Do you think of yourself as a process person or a results person?
Yesterday a friend asked how my training was going. I replied that it felt great to be riding again.
“Yeah,” He said, “but how’s it going?”
I’m kind of dense, so I repeated my response. “It feels so good to be back outside, working out, cranking around on the trails in the fresh air. It’s great.”
My buddy looked perplexed. “So, how’s it going?”
I felt like we were speaking two different languages that shared common words. Finally, after he repeated his question three times, I understood.
He knows I’m preparing for a 1500-mile ride. He’s wondering if I’ll be ready. He wanted to know how far and how fast.
He wanted to know about the results.
That’s where our culture’s focused, right? It’s all about the bottom line, production, and outcomes. How you do it—don’t care. Just get ‘er done.
Training
When you’re training, focusing too much on results can mess you up. Training’s all about developing good habits, building fitness slowly and correctly. If you try to go too fast too far too soon you actually impede progress and develop bad habits that cause bigger problems down the road.
When you train you take a long-term view. You know that doing things correctly will lead to good results, so you don’t focus on the results. Training is about the process.
Here’s the thing—for followers of Jesus, this life is ALL training. This world isn’t the end. Everything here is temporary. In fact, the outcome’s already determined.
That’s not how we behave. We act as though we’re responsible for the quarterly bottom line when everything about Scripture tells us that God is in charge of the outcomes.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Note subject and verb: God causes…
You and I are not responsible for the results!
And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8(b)
That sounds like training to me—developing good habits, doing things right.
I can let go of the guilt and worry about how it’ll turn out—God will take care of that. I don’t have to fuss with results.
I can focus on training, developing my personal spiritual fitness. I can do whatever I do the right way and trust God to work out the bottom line.
He even provides a personal trainer who showed the way and offers the simple invitation, “Follow me.”
What results do you need to release to God?
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