In The Middle

Middle is the place where we are stuck… we are not near the beginning and nor are we at the end. We are caught in between. We can be caught in the middle of a traffic jam, caught in the middle seat on that airplane, be in the middle of our journey, be the middle child, in the middle of our life crisis, in the middle of the storm, and like recently still in the middle of the pandemic. Middle can be the hardest place to be in. The middle can be the muddle that trips us up in our journey. How do you not lose focus and drop out weary when in the middle? How do you position yourself in the middle so that you can come out at the end and not just come out surviving but thriving and strong?

The Bible is replete with examples of people who were caught in the middle of a crisis or storm and came out strong! The life story of Daniel who lived through a secular and pluralistic time in history stands out for me. He was consistent in the middle and kept making right choices. He did not waver from his commitment to God even in the midst of trials and tribulations. He was consistent in his pursuit of God and persevered in doing what is right despite every pressure. There is favor and blessing in consistently doing what is right and he experienced this in a glorious way!
Psalm 106:3
³ Blessed are those who act justly,
    who always do what is right.

Daniel was such a man, a man who was steadfast, loyal and consistent through all the circumstances and seasons in his life. Daniel kept up the practice of praying three times to God even when there was a threat to his life. He did this even when a decree was passed that anyone who prays to any divine or human being except king Darius would be thrown into the lion’s den. Talk about consistency even in the face of immense pressure and the cost of your own life! The key to God’s favour and deliverance for Daniel when he was rescued supernaturally from the lion’s den was Daniel’s consistency and even king Darius recognised this when he said, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” (Daniel 6:16b)!
Daniel 6:4-5
⁴ Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. ⁵ So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
Daniel 6:10
¹⁰ But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

We do not want to be careless in our living and succumb to the pressures of the world we live just because we don’t see results immediately. We need to be resolute and consistent in our life, doing the good that we know. God will shape us and develop us for greater things as we are often forged in the anvil of difficulty and He knows when to deliver us and take the pressure off. In the meantime, we need to stay the path and be consistent. A.W. Tozer in Men Who Met God says this, “We must face the fact that many today are notoriously careless in their living. This attitude finds its way into the church. We have liberty, we have money, we live in comparative luxury. As a result, discipline practically has disappeared. What would a violin solo sound like if the strings on the musician’s instrument were all hanging loose, not stretched tight, not “disciplined”?”

There is good purpose in all of the Lord’s dealings with us. The story is told of a missionary visiting an Indian workshop. The craftsman was purifying gold. He had melted it in a crucible and kept on applying hot flames to it. The missionary asked, “When will you know that it is ready?” The craftsman replied, “When I see my face in it”. God will only be satisfied when we become more like Him! When we do that, we come forth as gold! We will come up higher and stronger above the circumstance.
Job 23:10
¹⁰ “But he knows where I am going.
    And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

God will instruct us and teach us the path that we need to take when we are in the middle of our storm or crisis. We need to trust him in the middle for our deliverance is coming! We need to know that His timing to deliver us is perfect and He knows how to deliver us. We cannot run ahead of God’s timing like the horse or lag behind like the mule. Our times are in God’s hands!
Psalm 32:8-9
⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
    I will advise you and watch over you.
⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

Are you in the middle of a crisis right now? Are you feeling pressured to give up and take the easy road? Don’t give up! It’s time instead to persevere and be consistent in doing right and pursuing God in the middle of the storm! Your deliverance is coming soon and it will be mighty like that in Daniel’s life! Trust God with the timing and be resolute in your commitment without wavering. You will come up higher and stronger and God will be glorified! The middle is not going to be a muddle for you. Instead God will lead you along the best pathway out of the storm in a glorious way!