It's easy to have faith at the start of something. Having faith at the start and the end is no problem; the real challenge is having faith in the middle. The start is fun, the end is exciting, but the middle can be and often messy
My question is will you have faith for the middle? When you have obeyed God, when you’ve opened your hands, you’ve let go of something and now you’re waiting for your miracle, for your promise. Will you have faith for the middle when it’s not happening the way you thought, you planned, when it seems like you’re moving forwards, but you hit a speed bump (or not even a speed bump, a rock) and it seems that you are now in reverse.
It says in, Psalm Chapter 23 Verse 4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; for you will comfort me.
The keyword here is through. We’re not staying there; we are going through it. Changing our perspective on what the middle should look like and reminding ourselves it’s only temporary is and has honestly been life-altering.
I love this verse! I love that David DIDN’T write,
I stay in the valley, I set up camp in the valley, I build my home in the valley. He said I DON’T settle in the middle.
God promises us not that we won’t face fear but that He will be with us THROUGH the beginning, middle and end. Even when there looks like there is no way He will make a way. When you read through the Scriptures, we read about great heroes of faith and that they all shared one common denominator, they all had faith for the middle. When it looked impossible, the promise seemed a long way off, they kept moving forward, knowing that it was a part of the process.
David could have said…
God, well you promised me that I would be the king, but you didn’t tell me that I would have to face a giant twice my size, you left that detail out. You didn’t tell me that King Saul would chase me through the desert and try to kill me, you left that detail out too.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes, well most of the time God leaves out certain details on purpose? There’s a reason that we don’t know all the details; we wouldn’t move forward into the fullness of our destiny, we wouldn’t obey and have faith to step out.
I have never met anyone that likes adversity, we like to be comfortable, we like to convince ourselves that we won’t become all we were created to be without walking through disappointments, without interruptions, without facing the unknown and the struggles that it can bring.
The middle is where our endurance is tested, where our resilience is built. It causes our faith to be stretched, to grow and develop. In the middle, David could have said, I’ll never take the throne. I’m but a mere shepherd boy, from a low-income family. I don’t have the gifts, the connections, or the experience, I don’t even think I have the faith, BUT God is not dependent on what you don’t have.
When He breathed His breath into humanity He also provided and readied us with everything that we need, so that when we ask in His name that He will do it (John 14:13-14).
What you think you don’t have enough of God’s grace upon your life will make up for it. His anointing on your life will cause you to go further than people that have more talent than you do.
Life, it’s a funny thing! Things don’t always work out the way we planned them to, right? You thought it would be the best part of your life, but you came down with an illness, somebody walked away and hurt you, the business didn’t make it; you hit one of those flat days or those seasons.
How do we practically navigate the middle? How do we walk through it?
Get a healthy perspective on what the middle is
The middle - it’s not the end, It’s not permanent. It is just a step along the way. Let’s not make the temporary become permanent. this is where many people miss it, this is where so many of us give up in the middle. When the current circumstance or situation is all you focus on you lose perspective of what God is doing in the long term.
Commit to not settle in the middle.
Don’t waste time there, I am not saying we don’t all have moments of frustration and even at times hurt but zoom out and get a Godly perspective and see what God is doing on the journey not just the circumstance.
Keep sight of what God promised
When God brought the Israelites out of slavery, they were headed toward the promised land. He got them started, but in the middle, I love that God didn’t just abandon them. He didn’t say, I gave you the promise now you’re on your own, good luck in the middle. NO, all along the way, God provided for them, He gave them daily bread (manna) from heaven. When they were thirsty, and couldn’t find a stream, God brought water out of a rock. He showed them that He was not just the God of the start, not just the God of the end, but the God of the middle.
There may be some Red Seas in your path, and it seems like you’re stuck but the good news is, God knows how to part the waters, He will make a way, He always has and always will.
Don’t be discouraged by the process. You may be in the valley, but you’re not staying there; you’re passing through, coming out. Have faith for the middle, He is not just the God of the start, not just the God of the end, He is the God of the middle.
Chevaun Tabacaru is a mother to three children, two gorgeous girls and a cheeky, beautiful boy. Chevaun is studying a Bachelor of Ministry and Pastors alongside her husband Mark at Calvary Christian Church, Rockhampton. She is passionate about bridging the gap between Community and Church, as she leads Calvary Care globally.