 NIV). “…Be conformed to the image of his
Son...” (ROMANS 8:29 KJV). “…until we …become
mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians
4:14 NIV). “… [Therefore]…
we all … are changed
(developed) into the same image [of Christ] from glory to glory …”
(2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).
PROCESS WITH A PURPOSE includes the
development of Christlikeness. The PROCESS involves a LONG, SLOW sequence of actions that require tasks that result in You being authentically like
Christ. “… GROW (develop) in
the GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2
Timothy 3:18 NIV). “… [change]…
into the SAME IMAGE …” (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).) “…[the]…image of HIS SON...”
(ROMANS 8:29 KJV). “…[into the]…fullness
of CHRIST…” (Ephesians 4:14 NIV).
How does the PROCESS WITH A PURPOSE begin?
First, God gives you a NEW HEART. “…I WILL GIVE you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart
and give you a tender, responsive heart…” (Ezekiel 36:26 NLT).
Second, upon salvation
God plants the seed of Christ in your heart. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ…” (Galatians 3:16 KJV).
Third, your heart is now considered good
soil. “…Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and
devoured it. Some fell on stony ground,
where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had
no depth of earth.
But
when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered
away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the
thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell
on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some
thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred…”
(Mark 4:3-8 NLT).
Fourth, the seed of Christ
will die and germinate (develop) in your heart. "…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of
wheat (seed) falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if
it dies, it bears much fruit….” (John 12:24 NASB).
Fifth, the seed of Christ will duplicate
himself. “…Then God said, “Let the earth
bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing
and beast of the earth, each according to its
kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its
kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on
the earth according
to its kind. And God saw that
it was good….”
(Genesis 1:24-25 NLT).
PROCESS with a PURPOSE will include, along
with routine, mundane activities, long stretches of time, training, practice,
shaping, conditioning, and molding.
Training means to strengthen one’s information
skills and abilities through a sequence of actions and movements that include
tasks which result in gaining knowledge where there were none.
Training repairs, or replaces, or develops weaknesses, informs, and builds
strengths. “… GROW (develop) in
the GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2
Timothy 3:18 NIV).
Practice is the work
that is required to sustain or cement those new skills and strengths. Practice
“is” the sequence of actions that include REPETITIVE tasks which adjust, adapt, or refine one’s new skills and abilities. “…Be
conformed to the image of his Son...” (ROMANS 8:29 KJV).
Training for new skills
and abilities and having them practiced is the ideal way to SHAPE new behavior.
Shaping (transforming) happens when you want another behavior (skill or
ability) that may not be currently present in the individual’s character created.
Shaping “is” the sequence of actions that include step-by-step tasks which become the agent that actually builds one’s new,
transformed skills and abilities. “…transformed
by the renewing (shaping) of [my] mind….” (Romans 12:2 KJV).
Conditioning is when
training, practice, and shaping become a natural, habitually response that
continually improves and maintains one’s new skills and abilities. Conditioning
“is” the sequence of actions that involve routine tasks which
eventually become a natural or effortless response that refines and keeps up one’s new skills and abilities. “…until we …become
mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians
4:14 NIV).
Molding becomes
apparent when the sequence of actions from specific tasks result
in a new skill or ability one actually desires to repeat. Molding, therefore, “is” the
sequence of actions from specific tasks which produced a targeted outcome
one desires to repeat over and over again.
“… [Therefore]… we all … are changed (molded) into the same image [of Christ] from
glory to glory …” (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).
I don’t know anyone who likes the PROCESS
of PURPOSE. As exciting as the outcome of PROCESS may be - much of it is routine,
mundane, and time-consuming. Yet to benefit from the untold blessings and
miraculously favors that only PROCESS brings it is a necessary journey.
I have been through much PROCESS at this point in my life. I have also
experienced many BLESSINGS!! I am proud to say because of the GRACE of God's PROCESS with a PURPOSE I am what I
am today. “…by the grace of God I am what I am…”
(1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV).
I will say, most people will abort the
PROCESS. We live in convenient and short-cut times where instant results are
preferred. God says, “…"This is the way;
walk in it…" Isaiah 30:21 NIV). “…I will
instruct thee and teach
thee in the way
which thou shalt go: I will
guide thee with mine eye…” (Psalms 32:8 KJV).
The PROCESS of PURPOSE is God’s decision and
not man’s to decide. “The steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalms
37:23 KJV). “…Thus saith the LORD,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am
the LORD thy God ….which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go….” (Isaiah 48:17 KJV).
Unless you go the way of PROCESS God has
set for you; you won’t finish the journey triumphantly like God intended.
God told Lot to escape to the mountains,
but it was more convenient to go to the city, Zoar, which means small, so Lot
went there. Eventually, he had to go to the mountains, but by that time, he had
become small-minded (Zoar) and ended up living in a cave once he got to the
mountain (BLESSINGS!). “…Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my
lords! Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have
increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to
the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See
now, this city is near enough
to flee to, and it is a little
one; please let me escape there (is
it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” And he said to him, “….Hurry,
escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the
name of the city was called Zoar.
[Eventually]… Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains ….for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave…” (Genesis 19:18-21, 30).
GOD'S PROCESS HAS A PURPOSE
so CHOOSE TO GO THROUGH IT, NO MATTER THE COST, TO SEE YOUR TRUE TRANSFORMATION EMERGE! IF THE BUTTERFLY CAN DO IT; SO CAN YOU.
Dr. Pensacola H.
Jefferson
YADA Counseling
Ministry
MOUTHPIECE FOR GOD'S HEART
Colton’s Point, Maryland
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