Trust the Process
I’m “going grey,” letting my silver hair pop in at will. I used to dye the roots and add highlights, which was fun, but I felt led to make a change. As I’ve been walking through this natural hair journey, I’ve heard the phrase “trust the process.” What does that actually mean?
Any beneficial change we want to make takes time. It often feels slow—sometimes painstakingly slow. Like waiting on my spontaneously-cut bangs to grow back out. But we can trust that even when it doesn’t look like growth is happening, it is.
I realized while I was in the shower—using a cheap shampoo that my stylist definitely didn’t recommend—that the concept of “trust the process” is more complex than a glib catchphrase. What is “the process” and why should we trust it?
Life is full of overarching processes. They are the larger systems within our lives that contain smaller components, each playing an impactful role. In the hair care example, “the process” includes a professional stylist who woke up countless mornings to an alarm, went to class, practiced diligently, and crafted her skills with scissors and comb. It also includes products like shampoo, conditioner, and innumerable styling sprays, creams, and gels that promise specific benefits if used. Trusting the process means relying on each component and engaging them in proper ways. We have to actually walk out our trust in tangible ways in order to reap the benefits we desire. When I spring for the cheap shampoo, I can’t expect the results of the salon-quality one. Likewise, when I deviate from God’s good design in any area of my life, distrust is at the root, and my results will be affected.
God is the ultimate Creator, and he has ordered the world with rhythms and “processes” that, when followed, lead to our flourishing. It’s so easy for me to grow impatient, or to pridefully operate out of the lie that I know better. When I’m tempted to grumble and complain, snap impatiently at my children, or turn away from emotional and physical intimacy with my husband, I’m not trusting God’s process. I’m short-changing myself out of moments of joy and deep peace. I’m drying out my soul as badly as that dollar store shampoo.
But there are always the gracious gifts of repentance, vulnerable confession, and God’s sweet mercies that are new every morning. (Lam. 3:22-23) His ways are by far the best, and he has graciously made them knowable through his Word. Jesus is so trustworthy! It really is sweet to trust and follow him. A hymn written in 1882 is still true today: 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, and to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise, and to know, "Thus saith the Lord." Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I've proved him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust him more!“
Yes, we can trust the process, because we can trust Jesus even more.
