His Loving Presence in the Process

An old friend emailed me this week after hearing about all that is going on in my life. It was good to hear from him. He and I were really close growing up. Our families vacationed together. We spent the night at each other's houses, went to church together, and had some of the typical teenager adventures. Amazingly, we are both now ministers and even had daughters born on the same day! I count him as my best friend during those growing up years.

Adulthood brought marriage and kids and changes and distance for both of us. But even after all of this time, there is something comforting in that connection that goes all the way back to those earliest years.

My friend wrote something in his email that has stayed with me for these past few days: "I am praying that as you walk through all this, the Lord will give you rest for your soul and His loving presence in the process. "

As I've thought about what he wrote, I have come to the conclusion that the trials of life are really about processes. I am walking through a process right now. You probably are as well. And no matter what the issue is --- financial, health, relational, spiritual, jobs, raising kids, marital, stress, anxiety, fear --- dealing with it is a process. In the real world, there are very few quick fixes and miraculous resolutions. I am not saying God is not in the miracle business. He definitely is. But my experience has been that His miracles are always a part of His processes.

The word "process" is defined as "a systematic series of actions directed to some end." Right now, I am asking God to show me the "systematic series of actions" I am to take in order to get to the end. I have no idea what the "end" will look like and I am okay with that because I am confident that He does.

I simply want His loving presence in the process. Moses gave Joshua the promise of God's presence and you and I can claim this promise for ourselves: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

Don't miss what that verse says: It is the Lord himself who goes before us and will be with us. It is the Lord himself who will never leave us nor forsake us. We get the Lord himself! Not some substitute who may or may not be trustworthy. Not a human like ourselves who will let us down. But the Lord himself.

As long as we cling to Him, His loving presence will always be in the processes of our lives.

Amen and Gloria a Dios!