The Beauty Between
Life. There is a beginning and and ending. In the middle - we face many unknowns. In the middle, there is beauty between.
Throughout the Bible, we read many stories of characters that were stuck in the middle of their story for a very, very, long time.
Noah spent years building the ark, before even one rain drop had fallen. Finally, God made a covenant with Noah in Genesis 9, after the rain subsided - God made a promise to Noah, that he would never destroy the earth with a flood again, and as a sign of the covenant, he gave Noah a rainbow.
God promised promised Abraham that He would lead him to a new land, that he will give Abraham this land as an inheritance, that he will give Abraham a son to call his heir, and that Abraham’s descendants will be a numerous as the stars in the sky.
"This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you." -Genesis 17:10-11
So what was the great sign of the covenant, in which God promised he will be doing these wonderful things, that he will make you into a great nation? The sign: circumcision. Noah, had to wait for his promise, but he got a rainbow. Abraham had to wait for his promise and had to get circumcised.
Jacob worked 7 years so he could marry the woman of his dreams, Rachel. He worksed hard for 7 years, for his future in laws, only to wake up after his wedding night, to Leah, her sister. So, he worked another 7 years in order to have Rachel become his wife.
Pastor Dillon continues to list different people throughout the Bible that faced trials and challenges while they waited for the promise.
In each of these stories, the middle matters the most. The middle is where their faith was tested and proved. The middle is where they were refined. The middle is where they had to trust in God. The middle was where they built their character. The middle is where they had no idea what was going on, yet chose joy. The middle is where at lot of you are right now. You're in the middle with your health, your business, your finances, your family, and your relationships. The middle is where you find the beauty between.
Faith is taking a step when you're not sure if you are going break through or not. It's trusting the process when your heart is broken. Its believing the best is yet to come, when the worst is all you can see.
It’s thanking God for the promise, even when someone else gets a rainbow, and you get circumcision.
You are in the beauty between. You are in the middle of your miracle. You are in the middle of your healing.
You are in the middle of refinement. You are in the middle of your God Story.
The middle is where your miracle finds meaning!
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:6
Make sure you turn to God in the midst of your middle, lean into all God has for you in this season.