Living Out the Process: Trusting God's Plan in Our Lives

I want to pause and reflect on the song, "Too Good to Not Believe." The lyrics are so powerful and timely: 

"We've seen cancer disappear  

We've seen broken bodies healed  

We've seen real-life resurrection  

We've seen mental health restored  

We've seen families reunited  

We've seen prodigals return  

We've seen troubled souls delivered  

We've seen addicts finally free."

And it continues with, "Don't tell me that He can't do it."  

    However, not every story ends with healing on this side of eternity. Sometimes cancer doesn't disappear, broken bodies remain unhealed, and addicts struggle. Yet, even in those moments, we serve a God who is faithful, trustworthy, and loves us unconditionally. When life doesn't turn out how we hope, God remains good. If we have put our trust in Jesus, we know that ultimate healing and restoration await us beyond this life.

    With that truth as a foundation, let's dive into the Sermon on the Mount and continue the series, "Trust the Process."

Understanding Sanctification

Sanctification is God's process of molding us to become more like Him. Our lives are about aligning ourselves with His will. Despite our involvement, it's ultimately God who changes us.

In the first two weeks of this series, two key ideas were emphasized:

1. Process > Circumstances: God is at work in us through His process, regardless of our circumstances. Whether things are good or bad, we can trust Him because He has our best in mind.

2. Enjoy the Process: Although God's process cannot be rushed, we can enjoy it with anticipation because we trust Him. A TV show character once said, "I wish there was a way to know you're living in the good old days when you're actually living through them." That's the essence of enjoying the process.

Living Out the Process

Today, I want to discuss how we live out God's process for our lives. Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount, challenges us to reflect on our attitudes, actions, and motivations. In Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus lays out the Beatitudes, which paint a beautiful picture of God's upside-down Kingdom.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.*"

These characteristics are often counter to what the world values, but they reflect the people who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus speaks about three key practices: giving, prayer, and fasting. These three practices guide us on how to live out God's process in our lives.

Giving to the Needy

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1)

Jesus is deeply concerned about our motives. He tells us that our acts of righteousness should be between us and God alone. If we seek admiration from others, we receive our reward in full — fleeting recognition from people. However, if we give in private, our Father in heaven will reward us.

Here's how we can live out genuine generosity:

- Guard Against Pride: Giving in private helps us avoid the sin of pride.

- Preserve Dignity: Giving privately also preserves the dignity of the recipient.

Genuine charity requires humility. Let's train ourselves to love and serve like Jesus, freely and discreetly.

Praying with Sincerity

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." (Matthew 6:5)

Prayer should not be a performance but an authentic dialogue with God. Jesus teaches us two approaches to prayer:

1. Public Performance: Pharisees would pray publicly to gain admiration. They received superficial recognition, which was fleeting.

2. Private Communication: Jesus encourages us to pray privately, strengthening our relationship with God and cultivating humility.

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:10-14 demonstrates how humble prayers find favor with God. Here's a practical takeaway: Set aside a specific time and place each day to pray and read God's Word.

Fasting with Integrity

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting." (Matthew 6:16)

Fasting is a private act of devotion to God. Its purpose is to sharpen our focus on Him and remove distractions from our daily lives. When we fast, we cultivate humility, self-discipline, and dependence on God.

Trusting God's Process

Once we trust the process God has for our lives, we can exercise our faith, knowing that He will mold us into the person He intended us to be. 

Once we trust the process for our life, we can exercise our faith, knowing God will train and mold us into the person He always intended for us to be.

1. Give Quietly: Perform an act of kindness or generosity without telling anyone.

2. Pray Daily: Set aside a specific time and place to spend time in prayer and God's Word each day.

3. Fast Purposefully: Find something to fast from that takes away from your personal time with God, and keep it between you and God.

Let's strive to live out God's process for our lives by giving, praying, and fasting with sincerity, humility, and integrity.