“But the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Gen 3:3 ( This was Eve's flawed explanation to Satan of her “middle”situation... what is with the “touch it”, God never said that.)
“O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy.” Hab. 3:2
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Re 2:7
If you have surmised that the verses above are nothing more than random statements from Scripture, then there is a good chance you are over burdened by your current state of affairs. You have no time for mind games or puzzles that are presented by mad men. You are pushed by an inner pressure that screams “you have to arrive somewhere soon or your life will implode”. With this pressure you feel that you may explode, lose connection with gravity and float into uselessness. We have all been there at one time or another, but some with less frustration than others. What is it with this “middle” land, this place of waiting, longing, hoping, doubting, and disappointment, that holds us in depressing captivity?
I hated it from the “get go” when I was pulled into the playground game known as “Monkey in the Middle”. You know how that game works: two bigger kids (or more talented in ball handling) begin tossing a ball back-n- forth with you in the middle. They just happen to toss the ball high enough at the point where you are standing that you have absolutely no chance of getting the ball without exerting a massive amount of useless energy. And even if you get the ball, the other two players walk away and the game is over. Stupid! And this is supposed to be fun? (Right now the ball handlers are saying “I don't get it?”)
As life moved on, with out being cognizant of it, this game would become a strange omen-like shadow that would continue to position itself across most of our lives. Somebody, something or some event would put you right smack dab in the middle. The basic problem, that we all share, is that we think “the middle” is a place of worthless existence. We see the intense struggle, and wonder why no one else is having a rough time (not true). We are very uncomfortable with being in the middle. Our knee jerk reaction is to declare a pity party and send out invitations; but we either don't invite God or we lose His invitation because we are convinced “He doesn't care anyhow”. When in reality it is where our God is and desires to be...He is in the midst, in the middle, with us.
This is the place where we can allow Him, or trust Him to show Himself “Mighty” to our benefit. This is where all the conflict of life converges – the disease, the healing, the storm, the rainbow, the fire, the chill, the famine, the feast, the praising, the confusion, the clarification, the cursing, the blessing, the waiting, the movement, the roaring of our enemies, and the reviving of life. This is the place where He saves us. This is the place where He rejoices over us with great joy. This is the place where He rests in His love for us as we can bask in that truth. This is the place where He will “joy over you with singing”(Check out Zephaniah 3:17)........BUT IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED...O people of God, of all people you will remain even more miserable than those who have no relationship with God!
The danger of “the middle” is we can shut down, talk to our own pain and listen to our own words. In the middle we may even agree with our false assumptions and write out the sure failure of our own futile destiny. Do you feel you are in the middle? Feeling you are nowhere and you are nobody? This is deceiver's easiest illusion, because it agrees with our deceitful hearts and keeps us from seeing Jesus there. Catch your breath in the middle and listen to God's Word. Get your second wind in the middle and share every ache of your heart with Jesus. This is where He is, take full advantage of the middle... it is to your advantage that you are there.
Rejoice with Him, Rest with Him, Sing with Him … He is yours and you are His … nothing can change this truth poured upon by the unlimited supply of Heaven.
Take hold of the throne grace and climb up into the Daddy chair … right now!
In the Middle.
HLFA,
Jeff
PS. The Picture attached is the rock that marks the spot where Flight 93 went down on 911 - America was and still is in the "middle" ... Oh how we need a Heaven sent rescue!