A stutter & insecurities.
A desert.
A promised land seen but not felt.
A religious clash.
An affair.
A murder.
A drought and a boat.
What do these things on this list have in common? They are all life stories of heroes from the Bible. Moses battled with a speech impediment, self-doubt, and wandered in a desert for years before he got to the Promised Land. Esther was a Jew in hiding in a king's palace before speaking up for her people and saving them. David was an adulterer and murderer but also a man after God's own heart. Noah built a giant boat for years during a never-ending drought before the flood waters came and that boat saved humanity.
We like end results. We like to talk about the end of the story. Grady, my middle guy, was talking the other day about how one of his brother's buddies reads the last page of books so he can know how the story will end ahead of time. I used to do that. As much as I like to know the whole story, I always like the end the best and I want to know how everything is going to tie together and be resolved as soon as possible. I think this is why we all binge on Netflix. We have to know what is going to happen next. Don't leave me in suspense. And don't you just hate it when a season ends abruptly and now you have to wait what seems like 385 years before the next season comes out?
I am learning to appreciate the middle; the messy middle. I look at these Biblical figures that are so well-known by the world and see that their most poignant moments of their lives didn't come at the end. They came in the middle when everything was muddled and they were wrestling with God.
The most encouraging portions of Moses' story as he wandered the desert wasn't when he made it to the Promised Land. It was when he questioned God and his ability to lead the Israelites. It was in these moments that I can see myself in Moses; where I see my reflection. I see myself fearful of what I think God is calling me to do because it is not the norm, nor the accepted way, and I am certainly not qualified. It is in the middle of Esther's story where I see myself most. I find myself on my knees searching for God when I have moved so far away from Him that I can't feel Him anymore. It is in the middle of David's story that I find myself longing after God but living apart from His will.
The messy middle is where we reside for most of our lives yet we try to avoid it like it's a disease. We celebrate the end results and victories, which we should, but we should never undervalue the middle.
As I was praying for words to write this post I prayed that God could reveal to me His will for my life while I am stuck in this messy middle without a road map. Before I could finish my prayer He revealed to me that I am in His will. Just because I am in the middle of my story does not mean that I have not obtained His will for my life. My middle is just as much His will for me as my end.
Noah, Moses, Esther, David, Jonah all had incredibly messy middles. The waded through darkness and deserts to get to their victories and God was there through it all. Oftentimes, we feel like we have to get through the middle of our story in order to get to God and what we are missing is that God is most alive and active to us in the messy middle. We see Him most when we are at our darkest, most confused, most scared, most lonely yet, we feel like He won't meet us until we get to the other side.
Live in that middle space. Own it. Hold tight to it. Enjoy the messy. It is in the gritty that we find God. It is in the desert that we find the Promised Land. It is in the darkness that we see the Light. That messy middle is exactly where God wants you and me right this very second.
This life is all about the middle. Once we gain victory over one season, a new one begins leading us into another round of the middle. Stay there awhile. Don't park there. You aren't designed to get comfortable there. Your victory, however, comes when you embrace the messy middle for the messy middle leads to victory. And without the messy middle, your victory is worthless.
Rest. Stay awhile. Enjoy the ride of the messy middle.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
A desert.
A promised land seen but not felt.
A religious clash.
An affair.
A murder.
A drought and a boat.
What do these things on this list have in common? They are all life stories of heroes from the Bible. Moses battled with a speech impediment, self-doubt, and wandered in a desert for years before he got to the Promised Land. Esther was a Jew in hiding in a king's palace before speaking up for her people and saving them. David was an adulterer and murderer but also a man after God's own heart. Noah built a giant boat for years during a never-ending drought before the flood waters came and that boat saved humanity.
We like end results. We like to talk about the end of the story. Grady, my middle guy, was talking the other day about how one of his brother's buddies reads the last page of books so he can know how the story will end ahead of time. I used to do that. As much as I like to know the whole story, I always like the end the best and I want to know how everything is going to tie together and be resolved as soon as possible. I think this is why we all binge on Netflix. We have to know what is going to happen next. Don't leave me in suspense. And don't you just hate it when a season ends abruptly and now you have to wait what seems like 385 years before the next season comes out?
I am learning to appreciate the middle; the messy middle. I look at these Biblical figures that are so well-known by the world and see that their most poignant moments of their lives didn't come at the end. They came in the middle when everything was muddled and they were wrestling with God.
The most encouraging portions of Moses' story as he wandered the desert wasn't when he made it to the Promised Land. It was when he questioned God and his ability to lead the Israelites. It was in these moments that I can see myself in Moses; where I see my reflection. I see myself fearful of what I think God is calling me to do because it is not the norm, nor the accepted way, and I am certainly not qualified. It is in the middle of Esther's story where I see myself most. I find myself on my knees searching for God when I have moved so far away from Him that I can't feel Him anymore. It is in the middle of David's story that I find myself longing after God but living apart from His will.
The messy middle is where we reside for most of our lives yet we try to avoid it like it's a disease. We celebrate the end results and victories, which we should, but we should never undervalue the middle.
As I was praying for words to write this post I prayed that God could reveal to me His will for my life while I am stuck in this messy middle without a road map. Before I could finish my prayer He revealed to me that I am in His will. Just because I am in the middle of my story does not mean that I have not obtained His will for my life. My middle is just as much His will for me as my end.
Noah, Moses, Esther, David, Jonah all had incredibly messy middles. The waded through darkness and deserts to get to their victories and God was there through it all. Oftentimes, we feel like we have to get through the middle of our story in order to get to God and what we are missing is that God is most alive and active to us in the messy middle. We see Him most when we are at our darkest, most confused, most scared, most lonely yet, we feel like He won't meet us until we get to the other side.
Live in that middle space. Own it. Hold tight to it. Enjoy the messy. It is in the gritty that we find God. It is in the desert that we find the Promised Land. It is in the darkness that we see the Light. That messy middle is exactly where God wants you and me right this very second.
This life is all about the middle. Once we gain victory over one season, a new one begins leading us into another round of the middle. Stay there awhile. Don't park there. You aren't designed to get comfortable there. Your victory, however, comes when you embrace the messy middle for the messy middle leads to victory. And without the messy middle, your victory is worthless.
Rest. Stay awhile. Enjoy the ride of the messy middle.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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