Trust the Process

Spiritual Training Cycle: Submission (wk. 10/13)

Matthew 14:22-33

“Trust the process.” You’ve probably heard that at some point throughout your life. You may even say it to yourself when you start to question a challenge you’re facing, or you’re not seeing results from a fitness and nutrition program as quickly as you’d like. We get impatient, we want to take matters into our own hands, we want to take control of the situation. We get distracted from our own journey when we look to the right and left. We see others succeeding at a faster pace, we see someone who is faster, stronger, and fitter than us. We start to question the process when we take our eyes off our own path.

“Trust the programming” is something I’ve had to learn the hard way. I’ve trained for triathlons, marathons, body building, and CrossFit competitions all of which I’ve paid someone to coach and guide me to success. And historically I’ve strayed from the programming and the process because I got scared of taking a rest day even when it was built into my schedule, or I’d add another workout because what my coach wrote “wasn’t enough.” When I was living life by my AppleWatch if my activity ring wasn’t closed, I had to do another workout. Inevitably I would wind up over-trained, underfed, peaking my performance at the wrong time (before the race, not on the race day) and injured.

How can you trust the programming when you don’t even give it a chance? How did I learn to trust the programming after years of “kind of” following what my coaches suggested? Day by day I released control and placed my faith in knowing my coaches knew what they were doing. They knew what it took to coach an athlete. All I had to do was stick to the plan.

Faithfulness in a fitness program and in our spiritual life is a response. It’s active. It takes practice of letting go of trying to control everything and inviting God to lead us. Just as my coaches knew what to program for me to win a race or an event, God knows what you need to live a life according to his will and purpose for you. There’s even an entire how-to manual with God-breathed scripture to inspire us and show us the way. When we choose faithfulness every day, we demonstrate our trust that God is in control.

In Matthew 14:28-31, Peter struggled with the same distractions; fear of what was going on around him and losing control. Just to give you some background, Peter hung out with Jesus a lot. You’d think he would know that Jesus had his back, yet Peter doubted:

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Matthew 14:28-31

Peter trusted Jesus, he stepped off the boat onto the water and started to walk towards Him. But once he took his eyes off Jesus and looked around him, he was flooded with fear. A few verses before this interaction takes place Jesus told Peter not to be afraid. But here Scripture says, “but when he saw that strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.” How quickly he doubted the power of the Lord. Peter fixed his eyes on what was going on around him instead of keeping his focus on Jesus, the only one who could help him do the impossible, to walk on water.

God wants to do the impossible in our lives, but often like Peter we fix our eyes only on what we can control. We place our faith in unsteady, sinking material things and people instead of placing our faith in God. He knows what’s best, he wants us to have bold, big faith. He invites us into faithfulness “yes, come” and our response is to let go, let him lead, and trust the process.

Questions for Reflection:

What areas of your life have you been trying to control that leave you exhausted, over-trained, underfed, and injured?

What does it look like in a practical way to release control in those areas and hand it over to God? Who can you think of in your life who can walk alongside you to help you place your faith in God?

Reminders

Spiritual Training Cycle: Submission (wk. 9/13)

Titus 3:1-10

Have you ever told someone not to do something, but they did it anyway? As a coach, I’ve been there plenty of times. It goes like this.

“Your heels are coming off the ground when you squat. Let’s push your hips back a bit and try to get your weight centered.”

“Ok, coach.”

And then after one or two decent reps, I turn my attention to another athlete, and there out of the corner of my eye I see those heels off the ground again.

“Push your hips back.”

“Sorry, coach.”

When people do something you told them not to, they don’t need your anger. They may just need a reminder.

Reminders are an essential part of healthy relationships. If an athlete keeps doing what I told them not to do, but all I do is get frustrated or ignore it or ignore them altogether, then we have a communication problem – which is my fault.

Reminders are like verbal expressions of forgiveness. For example, when you remind your parents you’re an adult, it’s your way of forgiving them for treating you like a child. When I remind an athlete to push their hips back, I’m essentially forgiving them for getting it wrong. But I’m not laying blame. I’m not calling them out. I’m coaching them up.

When it comes to spiritual fitness, the process is the same. Because we get it wrong in life. I know I do. Which makes forgiveness a key part of our relationship with God. The beautiful thing is that forgiveness is an expression of the heart of God. It’s in His very nature to forgive you.

But He doesn’t do it by calling you out. God shows His forgiveness by coaching you up through reminders. His reminders to us are expressions of His forgiveness. Here’s the greatest reminder God has ever given me – That I am still loved by Him. 

I’ve run away from God and He’s reminded me that I’m still loved. I’ve denied the existence of God and He’s reminded me I’m still loved. I’ve squandered my wealth, I’ve puffed myself up with pride, I’ve rested on my accomplishments – And in every situation He reminds me I’m still loved.

Let this reminder sink in today – You are still loved by God. Allow His reminders to soften your heart and reshape the way you live. God’s not disappointed in you. His reminders are the expression of His forgiving heart.

Questions for Reflection:

How has God reminded you of His forgiveness in your life?

How do you forgive someone but also maintain a healthy boundary with them?

Hard Things

Spiritual Training Cycle: Submission (wk. 8/13)

Matthew 18:21-35

As of November 12, 2023, Brian Reyelt of Roswell, Georgia holds the Guinness World Record for the most burpees in 24 hours, with 11,988 burpees. Reyelt's attempt was to honor his wife, a breast cancer survivor, and he raised $22,000 for the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute.

I Hate Burpees

Can I go on record at the beginning of this blog? I hate burpees. I have a high regard for Brian Reyelt, and particularly admire that his effort raised $22,000.  But — I still hate burpees.

I’ve been doing CrossFit for four years. That’s more than two hundred weeks. And every single week, there’s been a least one workout that included burpees. I know they are good for you. I know they combine cardio with muscle-building. I know they can be done without any specialized equipment. I know they can be modified with “burpee-to-a-box” or sprawls or other variations. No matter. I still hate burpees.

The Price of Admission is Hard

But, if you are going to be a CrossFit athlete, burpees are a part of your life. Like speedbag work for a boxer or interval sprint training for a long-distance runner, if you are serious about your fitness level, you do the things that contribute to your development. Sometimes, as with burpees, that means doing hard things over and over again.

Forgiveness is Hard

In Matthew 18, Jesus is in the middle of a number of lessons that are specifically about living a life that reflects God’s love. One of those lessons is to forgive, even when someone doesn’t deserve it.

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. — Matt. 18:21-22

Similar to burpees – but much more important for a truly healthy life! – practicing the act of forgiveness is a discipline that requires consistent work. Forgiveness is an expression of the heart of God. Peter’s mention of “seven” reflected what he thought was a lot.  Jesus came back and in essence said, “seven is not even scratching the surface.” For a follower of Jesus, forgiveness, as a reflection of a mercy-filled God who forgives, requires on-going effort. Forgiveness is a life-long discipline and exercise for those choosing to apprentice themselves to Jesus.

Doing the Right Thing can be Expensive

Several years ago, I was part of small leadership team that had a big vision for doing important work. We all felt called to this new organization. We believed God was going to bless our endeavors and make a big impact for his kingdom.

Eighteen months later I left the organization with my hopes dashed. I was wronged by the very people who dreamed big things with me. Regardless of the reality that I had wronged them at least as much as they had wronged me, I was broken by their violation of my trust. I felt betrayed and disappointed.

A Slow Walk through Deep Sand

Like someone walking up a steep sand dune, forgiving them was hard for me. I moved slowly. I slid back down into anger and bitterness any number of times. Taking the right steps to forgive them required effort. More than three years passed before I began to develop a healthy sense of perspective. But slowly, over time, I began to see things from their perspective, and more importantly, from God’s perspective. I was able to forgive them and move on. The consistent discipline of practicing forgiveness gave me a healthier spiritual life.

If you’ve lived life for very long at all, you’ve been wounded. You’ve had wrongs done to you. Jesus’ challenge for you and me is to remember God’s forgiveness of your wrongdoing, and work to become more like him.

An Important Final Note

Granting forgiveness to someone is not the same as being fully reconciled to them. There are people and situations that all of us should avoid. Forgiveness does not mean we open ourselves up to their repeated wrong-doing. What forgiveness does mean is that we give their wrongdoing to God. We “let go” of their offense and trust God for our spiritual health and theirs as well.

Questions for Reflection:

Where do you need to practice the discipline of forgiveness?

How do you work at forgiving someone for the big things?