The In-Between
Caught in the Middle
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? When you’re living in the in-between?
So often, this is the human experience. We’re caught in the middle between what was and what will be. And more often than not, the future seems unclear.
And I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to live in the middle. It’s hard to live with uncertainty, without clarity, with not knowing.
We’ve all been there.
We’ve had the test done and now we’re just waiting on the call from the doctor for the results.
The next round of layoffs is coming and we’re waiting to see if we’re in that group.
Mom and dad have been going to counseling and we’re waiting to see if they’ll stay together or get a divorce.
We got the interview and it seemed like it went well and we’re waiting to see if we’ll get the job.
There’s a thousand ways we experience these in-between moments and all of them are dreadful because when we’re living in the in-between we’ve got more questions than answers. If we just knew… we could deal with it. But not knowing is terrifying.
3 Possibilities
As far as I can tell, everyone falls into one of three groups.
1 // You’ve just come out of an in-between moment in your life.
2 // You’re in the middle of an in-between moment in your life.
3 // You’re about to go into an in-between moment in your life.
So what do you do in those in-between moments? What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
So often it’s in these in-between moments that we feel like we’re walking in the dark. We don’t know exactly where we’re going or what’s going to happen next.
Israel in the Middle
Moses and the people of Israel once found themselves caught in the middle. After being delivered from slavery in Egypt, from that place of darkness, they found themselves in the middle of the wilderness, literally in the land-between.
This is an in-between moment for the people of Israel.
They know where they’ve come from. But they have no idea where they’re going… only that it is called the Promised Land. A land that God has prepared for them. But they don’t’ have a map. They don’t know how to get from where they are to where God wants them to be.
Right here, in the middle of this in-between moment, I want to pick up the story in Exodus 13.17.
When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.
You can imagine what this moment must have been like for the Israelites.
They’ve experienced the supernatural deliverance of God from Egypt. But now, they’re in the in-between. God is concerned that after their supernatural deliverance, if they face too much adversity, they will return to slavery in Egypt.
In fact, if you keep reading this story you’ll find that in less than 24 months they’ll make those plans to give up on the plans of God, choose a new leader, and make plans to return to Egypt. (Numbers 14.4)
God knows this is the human experience. He doesn’t want them to face that kind of adversity in this moment. So he’s going to lead the people on an alternative route.
An Alternative Route
Maybe right now… you’re living in the land between and God has you on an alternative route!
Maybe you’re wondering why you are where you are. If that’s you… remember this… The people of God in this moment don’t know where to go. Their only option is to keep trusting God, keep following the leading of God, and keep believing while they are in the land between that what God has before them is greater than what was behind them.
And here is how God led them… listen to this!
20 The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 22 And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.
How will the people of Israel living in the land-between find their way forward? The only way they will find their way forward is if they follow the Light, if they walk in the Light!
This pillar of fire that leads them in the night. And this pillar of cloud that leads them during the day.
What do you do in the in-between?
Some of you are living in the in-between.
Between what was and what will be.
Between heartbreak and hope.
Between failure and new opportunity.
Between unmet expectations and whatever is next.
Between a broken relationship and the hope of a new or restored relationship.
Between past failings and sin and future hope of forgiveness and new beginnings.
What do you do in the land between?
Walk in the Light
I think about all the times our family has lived in the land between.
There was the time we had to wait months on a test that would give us a diagnosis to let us know if one of our kids had a serious illness or not. There was the time that within a few weeks we had 2 pipes burst in our house, the transmission went out on our van, and we had huge medical bills come in all at the same time. There was the time when we knew it was time to make a change, make a move, but we didn’t know what God had for us next. Where would we work, where would we live. There was the time I stood in a bathroom stall on the first floor of a hospital in Atlanta not knowing if my wife and child were going to be ok & I was praying, begging God to do what only God could do.
Some of you have just come out of an in-between moment. Some of you are in the middle of an in-between moment. Some of you are about to enter into an in-between moment. What do you do when you’re living in the in-between?
You do the same thing Israel did. Walk in the light. Keep putting one foot in front of the other as faithfully as you know how. Because…
The Light of God will lead you when your living in the in-between.
God of the In-Between
Some people think God is only the God of those who have been “blessed.” Those who are living good, prosperous, fortunate lives. Some people living on the margins often wonder where is God? And those living in the in-between moments find themselves searching for God as well.
We know that God is with the broken-hearted. Even when he feels absent He is near.
And we know that there are times when we experience the incredible blessings of God. Those of us who believe in God know that every good and perfect gift comes from God!
What we sometimes forget is that God is ALSO the God of the in-between. Our God is the God of those living in the in-between.
Today, if you’re living in the in-between, let me remind you that God is there with you. And His LIGHT will lead you. Walk in the light of His presence and He will lead you home!
Jericho… The Name Says it All
For forty years, Israel lived in the land of the in-between. Forty years.
I know, sometimes it seems like the times when we’re living in the in-between, it feels like forever. But after forty years, Israel approached the Promised Land. The land of Canaan.
And do you know the name of the first city they came to in the land of Canaan? The first city God would deliver, once again through supernatural means, into the hands of Israel? It was the city of Jericho. And do you know what the name Jericho means? Some translate Jericho as the ‘City of the Moon.”
Israel, called by God out of darkness to walk in His light… called by God to reflect His light to all the nations, enters into the promised land, into the city of Jericho, the City of the Moon, the moon that reflects the light of the sun in the darkness to the whole world! And what was Israel’s job? What was their calling? To reflect the light of God to to the nations!!!
And now, to those of living on this side of the cross, what is our job? What is our calling? To reflect the Light and LOVE of God to the world.
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