It’s easy to have faith at the start. When your new baby is born, or you
marry that beautiful girl, or you start that new business, it’s exciting.
There’s adrenaline flowing, and it feels great. It’s also easy to have faith
at the end. When you can see the finish line, you’ve fought the good
fight, and now the dream is in sight. Having faith at the start and at the
end is not a problem.
The challenge is having faith in the middle—when it’s taking longer
than you thought, when you don’t have the funds, when the medical
report isn’t good. You were so excited about that cute little baby who
could do no wrong. Now he’s a teenager, and you’re convinced that he’s
not your child. You’re having his DNA tested next week. The mistake we
make is that we get discouraged in the middle. We think, God, I know
You gave me this child, but he’s making my life miserable. I know You
brought my spouse into my life, but now there’s conflict. I know You
blessed me with this business, but now I don’t have the funds I need. In
the middle is where most people lose the battle.
But God never promised that we would reach our destiny without
opposition, without disappointments, without things we don’t understand.
The Scripture says, “Don’t think it’s strange when you face fiery trials.”
That means don’t get upset because somebody did you wrong. Don’t start
worrying because the business slowed. Don’t live in anxiety because your
child has taken a wrong turn. God is still on the throne. Nothing that’s
happened to you has stopped His plan for your life. He’s not up in heaven
scratching His head and thinking, Oh man, I didn’t see that one coming.
That bad break threw Me off. What He promised you, He still has every
intention of bringing to pass. I know you can have faith at the start—
that’s easy. I know you can have faith at the end. My question is, will you
have faith in the middle? Will you have faith when it’s not happening as
you thought it would, when it feels as though you’re going in the wrong
direction and it’s dark and difficult there, when every voice tells you to
give up and says, “You must have heard God wrong.” Don’t believe
those lies. It’s all a part of the process.
When God puts a dream in your heart, He’ll show you the end. He’ll
give you the promise, but He won’t show you the middle. If He told us all
it would take for it to come to pass, we would talk ourselves out of it. In
the Scripture an angel appeared to a teenager named Mary. He said,
“Mary, you are highly favored of God. You will have a baby without
knowing a man, and He will be the Messiah, the Savior of the world.”
God showed her the end. She was going to be the mother of Christ. She
would have honor and be respected and admired for generations to come.
I’m sure Mary was excited. She couldn’t believe it. But I can hear Mary
years later, saying, “God, You didn’t tell me that having this baby was
going to cause my fiancé to want to call off our engagement. You didn’t
tell me I would have this baby in a manger with smelly animals. You
didn’t tell me I would have to live on the run for two years, hiding my
baby from King Herod. You didn’t tell me my son would be mistreated,
betrayed, and mocked. You didn’t tell me I would have to watch Him be
crucified and die a painful death.”
What am I saying? God doesn’t give us all the details. What you’re
going through may be difficult, you don’t like it, it doesn’t make sense.
This is where your faith has to kick in. Are you going to give up and talk
yourself out of it? Or are you going to do as Mary did and say, “God, I
don’t understand this. You didn’t tell me this person was going to do me
wrong or that I would be dealing with this sickness. You didn’t tell me
this business was going to slow down. But God, I know You’re still on
the throne, and it’s not a surprise to You. I’m not going to live in
discouragement, give up on my dreams, or quit believing. I’m going to
have faith in the middle.”
The Middle Can Be Messy
You remember what I said in chapter nine about Joseph. God gave him a
dream that one day his father and mother and his eleven brothers would
bow down before him. God showed him the end, and the promise was
planted in his heart. But what God didn’t show him was the middle.
Years later, when Joseph was ruling over the nation of Egypt as one of
the most powerful people of his day, the dream came to pass. I can hear
Joseph saying, “God, You gave me this incredible promise, but You
didn’t tell me that my brothers would be jealous and throw me into a pit.
You showed me that I would rule one day, but You didn’t tell me that on
the way I would be sold into slavery. You didn’t tell me I would be
falsely accused and put in prison.” If Joseph were here today, he would
tell you, “Don’t get discouraged in the middle. Don’t give up when life
doesn’t make sense.” You know the promise is in your heart. You know
God told you that you’re going to be healthy again, you’re going to see
your family restored, you’re going to meet the person of your dreams, but
every circumstance says just the opposite. It feels as though you’re
moving backward. Keep believing, keep being your best. God has not
brought you this far to leave you. He hasn’t failed you in the past, and
He’s not going to fail you in the future. Don’t get discouraged by the
process.
The start is fun, and the end is exciting; but the truth is, the middle
can be messy. In some way we’re all in the middle; we’re all on a
journey. There are things that you’re believing for—you know God has
planted those seeds. Over time it’s easy to give up and think, There are
too many obstacles. It’s never going to happen. God has you reading this
to breathe new life into your dreams. What He’s placed in your heart is
already en route. The process has already been started. The right people,
the healing, the breakthrough, the new business is on the way. Now do
your part and have faith for the middle.
David could have said, “God, 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 even though I was
faithfully serving King Saul, he would try to kill me. You didn’t tell me
that my own son would turn on me and try to take the throne.” When you
study the heroes of faith, such as David and Joseph, one common
denominator you’ll find is that they had faith in the middle. When it
looked impossible, when the promise seemed far off, they kept moving
forward, knowing it was a part of the process. They weren’t surprised by
the trials or dark places. They weren’t discouraged by opposition. Yes,
they had their moments. They were as human as the rest of us. At times
worry would come, fear would come, doubt would come, but they didn’t
allow it to stay. They stirred their faith back up and believed that the
promise would happen.
I remember where I was sitting in a restaurant when a friend of mine
told me that the Compaq Center was going to be put on the real estate
market by the city of Houston. As he was speaking, down deep inside I
had this sense that that facility was meant for us. God showed me the end.
I could see us having services there and touching the world. I look back
now and realize that God didn’t show me that it was going to take two
years to convince ten city council members to vote for us. He didn’t show
me that one of the largest companies in Texas would file a lawsuit to try
to keep us from moving in. He didn’t tell me that it was going to cost a
hundred million dollars to renovate the center. Sometimes God leaves out
certain details on purpose. If He had told me that I would be responsible
for all that money, I would have said, “We’re fine with our old facility.” I
would have settled for less than His best. There’s a reason we don’t have
all the details. If we did, we wouldn’t move into the fullness of our
destiny because nobody likes adversity. We like to be comfortable. But
you won’t become all you were created to be without opposition,
challenges, and difficulties that cause you to stretch and grow and use
your spiritual muscles.
You’re Going Through
When God brought the Israelites out of slavery, they were headed toward
the Promised Land. God showed them their destination, the land flowing
with milk and honey. He got them started on their way, brought them out
of slavery, but in the middle God didn’t abandon them. He didn’t say, “I
got you started. I gave you the promise and now you’re on your own.
Good luck in the middle.” All along the way God supernaturally provided
them with blessings. He gave them manna to eat in the desert. When they
wanted meat, He caused the winds to shift and hundreds of thousands of
quail came into the camp. When they were thirsty and couldn’t find any
streams or wells, God brought water out of a rock. He protected them
from enemy nations that were much bigger and more powerful and
trained for war. When Pharaoh came chasing after the Israelites, they
came to a dead end at the Red Sea and had nowhere to go. God parted the
sea and spared their lives. Again and again God gave them favor and
made things happen that they could never have made happen. He was
showing them and us, “I’m not just the God of the start, and I’m not just
the God of the finish. I’m the God of the middle. I’m the God who will
bring you through the trial, through the adversity, through the loss.”
When you’re in the middle, God has given you the promise, and you
know the destination. But you’re en route. You’re in the process of
raising your child, believing for your healing, or running that business.
Along the way you’ll face situations that look impossible—the odds are
against you, the opposition is stronger, the report says you’re not going to
get well. Be encouraged, knowing that the God of the middle is right
there with you. There may be a Red Sea in your path. It looks as though
you’re stuck, but the good news is, God knows how to part it. You may
not have the funds for college, you don’t see how you can go, but God is
not lacking. He knows how to shift the winds and bring quail into your
camp, so to speak. He can still bring water out of a rock. He can cause
walls that have been stopping you to suddenly come tumbling down.
Now do your part—have faith in the middle.
The Scripture says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be
with you. When you go through the rivers, you will not drown. When you
go through the fire, you won’t be burned, the flames will not consume
you.” You may be in the fire, in the flood, or in the famine, but God is
saying, “You’re not staying there. You’re going through it.” When you’re
in the middle, you need to remind yourself that this too shall pass. It’s
temporary. Now quit putting so much energy into something that’s not
going to last. Quit wasting time by worrying about that situation at work,
being upset over that medical report, or being frustrated with that person
who did you wrong. That’s not your destination; you’re only passing
through. The trouble is not permanent. The sickness, the loneliness, or the
difficulty is just a stop along the way. But if you give in to it and let it
overwhelm you with discouragement, you’ll settle there and let what
should have been temporary become permanent. This is where many
people miss it—they settle in the middle. I’m asking you to keep moving
forward.
David said it this way: “I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death.” He didn’t say, “I stay in the valley. I set up camp in the valley. I
build my house in the valley.” He said, in effect, “The valley is not my
home. I don’t settle in the middle. I don’t get discouraged when things
come against me. I don’t give up when it’s hard, when life’s not fair,
when it’s taking a long time. I have faith for the middle.” When things
come against you, and you’re tempted to settle, you have to dig your
heels in and say as David said, “I know that God is not just the God of the
end. He’s the God of the middle. And even though I may not understand
it, I’m not going to settle in the valley. I’m not going to get stuck in the
middle. I’m going to keep moving forward, knowing that God is in
control and this difficulty is just another step on the way to my destiny.”
You’re Not Doing Life by Yourself
Psalm 138 says, “The Lord will work out His plans for my life.” It
doesn’t say that we have to work out our plans, make things happen with
our own strength, and be frustrated when they’re not happening the way
we thought they would. We can stay in peace, knowing that the Lord, the
God who created the universe, the God who spoke worlds into existence,
has promised He will work out His plans for our lives. Sometimes it feels
as though we’re going backward. We know we should be going one way,
but we’re going just the opposite way. God knows what He’s doing. His
ways are better than our ways. Right now He’s behind the scenes working
out His plans for your life. He’s arranging things in your favor, moving
the wrong people out of the way, lining up the breaks you need. You may
not see anything happening; you have to walk by faith and not by sight.
In the middle, Joseph could have said, “It’s never going to work out.
I was a slave, and now I’m in prison in a foreign land. I’ll never lead a
nation.” But what Joseph couldn’t see was that behind the scenes God
was working out the plan for his life. In the middle, David could have
said, “I’ll never take the throne. I’m a just a shepherd boy from a low-
income family. I don’t have the skills, the connections, or the training.”
But God is not dependent on what you don’t have. When He breathed His
life into you, He equipped you with everything you need. What you think
you don’t have enough of, the favor of God will make up for. The
anointing on your life will take you further than people with more talent.
In the middle, Abraham could have said, “Sarah and I will never have a
baby. It’s taking too long. We’re way too old.” But what Abraham
couldn’t see was that behind the scenes, God had already ordained a little
baby named Isaac who had Abraham and Sarah’s name on him. God
already had it worked out for his life.
You may not be able to figure out how your dream can come to pass.
When you put the business plan down on paper, it tells you that you
won’t get out of debt until you’re a hundred years old. The medical report
says you won’t get well. It doesn’t look as though you can ever break the
addiction. On your own, you’re out of luck. The good news is that you’re
not on your own. You’re not doing life by yourself. Your Heavenly
Father, the Most High God, is working out His plan for your life. There
may be obstacles that look insurmountable, but God has the final say. If
you’ll have faith in the middle, He’ll open up doors that no man can shut.
He’ll turn situations around that look impossible. He’ll take you further
than you’ve ever imagined.
Days of Trouble Are Temporary
Paul said in Ephesians, “Put on the whole armor of God so that in the day
of trouble you can stand.” In life we’ll all have days of trouble, days of
difficulties, days of opposition, days of darkness. But the same God who
said there will be a day of trouble has also said there will be a day when
that trouble comes to an end. You may be in difficulty right now. Be
encouraged—it’s not permanent, that trouble has an expiration date. God
has set an end to it. You’re in the middle now, but at the appointed time,
the end will come. Don’t be overwhelmed by that sickness—it has an
expiration date. That legal problem or that situation in your finances is
not a surprise to God. It’s one of those days of trouble. Instead of being
discouraged, remind yourself, “This trouble has an end date.” It’s not
permanent. Just as there is a day of trouble, God has a day of deliverance,
a day of healing, a day of abundance, a day of breakthrough.
I know a couple who have a son who was addicted to drugs for over
twenty years. These parents are good people who love God and are
always serving and giving, but somehow their son got on the wrong track.
Year after year went by, and it didn’t look as though anything was
changing. I never once heard these parents talk about the problem. They
never complained, “God, why did this happen to our son? We don’t
understand it.” They were in the valley, but they didn’t stay there. They
believed that just as there had been a day of trouble when their son got
addicted, there would be a day of deliverance, set by the Creator of the
universe, when their son would be free from that addiction. They did
everything they could—they prayed, they believed, they sent him to
rehab, but nothing worked. A few months ago, some people this young
man worked with took a special interest in him. They weren’t even
believers, but they befriended the young man and went out of their way to
help him. They paid his way through treatment, and this time it was
successful. For the first time in more than twenty years, he’s completely
free. He has no desire for drugs.
What happened? He came into his day of deliverance. What his
parents couldn’t do, God caused somebody to do for him. When you have
faith in the middle, God will make things happen that you can’t make
happen. You may be in a day of trouble now—in your health, in your
finances, in your mind. It’s easy to settle there and think, It’s never going
to change. I’ll never get free. I’ll always be depressed. I’ll always
struggle in my finances. But God is saying to you, as he said to this young
man, “Your day of deliverance is coming. Your day of healing, your day
of abundance, your day of blessing, your day of joy, your day of victory
is on the way.”
In Mark 4, Jesus had just finished teaching thousands of people. It
was late in the day when He said to his disciples, “Let’s go to the other
side of the lake.” They got in the boat and began to travel there, but along
the way they were caught in a huge storm in the darkness of night. The
Scripture describes it as a furious squall of winds, of hurricane
proportions. The winds were so strong that the disciples thought the boat
was going to capsize. Waves were coming over the top of it and the boat
was filling up. They were in a panic. The disciples ran down to the stern
of the boat where Jesus was sleeping. They said, “Jesus, wake up! We’re
about to drown in this huge storm!” Jesus woke up and rebuked the storm
and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And everything calmed down.
What’s interesting is that Jesus knew before they got on the boat that
there was going to be a storm that night. He’s God; He knows everything.
Why did He suggest going to the other side if He knew there were going
to be hurricane-force winds, a major storm? Because He also knew that
that storm couldn’t keep them from their destiny. He knew that in the
middle there would be difficulties, but when He declares we’re going to
the other side, all the forces of darkness cannot stop Him from getting us
to the other side. In the same way, when God puts a promise in your
heart, when He speaks into your destiny, He’s not moved by the winds.
He’s not worried by the storms or stressed out because there are a few
hurricanes on your journey. He controls the universe. What He says will
come to pass.
In the middle of that storm, Jesus didn’t wake up on His own because
He knew the disciples could handle it. If He’d thought they were going to
die, He would have gotten up without their having to wake Him up. He
wasn’t going to let them all drown. When we’re in a storm, we often get
upset and panic as the disciples did. “God, You have to help me! This
medical report is bad. My finances aren’t making it. My relationship is
falling apart. God, I have big things coming against me!” The reason it
doesn’t feel as though God is waking up is not that He’s ignoring you or
that He’s uninterested. It’s that He knows you can handle it. He wouldn’t
have let it come your way if it were going to sink you. He wouldn’t have
allowed that difficulty if it were going to stop your destiny.
Quit being upset over things you can handle. Quit losing sleep over
that situation at work. Quit being panicked over that trouble. God is not
ignoring you. He knew there would be a storm before He sent you out.
He’s not waking up because He’s growing you up. He’s teaching you to
have faith in the middle. If He comes running every time you have a
difficulty, your spiritual muscles will never develop. You’ll never really
learn to trust Him. When you’re calm despite what’s coming against you,
that’s a sign of maturity. That’s a sign that you’ve developed faith in the
middle. If God has not turned it around yet, the winds are still blowing
and the waves are still rocking, take it as a compliment. That means you
can handle it. It’s no match for you. You have the most powerful force in
the universe on your side.
Don’t Get Discouraged by the Process
Years ago, we were doing a Night of Hope in Dodger Stadium in Los
Angeles. Our daughter, Alexandra, was a little girl at the time, and she
would come up at the end of the program and sing. There were thousands
of people there, and it was being broadcast live on television. She started
her song, but the microphone wasn’t working properly. It would come on
for a second and go off for three seconds, cutting in and out. It’s hard
enough to sing in the stadium with all the echo, and now she couldn’t
hear herself. She didn’t know what to do with so much confusion in her
mind, every voice telling her, “Stop! Nobody can hear you!” She looked
over to the left and could see Victoria sitting on the side of the platform.
The whole time Victoria had a big smile on her face and was nodding,
saying, “Keep going, keep going. You’re doing good!” Alexandra would
sing for another fifteen seconds, with the microphone cutting in and out.
Then she would look back over, and there was Victoria still smiling and
nodding. Alexandra made it through the whole song simply because she
could see her mother reassuring her that everything was going to be all
right.
Sometimes in life the microphone doesn’t work. You’re in the middle
of your song. You thought it would be the best part of your life, but
somebody walked away, the business didn’t work out, or the medical
report wasn’t good. You hit one of those days of trouble. Every voice
tells you to give up, it’s not working, nobody can hear you. But if you’ll
look up through your eyes of faith, you’ll see your Heavenly Father
nodding, saying, “Keep going! I’m in control.” When you’re in the
middle and the microphone quits working, the key is to just keep on
singing. Keep on doing the right thing.
You can’t control everything that happens to you. Just be your best
and trust God to take care of the rest. He’s not just the God of the start,
not just the God of the finish; He’s the God of the middle. He has you in
the palms of His hands. Right now He’s working out His plan for your
life. Don’t get discouraged by the process. You may be in the fire, but it’s
temporary. You’re going to pass through it. If you’ll have faith for the
middle, I believe the God of the middle is going to protect you, provide
for you, and favor you. You won’t get stuck in the middle. He’ll open
doors that no man can shut and take you into the fullness of your destiny.
BLESSED IN THE DARKNESS 