In my last weekly letter I mentioned about the past four years of spiritual warfare. Another thing that I would like to mention is the process that the Lord often takes us through to arrive at the goal that He has for us.

In a time of prayer one of the intercessors mentioned that we need to focus more on the process that God is taking us through rather than keeping our eyes on the goal. This intercessor was right on. I  am not saying that the goal is not important, because it is. We need to know where we are going to make sure that we do not get lost on the way.

However, our problem is that we forget the importance of the process that the Lord is taking is through so that we might reach the goal. A quick read through Scripture begins to bring this out.

In Genesis 12:1-3 Abraham was given the goal. God will bless him, make his name great and all of the families in the world will be blessed through him. This was quite a goal, but this is what God promised He would do. We see with Abraham that there was a process that he had to go through.

First, he must leave his country and his people and go to the land that He (God) will show him. There is no promise at that time of giving him the land, but that He will show him the land.

Secondly, when Abraham arrived in the land there was a famine and so he went down to Egypt. There was no word from the Lord that this was something that the Lord wanted him to do. While in Egypt he got Sara to tell everyone that she was his sister. Pharaoh took Sara, but the Lord rebuked him and kept him from doing wrong to Sara.  Abraham came out of Egypt a wealthy man.

Later we see the conflict with the five kings that came and took the people of Sodom and Gomorrah captive including Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Abraham rescued the people and the King of Sodom told Abraham to give back  the people and keep all of the goods. What did Abraham say: "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'” Abraham was learning his lesson that it will be God and God alone who will bless him according to Gen.12:1-3.

The final test came in Gen.22 when he was told to sacrifice his only son, the son that he loves. What a process the Lord was taking Abraham through to bring him to the goal of being the father of those who believe.

Joseph was another one of God’s servants who at a young age was given the goal through a vision of his father and mother as well as brothers all bowing down to him. But before the goal can be achieved there is the process. Ps.105:16-22 reveals something of the process; sold by his brothers into slavery; put into prison because of a false accusation about rape; being forgotten by the cupbearer of Pharaoh when Joseph had accurately interpreted his dream. But when the time was right (when Joseph was ready, his character being formed through the process) he was elevated overnight to second in command of all of Egypt.

Evidently Moses had an idea of his goal as indicated by what Stephen said in Acts: “Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.” Acts 7:25-26 It would seem from this passage that Moses knew something of the goal, but although he had all of the training of Egypt it was not enough for the goal that God had for him. There was a need for a further process, another forty years in the back side of the desert taking care of sheep. And when he was ready God revealed Himself in the burning bush and then commissioned Moses for the goal ahead.

Paul tells us in Romans 5:3 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” What is Paul describing? The goal and the process. The goal is to see character, perseverance and hope developed in us. The process is ‘suffering’. The actual Greek word is ‘thilipsis’ which really should be translated pressure.

So Paul rejoices in this pressure. Why? Because he knows that this process will prepare him for the ministry that God has for him.

In closing I would like to say that we think we are waiting on God, but in reality it is God waiting for us to be ready so that the goal He has for us can be achieved.