Articles
“Trust the Process”
For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Romans 6:19
I recently had a discussion with a recovering alcoholic who made an acute observation with Christian parallels. Others in the program (Alcoholics Anonymous) had shared their testimony of the great burden that was lifted from their conscience and the sense of peace they felt after having followed the Twelve Steps. The Steps assume one will eventually experience a “spiritual awakening” as a result of following them. He lamented the fact that he never felt such an awakening. Instead he felt that every single day, sometimes every moment, was a struggle against temptation. He contacted his sponsor about this and the reply came back, “Trust the process.”
A major part of recovery is patient persistence. To avoid relapsing, a recovering alcoholic must constantly remind himself of the evils of alcoholism. To guard against falling off the wagon he must trust the process by continuing to move forward in those Twelve Steps. AA meetings are filled with proverbial mantras that remind those in recovery to trust the process: “One day at a time,” “Keep it simple,” “First things first,” “Let go and let God,” “Nothing changes if nothing changes,” “This too shall pass,” “Keep coming back,” etc.
There are, of course, many similarities to Christian repentance and faith. Jesus said, “By your endurance you will gain your lives” (Lk. 21:19). Christians are always being reminded of the importance of patience (Heb. 10:32-39; 12:1-3; Jas. 5:7-11; 2 Pet. 1:3-11). This kind of spiritual persistence does not come through stoic self-effort but through trusting the Lord. We must continue to remember his promises, submit to his teaching and press on toward the reward (Phil. 3:12; Jas. 1:12). In other words, we must trust the process.
The process, in our case, is called “sanctification.” Those in Christ have been forgiven of their sins and are now identified as “saints,” people sanctified, consecrated, set apart for a special purpose by God. This new consecrated status we enjoy in Christ entails the need for continual reform and spiritual growth (2 Pet. 1:3-11). The emphasis in the New Testament letters is for Christians to be what we are in Christ: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1)
We have a personal responsibility to continue to submit to that process of sanctification, progressively becoming more and more like our Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). We are to grow in love (1 Thess. 3:12), faith (2 Cor. 10:15), grace and knowledge (2 Pet. 3:18). But, as stated above, this growth does not all depend on us any more than a fruitful crop totally depends on the farmer. Yes, he must till, sow, water and weed his garden but God provides the raw ingredients of spiritual growth (2 Pet. 1:3) and causes the increase (1 Cor. 3:6). He can be trusted to complete the good work he began (Phil. 1:6).
Christians sometimes speak of experiencing a feeling a sense of peace and liberty after obeying the gospel. I would not dare to deny another’s emotional experience but I will say this: for those who have obeyed the gospel but have not felt such an emotional experience afterwards and perhaps wonder if you really are forgiven and saved, please don’t be anxious. Listening to what God says is always more trustworthy than listening to what our hearts feel (1 Jn. 5:13). And what does Scripture say? Jesus died for you and was raised from the dead. When we believe this and are baptized in him, his blood washes away all our sins. Are you still struggling with temptation after your baptism? All Christians do! (1 Pet. 2:11) But if you continue entrusting yourself to Jesus “one day at a time” you will see that the process works. God will complete what he started in you if you continue to move towards him in faith (Jas. 4:8)
