Assembly Process

Trusting the process is a phrase thrown around a lot, yet it’s never easy when you’re in the middle of it. That journey has taken on various forms through the years, and I want to share a very literal and visible form through my skin. As a teenager, acne was my constant companion, a stubborn, often painful reminder that no cream or remedy seemed to soothe. I had resigned myself to the struggle until, as a young bride, birth control seemed to bring my first real reprieve. My skin was clearer and my confidence a little brighter. But everything changed when my husband and I decided to start a family. Stepping away from birth control and welcoming pregnancy hormones into my life was like opening the floodgates. With my first two pregnancies, I faced forehead cysts, persistent back acne, and a level of discomfort I hadn’t known before. I was, quite frankly, shooketh by the intensity of it all.

Thankfully, with Caleb, my third pregnancy, things eased up a bit, and by the time Chiara came along, I experienced the long-hoped-for “pregnancy glow.” It was a fleeting yet welcome break from the seemingly endless battle with my skin. After giving birth, I even dared to hope that my skin had finally settled down for good. And for a time, it did. But by late 2020, that hope shattered. My facial acne returned with a force that humbled me. This was no ordinary breakout, at one point, it felt like my pimples had pimples. My skin had hit rock bottom, and so had my confidence. For the first time, I sought out a dermatologist, hoping he could offer a solution beyond what I could manage alone. He prescribed a medication to treat my acne, warning me that things might get worse before they improved. Little did I know just how real that warning would feel.

In the first month, my skin erupted like never before. I was tempted to quit, to run far from my reflection in the mirror, especially when two painful pimples sprouted on my bottom lip. I remember staring in disbelief, asking, “What is this, Lord? What manner of witchcraft?” Yet I resolved to trust the doctor’s expertise, to believe that this was all part of the process, even if that process made no sense to me in the moment. I clung to the hope that this backward step would one day lead me forward, healing my skin for good.

I’m sharing this journey because life often requires us to endure setbacks that make us question our path. When we’re in the depths, we may wonder if any progress is possible. But just as my skin needed time to heal and reset, our lives sometimes require difficult seasons that prepare us for growth. God is a God of process, and He’s never idle in our struggle. If you’re breathing, He’s working. So, don’t lose heart. Hold fast and trust the process, even when it feels like you’re moving in reverse. God is still building you and the breakthrough will come.

 In a wealthy home, some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honourable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NLT)

He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with His winnowing fork. Then He will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into His barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire. ~ Luke 3:17 (NLT)

In my last blog, I shared how you and I don’t have to have our lives all figured out, nor do we have to be the ones working tirelessly to manufacture our life’s purpose. All we have to do is agree with God that our purpose is worth yielding to His way. God has already figured it out and because He does, we can expect a qualification shift and a process. I wish knowing this truth was all it took for us to realise our purpose fully. The truth is that as God builds our lives according to the blueprints of His purpose for our lives, there are a few things He has to unravel, rattle and change. That process of conforming can often be uncomfortable and even unpleasant. My encouragement to you today is to stay, stay in His presence, stay in His Word and stay in the posture that lets Him know you’re all in no matter what.

Last week, I shared two things we ought to expect as we engage with God in His building process: process and a qualification shift. Today, I have two additional thoughts to share. I hope they help continue the conversation you may have started with the Lord after reading what I shared last.

Expect a mind shift.

Continual mindshifts are the name of the game as God is building you. The temptation here is to see things taking shape as God is working and to think you’ve arrived. That just because your life looks somewhat like the picture God showed you, you don’t have to stay as close to Him, you don’t have to be as committed or as vigilant against temptation, that it not that deep what you watch or what you listen to, that you can spend your time with just anyone and these things won’t affect you because youre almost “there.”

As God builds you and entrusts you with building different things for His kingdom, there is a constant mind shift that has to happen at every stage of the build. God may even have to move you two steps backwards before He can take you ten steps forward. This will seem counterintuitive, unproductive and even unkind, but if we stay flexible in our minds, we can yield to His expert hands more easily and the process won’t take longer than it should.

Expect some sorting.

When we read the verse in Second Timothy, we often take it to mean that if we keep our lives clean, we will be of more use when God has important work to be done for His kingdom. This is very true and speaks to the sort of partnership God is looking for. However, I’ve also found this verse provoking my thoughts about a different kind of sorting. I would add Luke 3:17 here to give this idea more umph. Hear me out… We have requests and requirements when God is building. These differ from person to person based on our seasons of life and many other variables. As God builds, we have to mindfully sort our requests and requirements appropriately. You may have things you want, yet according to God’s purpose for your life, it’s not a need. If we get our requests, which are wants, mixed up with our requirements, which are our needs, we bring confusion into what God is trying to do in our lives. Sometimes what was a requirement in your previous season of life may become a request in the next season. Yes, I can see how this has the potential to be confusing. Yet God isn’t a God of confusion, we have to believe this and allow this belief to keep us close to Him and in step with Him at every turn of our lives.

Every day is new in God. His mercies are new because what we need changes in every season. So, we must be open to God flipping things around. The amazing thing I’ve learned about God is that the moment we get our minds and priorities right, He opens our eyes to see that everything we need is already provided for. God already provided what you need to live on purpose. It may not be the easiest or most convenient way but trust and believe it’s all there. And as if that isn’t enough, His guidance and wisdom on how to make use of those provisions is also available.

When God calls you to do a supernatural thing, if you are in step with Him, the supernatural requirements are already taken care of and in place. It simply becomes a question of asking God to open your eyes to see how He sees. As we focus our sight and energy on what God requires and on His kindness, He gives us the desires of our hearts, some of which we set aside to prioritise His requirements and His will.

Nothing will hurt your purpose, growth and development more than you being hardheaded. Being open to God shaping you means you understand how precious you are to God and you know you are in a building process. You have not arrived and you will not arrive until you see your Master Builder face to face. Humility keeps us pliable in the hands of God and that’s all He needs to get busy on and in us. He has said He will complete the work He has started in your life, it is yes and amen, all He asks is that you trust Him. So, my prayer is that even as these last two months of the year wind down, you will trust the One who started the year with you and has much left to do in the years ahead.