Making the Most of the Middle

I was talking to a friend of mine at Starbucks two weeks ago and found it interesting how, although we are going through two very different situations, we are both in the middle of waiting to see certain promises of God come to fruition in our lives. 

Maybe you've been there.

It feels like wandering around aimlessly in the desert...Or chomping at the bit, ready to run the race, but not knowing where the finish line is...Or knowing you're called to more but at the same time knowing that you're right where you're supposed to be. 

We know that God is faithful, but not knowing how or when God is going to work things out is tough. Actually, it's terrible!

I recently found myself thinking in circles and trying to figure out God's plan for my life when the Lord reminded me of this picture.

I feel like it beautifully portrays the heart of God for his children. What it doesn't do, however, is depict the emotions of the snapshot after this one. The one where God asks you for your teddy bear and you give it to Him. You sell your house. You move your family. You quit your job. You end that relationship. You give Him your addiction. And now you're left standing there empty handed. You've given God what he asked for and are now left waiting for Him to give you His best. The only thing is, you don't know when that will be and time seems to move extra slow in this season. 

Friends, welcome to transition. 

I was having a one sided conversation with the Lord the other day as I was reading my Bible. Okay, I was kind of just skimming it as I was venting all of my unanswered questions when this verse from Isaiah 45:9 literally jumped off the page and interrupted my pity party. 

It says, "The clay does not ask the potter, 'What are you doing?' The thing that is made doesn't say to its maker, 'You have no hands.'"

Are you kidding me? It was as if the Lord directly responded to all of my questions and immediately put in perspective who God is and how minuscule my concerns were. Not that He doesn't care about them, but that He cares about them so much that He already has all of the details worked out. He is a master potter.

The very next weekend Pastor Steven Furtick preached a sermon called 'It's in the Middle.' (I know, right? You'd think God was trying to tell me something.) As I sat at Elevation Uptown, in the beautiful historic church building, in my red velvet theater seat and listened to his words it was as if he was directly responding to our Starbucks conversation and to the conversations of my heart.

Pastor said a few things that truly resonated in my spirit. I want to share them with you; 

He said, "When (God) takes over your life, He blesses your life. But the same hands that bless your life are the same hands that must be trusted when your life is broken." 

After all, He's the potter, right? 

He continued to speak to my very situation by going on to say, "So God says to everyone who's in the middle of something right now, in the middle of change, in the middle of process, in the middle of becoming, in the middle of a storm, in the middle of the fire, keep stepping, stay in the middle, stay in faith, stay in courage, stay blessed, stay in my hand, stay in the storm, I'm with you in the fire. God is in the middle." 

The scripture that spoke to my heart louder than my ears could ever hear, and the message that Pastor preached brought me to the following question. Is it possible to shift our perspective from just getting through these transitions to making the most of them because we can fully trust that God has our best interest in mind? He says in Romans 8:28 that He works all things together for good to those who love the Lord. He also says in Philippians 1:6 that He who began a good work in us will carry it on in completion. 

Does this mean that I will never get frustrated? Nope. I'm human, but through my frustrations I can be assured that God knows the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).  I can rest easy knowing that He is my ever present help in time of need (Psalm 46:1). 

It's in the middle where growth happens, it's where we learn to appreciate the good times, it's where we connect to people, and it's where we learn to trust God at a deeper level. We may as well make the most of the middle because as long as we're alive we will be in the middle of something. 

Here's to trusting God in transition!