Last weekend I attended a beautiful wedding in Pittsburgh ~ it was heartwarming. On the way home we stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial where the plane went down in Shanksville on 911 ~ it was heartbreaking.
The bitter-sweet blend of heartwarming-heartbreaking is a mix of the joy and sorrow that seems to make up life’s journey, isn’t it? While one foot treads on a good place, another step may change our trip all together. And our hope is in believing that a good Shepherd is on the same path who knows the way.
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105
Any of us can feel confident in the Lord when life goes well but when life gets a little rough – faith can take a dive. When we face fragile times it’s encouraging to see the human side of the gospel story that tells of when the disciples were looking at the water-walking Jesus and Peter the faithful tried to do the same – he was so confident he could walk on water until he got wet. If we take a mental boat trip in rough waters, we’ll find he isn’t the only one who has I’m good as long as my feet touch the bottom kind of faith. Because we, like Peter, can have a very different theology when we’re in the middle of the deep.
Or ~ in the middle of the night in the middle of our story, the place we find who we are – and who God is . . .
Every season of life has a beginning, middle and end. What I’ve learned about persevering in faith – I’ve learned in the middle moments. I’m there right now, in another learning and leaning middle. These times have taught me when to surrender and when to fight like a girl, a spirit-filled girl.
And when our best efforts stop us in our tracks, we get back up and step into His.
In this dark and un-heavenly world, we need to sense the spirit of a hovering Lord over our life who is illuminating the way or else our faith will fold like a cheap tent. Sometimes not seeing the next step is what helps us see the faithfulness and sufficiency of Jesus like never before. In the middle of the Bible – Psalms – encourages us to stand and trust while we’re in the middle place.
I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the destruction and set my feet upon a rock making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3
Verna
Love this Verna! Sometimes its in the middle of the long row we need to hoe that we find the
surprising strength of the Lord to move forward in our faith walk…And the Psalms help us get through to the next break-through. And it always comes.
Yes, we have found strength in the middle to continue to move ahead, one next step. Thanks for meeting me in the middle so many times, dear friend!