Don’t Get Stuck in the Process

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:18] Hello and welcome to second row Conversations. I am Letitia, also known as Lady P. And I thank you for joining me today on the second row to. [00:00:28] I thank you. It's been a year. 2025 is at the end, and I can't believe it. We are about to enter into 2026. I thank you for all of your support, all of your love. [00:00:40] It's been a year. [00:00:42] It flew by, as everyone has been saying. But I thank you again for all of your support. [00:00:47] I've been thinking and praying and talking to the Lord and so even coming in here today, I was like, you know, it's been conversations and kind of encouragement, motivation for me and I hope it's been the same for you. [00:01:02] So maybe in the new year be conversations and motivation, encouragement as we go into the new year. But I'm excited for what the Lord has done and for what he's going to do and we're going to see what he's going to do and what he's going to say for the new year. [00:01:20] Um, and so today I want to kind of give you some encouragement as we go into the new year. Um, I listened to a message a few months ago by. [00:01:33] She doesn't know she's my bestie, but she really is my bestie. Hopefully one day she, we will cross paths. Fingers crossed. Um, Sarah Jakes Roberts. She really is my bestie. She doesn't know it, but I listened to a message and then I listened to it again. [00:01:48] Um, and she talked about not getting stuck in the process. And it resonated with me. Um, and so I wanted. It was some points that she made and, and some things that she said and I wanted to kind of bring that to you. And I did some, some, I guess, a study of my own and I wanted to bring that. [00:02:10] Bring those points to you because I think as people, we, we know that there's a promise that has been given to us. We know God has given us a promise. [00:02:22] And sometimes we know within that promise we're excited when we hear that promise. We excited that God has given us that promise. But it doesn't feel like it is coming into fruition. [00:02:35] And as we are walking to that promise, we get frustrated and we get, I think, overwhelmed and we get stuck. And that message, when I say you, I had to go back and listen to it again. And when I listened to it again, I got even more excited. I'm telling you, like, in the car, screaming, yelling, like, come on, Sarah. Like, it was so, so, so good. I shared it with Many people, because it just resonated with me. And so I wanted to talk to you today because as we go into the New Year, we make, we set these promises for ourselves, New Year resolutions. And we know what God has promised us and we know what he tells us. But even in that. And we set out in these, we have steps that we set for ourselves, but we can get stuck in those things. And I think that makes us fall, of course, New Year's resolutions. And we can't get. We set it out. We set out to have a step and a process or we actually, we set out to have a New Year's resolution and then after the first month or the first two months, it doesn't go like we want. And then we kind of fall off the ragged. And I want us to understand that we can't give up and how we got to keep going. So call today's podcast. [00:03:56] A little encouragement, a little motivation as we start the new year off. [00:04:01] 2026. Can you believe it? 2026. So we're not going to get stuck in the process. [00:04:08] Okay? We're gonna keep going. We're not gonna get stuck. We know what the promise is and we're gonna move toward the promise, and we're not gonna get stuck in that process. Okay? [00:04:16] So what is a process? It's a series of actions that produce something or that leads to a particular result. Okay. We always, we've all heard there's a process, right? So years ago, and I tell this story often, especially at church years ago, we, we took a group of students to the BMW plant in the upstate. And what they did was they walked us through the process of them building an actual BMW suv. Don't ask me the numbers, I always get confused of what they are. But it was a BMW, so they started with the very first part, like even before the engine. So they walked us through the whole process of them actually building the product, the final product. And it was an amazing experience because they showed us the process of them building it from the engine, the inside of it, to actually building the doors and all that that they went through and how important that each step, each process was to actually building the final product, and how important that each person took pride in what they were doing to get that final product. That if one person decided that they didn't want to do their part or they got frustrated in the their part of building that final product, that it could knock the whole final process or the whole product off, right? So the person buying that BMW that ordered that product, that Wanted the certain color seats or wanted the certain, I don't know, certain, I don't know, sunroof or whatever it is that they ordered that if one person said, I didn't feel like doing that today, it would have knocked the whole product, final product up. So every person had to take their part of the process important, right? They had to take it like they loved it, that it was important. So that's why we have to remember that each part of the process that. That plays a part in the final product that plays a part in the final. The promise is important. I hope I'm making sense. I hope that makes sense. Okay, so is a series of actions that produce something or that leads to a particular result. [00:06:33] In the context of the Bible, the concept of process can be understood as the unfolding of God's divine plan and the gradual development of his purposes. And in the world and in the lives of individuals. [00:06:49] It's gradual. It's not instant. [00:06:52] I know we live in an instant society where everything is quick, microwave society. Everything happens really, really, really fast. But in the Bible, God's divine plan is a gradual development of his purposes. [00:07:07] The Bible presents numerous examples of processes that illustrate God's sovereignty, wisdom and timing. Okay, so it's not always quick. We want it to be quick. [00:07:18] We want it to be suddenly. And there are times where things does do happen suddenly. There are suddenly blessings. There are times where God does things suddenly. But there are times where there is a process. [00:07:30] And it's not always a straight line. It's not always a straight line from point A to point B. Right? Sometimes it's a zigzag kind of situation going on and we have to be okay with that. We absolutely have to be okay with it. That comes back to trusting God with our lives, totally trusting Him. Okay? And as I'm speaking to you, I am absolutely speaking to myself. [00:07:53] Trust me. Before I walked into this building today, we had a whole conversation going on out in the parking lot. Like, I don't even. I'm trusting you 100% because I don't even know, I don't understand, but I'm trusting you. So it is a hundred percent trusting him and totally believing that I am putting my trust in you. I don't understand, but I trust and believe you. So it is a process. [00:08:17] Okay? [00:08:20] So today's encouragement, today I'm going to talk to you a little bit, set the scene a little bit about the Israelites. We know who the Israelites are. We talked about them in the past. I have talked about them quite a bit. [00:08:37] But the Israelites had a promise. [00:08:40] They had a promise, and I'm just going quickly. They had a promise. [00:08:46] They were enslaved in Egypt for about 400 years. [00:08:51] God delivered them through Moses with miracles like the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, all of those things. [00:09:00] They went through the wilderness, okay? While they were in the wilderness, God provided them with manna, with what they needed. He provided them with his presence with manna. He told them, I'm going to give you manna every day. You reach in your pockets, you got mana every day. Get well, just get enough of what you need for them. Make sure you have enough. You got what you need. [00:09:21] Get what you need. Don't get more than what you need. You're going to have what you need. Okay? So he made sure they had what they needed. He provided them with manna and his presence did. They didn't believe like they should have. [00:09:33] They had a disbelief. They didn't trust God like they always did. I'm giving you a very quick synopsis. Synopsis, okay? Quick, quick, quick. [00:09:41] And so, because they didn't believe and they didn't trust God like they should have, they wandered for 40 years. What should have been a very quick trip. [00:09:50] Excuse me. [00:09:52] Should have been a few days, a couple of weeks, I think. Should not have been more than like two weeks. I think from what I can understand, from what I gathered in my research, took them about 40 years, my God, how? [00:10:06] What should have been a quick trip took them 40 years, right? [00:10:11] But finally they made it to the promised land. So they were in bondage. They went through the wilderness, but even in the wilderness, God still provided for them. How many times? Even in our disobedience, even if I. Even in our disobedience, God still provides for us. [00:10:27] I'm a witness. Okay? So even in their disobedience, even in their disbelief, even when they didn't do what God told them to do, God still provided for them. [00:10:35] But yet, in the end, God, they made it to their promised land, all right? So they went through Egypt, they went to the wilderness, and then they made it to the promised land. There was a process, I want you to remember, there was still a process to get to the promised land, all right? Egypt, wilderness, promised land. They made it to Canaan. All right? So we all have different stages in our lives. And that's why I wanted to make sure you understood. We have different stages in our lives. Where are you in the stages? In your stage? [00:11:07] But even in all of those stages, God was Still with us. And I talked about that earlier, I think last. Well, earlier this year, God is still with you no matter what stage in your life. [00:11:16] 2025, we've all had our different stages in our lives, but no matter where we were, God was with us. And Even going into 2026, no matter what stage you are in your life, God is still going to be with you. [00:11:28] I'm recording this on New Year's Eve. [00:11:32] And we all can. This is a day of reflection to remember what God has done for us. [00:11:39] Sometimes we forget how soon we. How quick we forget what God has done. [00:11:44] But everyone, even as I'm recording this, everyone is not going to make it into 2026. So we. It is a day of reflection. It should be a day of reflection, a day of God. I thank you. But as we go into 2026, I want you to as when you see this, it will all. It should already be 2026. And I want you to think about how God has been good to you and each stage of 2025, whether it was in Egypt and a day of bondage, a day of when it was really, really tough, or a day of wilderness when it was really, really tough, or a day of promise, you made it through and it was good days, God was still with you. Okay, just little tidbit. All right, so the promise. [00:12:31] God has promised you something, but there's a process to get there. [00:12:37] All right? There's a process. [00:12:39] And there was something that my bestie, Sarah Jakes Roberts, like I said, she doesn't know she's my bestie, but she is my bestie. [00:12:47] She said something that really stuck out to me. And she said the promise that depends on God. The promise is God's. That's his. He made the promise. That's his. He gave that to us. [00:13:02] That's his word. [00:13:04] But the process depends on us. [00:13:07] That was good to me. The process depends on us. So we are responsible for following through on the process. [00:13:17] Okay? We got to do our part. The promise is on him. He's going to do his part, but the process depends on us. [00:13:26] So why do we get stuck on the process? Well, because it doesn't always feel good. [00:13:34] It just doesn't. And so what she said. And I think this is what got me so good. This is what. What stuck out to me. Something else that stuck out to me was that the enemy knows how the enemy knows that he can't stop the promise. [00:13:53] Right? He knows he can't stop the promise because what God says is what God says. And if he got. If God made a promise, he's good for that. [00:14:01] Because God is not a man that he should lie. He's good for that. So if he promised that he's going to do something, that's it. He's not coming back on that. [00:14:11] So where does the enemy get us on the process? [00:14:14] Because he knows that we have to work the process, and so he gets us frustrated in the process, okay? [00:14:22] So we can't get stuck in the process. [00:14:25] And that's what I need you to understand, is what I needed to understand. And so in 2026, as we work toward the promise, as we work the process to get to that promise, don't get stuck. And so that's what I need us to work on. All right? So how do we not get stuck? Why do we get stuck? What, What, What? What gets us stuck in the process? And that's what we will talk about today real quick. All right? Number one, unbelief and fear. I hope you got your notebook. I hope you got a pen. If you don't pause it, go get a notebook. Go get a pen. What gets us stuck in the process? Unbelief and fear. We've talked about this before. I'm going give you a scripture. Numbers 13 and 31 says, we can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are. That is talking to Joshua and Caleb, um, when they went to go look at the promised land. Numbers 13 and 31 says, we can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are. They may be stronger than we are, but guess what? [00:15:27] Yes, you can go attack. Yes, you are. Yes, you can. That's you in the process. The promise is still the promise. [00:15:35] All right? [00:15:37] Fear clouds faith. Your faith is bigger than your fear. [00:15:42] Focus on God's power. [00:15:44] It's not about your power. Sorry I said ain't, but it really ain't. It's not about your power. [00:15:50] It's about God's power, not the obstacles. Okay? [00:15:55] That's what you have to focus on. Focus on God's power, not the obstacles. [00:16:00] So the question is, what fears might be holding you back from God's promise? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid? [00:16:09] Are you afraid of failure? Okay, well, nothing beats a failure than a try. You gotta. You have to try it. Okay? So you try, you fail. Try again. [00:16:21] All right? So keep trying. [00:16:25] It may work the next time. [00:16:27] So fear clouds faith. Focus on God's power, not on your own. All right? [00:16:36] Disobedience and rebellion. [00:16:39] Numbers 14 and 11. [00:16:41] How long will they refuse to believe in me in spite of all the signs I have performed among them. That's numbers 14 and 11. [00:16:51] We got to be obedient, guys. Obedience bridges the gap between you and God's promise. If he told you to do it, you got to go do it. Obedience is better than sacrifice, right? So in the Bible, they would sacrifice, sacrifice the little bird, the pigeons, and the. All the things. But obedience is better than all the sacrifices that they were doing. [00:17:13] Okay? So just be obedient. [00:17:16] Just be obedient. Do what he tells you to do and watch the doors open. [00:17:25] It's the obedience. It bridges the gap. So God tells you to do it. You. You follow through, and the doors will open. [00:17:33] Watch how he connects the right people in the right places. He's an extraordinary strategist. I have seen him do it. I have seen him do it. If you only knew the stories of how we ended up in Florence and how I ended up at Wilson High School, you would be amazed that. So that story is one for the books. And I know it was God's hands all over that. So story. [00:17:57] It's all his. It was him. [00:18:01] So it was. There was before a church before, like, even be like the story is amazing how we ended up in Florence. [00:18:12] So just be obedient. Just be obedient. We moved to Florence. We knew no one. But it was God's plan. [00:18:22] It was God's plan. And so we just walked into it. We just walked and followed what he said. But just be obedient. [00:18:30] You. You'll be surprised. [00:18:33] Do what he says, not what you say. Now do what he says. But he's extraordinary. Nothing happens by happenstance. [00:18:41] Nothing happens by just or coincidence. [00:18:44] He's strategic in what he does. [00:18:46] He puts the right people in place. [00:18:48] But you have to be obedient. Okay. But don't be rebellious. Don't be disobedient. Be obedient to his word and watch how he works. [00:19:00] So is there an area where God is asking you to obey him right now? That's the question. [00:19:05] Is there an area where God is asking you to obey him right now? [00:19:10] And if there is, are you following through with that, with obedience, or are you being rebellious? [00:19:16] Yeah, holding on the next one. Holding on to old mindsets, numbers 14 and 3. [00:19:26] Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? Yeah, the Israelites were in Egypt. They were slaves in Egypt. [00:19:37] And so for over 400 years. So y' all asking, wouldn't it be better for us now y' all in the wilderness? Yeah, Things were Hard. But you asking, wouldn't it be better to go back to Egypt? Like, that's old mindsets. [00:19:52] So you're stuck in the process because you're thinking it's easier just to go back, because it's easy to go back to what you were used to, what you knew, instead of going to trying something different. Something. Because we don't like to be uncomfortable, we don't like to try something new. Something new is sometimes uncomfortable. Not sometimes trying something new is uncomfortable. And we'd rather go back to being comfortable, even if it means that we're in bondage. [00:20:20] Wow. God is trying to set us free. [00:20:24] God is setting us free. And then the freedom is uncomfortable. But we would rather be comfortable and in bondage. Does that make sense? I don't think so. [00:20:36] So freedom does feel uncomfortable, but in the promise that God has released to you, there is freedom. But yet there's some feelings of being uncomfortable because there's an unknown to it. Right. [00:21:03] And like I say, I'm talking to you, but I am stepping on my own toes. [00:21:07] Okay. So, yeah, there is being comfortable in a space, because I know what it's like. [00:21:16] I know I've been in this space for so long, so I know what it feels like. I know what it is. So before I go, step out into a space that I don't know what it's like, I just stay here because it's comfortable. Right. I've been here so long. I know the people here. I know what it's like. So, yeah, I'm good. [00:21:33] But is that what God is telling you to do? [00:21:36] There is a freedom in the promise that I've given you. So. [00:21:46] New seasons require new thinking. [00:21:49] Freedom begins in the mind. [00:21:52] Okay. New seasons require new thinking. [00:22:01] Freedom begins in the mind. [00:22:03] What old mindset might be keeping you from moving forward? [00:22:10] What old mindset might be keeping you from moving forward? Okay, and then the last one. Impatience with God's timing. Exodus 32 and 1 says, when the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they made a golden calf. Well, they decided that they would start worshiping a golden calf because he was taking too long. [00:22:33] Yeah. So they started worshiping the golden calf. Now God has taken care of them. For how long? At least 400 years. [00:22:40] While yet, they were in bondage. Right in the wilderness. Moses up on the mountaintop, talking to God. So he's taking too long. And so, yeah, so we're just gonna go over here and build this golden calf. [00:22:52] Come on, y'. All. [00:22:54] But what does that say about us, we do the same thing. God's taking too long. So I'm going to go over here and I'm going to start doing my own thing. [00:23:02] I'm going to start doing my own thing because God is taking too long. [00:23:06] So pastor preach about that a little bit. Not a little bit. Pastor preached about that Sunday about Abraham and Sarah. At the time, they were Abram and Sarah. But God promised, abram, you're going to be the father of many nations. And Abram said, I'm too old. Sarah laughed, said, yeah, I'm too old. So you know what, Abram? You go ahead over here and you lay with Hagar, and y' all have this baby. That is not what God said. [00:23:30] Right? [00:23:32] That is not what he said. But she was being impatient, and she felt like, I'm gonna help God out. How many times have you said, we gonna help God out? [00:23:40] Because that's not what he said. God made a promise, but we get impatient in the process, or we get stuck in the process, or we get frustrated in the process. So we're going to help God out. [00:23:57] That's not what he said. [00:23:58] The process, again, depends on us. [00:24:02] It depends on us. So don't get impatient. [00:24:06] Patient in God's timing prevents shortcuts and compromises. [00:24:10] Again, Sarah, that's not what he told. That's not what he told Abram. [00:24:15] Right. So they produce Ishmael. But that wasn't the promise. That was a child. But that wasn't the promise. [00:24:23] It wasn't the promise. Isaac was the promise. Ishmael was the child. Isaac was the promise. That's a whole nother lesson. [00:24:30] So. [00:24:32] Yeah. How many promises have God given you, but something else was produced? Not the promise, but something else was produced in your life? [00:24:46] Yeah. So think about it. Okay. How can you. Well, how can. How can you. I'm sorry, How. How. [00:24:56] Slow down. How can you wait? Well, on God's timing, I did a. [00:25:03] I did a podcast episode on that. Waiting. Well, waiting. Well, because you don't want just anything produced while you are working in the process of God's. Toward God's promise. Right. You want to make sure you are working in the process towards the promise that God has promised you. Okay. So think about that. Be patient. Wait. Well, we want to wait. Well, wanna wait. Well, okay. [00:25:38] All right. [00:25:40] So just a few people that were in the. In the Bible I talked about Abram. He waited decades for a child. [00:25:51] He trusted God's timing. Obedience matters. [00:25:56] Hannah was barren. She was ridiculed from others. [00:26:02] But she had. She gave Birth to Samuel because she wanted a child. She was. She had persistent in prayer and she was dedicated. [00:26:12] Esther risked her life to save her people. She delivered the Jews from destruction. She had courage and faith in God. [00:26:21] Plan. [00:26:22] Timing was key. [00:26:25] David was hunted by soil. He waited to be king. He had a promise to be king. He was hunted by soil. He eventually became king of Israel. What was the lesson on trusting the process? He persevered in faith. God's promise comes in his timing. Got to remember that Moses, he led the Israelites through 40 years in the wilderness. We just talked about that. [00:26:49] Obedience through trial strengthens your faith. Joseph was sold into slavery. He was imprisoned unjustly by his own siblings. Right. He became Egypt's leader. He saved many lives. What is the lesson? He stayed faithful and patient. Setbacks can become blessings. All right, so what I want you to remember, if nothing else, as you go through 2026, is that God's promise is on him. [00:27:24] It's on him. If he made you a promise, that's on him. His word is his word. The promise is on him. If he promised you, that's on him. [00:27:33] He's not going to go back on his word. Now. The process depends on us. [00:27:38] So you have to remain faithful through the process. [00:27:41] You have to not get stuck in the process. The enemy will try to push you off, get you stuck, get you frustrated in it. He's going to do everything he can to make you give up. [00:27:58] Right? [00:28:00] That's what he's going to do. [00:28:04] If you can go find that, that sermon that Sarah Jakes Roberts did, I think it was back in November. I don't know the exact date, but he's going to do all he can to get you frustrated. But this year, we're not going to do that. We're going to not get stuck. We're going to follow through. We're going to do what we're going to do. There's some things that I know that have been promised to me, and I'm not. I have been stagnant and I have been fearful and I have been set in my old mindsets, but I have set the goal, and I am not going to get stuck in the process. [00:28:45] As fearful as I may be, I'm not going to get stuck there. [00:28:51] I'm going to move forward, and I hope you hold me accountable, send me a message and say, hey, where are we with this process? [00:28:59] Because I need to move through. Even with the podcast, I. Every now and then I'm just like, I don't know. But then I Get a little message to say you had seven new views or 11 new views. And I'm like, okay, well, somebody is listening or watching. I appreciate you. So as we go through 2026, don't get stuck in the process. [00:29:19] Move forward. There's a promise. The promise is on God. The process depends on you. [00:29:23] So I thank you. I ask that you continue to keep pushing, keep pressing, don't give up. [00:29:31] I thank you for watching. [00:29:33] I ask that you share this with your family, your friends, and don't get stuck in the process, no matter where you are. I ask also that you, wherever you look at your podcast, there's Apple, Spotify, share it, look at it, love on it. YouTube, wherever it is, I ask that you like it, love it, share it. Give it to somebody, share with somebody. Someone may need this message to know that they can't get stuck. Whether it's your children, your family, your friends, whoever it is, they may need to know this to not get stuck in the pos. In the process. And so no matter where you are, no matter where God has placed you, embrace it. [00:30:11] Embrace it. [00:30:13] Don't get stuck there, y'. All. Embrace it. Love on it. Share it. I thank y'. All. I'm gonna have a new phrase for the new year because sometimes I forget y', all, but don't get stuck in the process. I thank you. I appreciate you. 2026 is going to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to all the great things that God is going to do in the new year. As second row conversations, we're going to have some conversations. I have some guests I think I'm going to have lined up, some authors that I'm talking to, some young authors that I have reached out to, I'm reaching out to. [00:30:47] And so I'm excited. So accept it, embrace it, and thrive in it. And I look forward to seeing you in 2026. Thank you, guys. Have a great. [00:31:12] Sa.