The middle is a hard place to be. You have left where you started from, but you haven’t yet arrived at your destination. They say the hardest place on a ladder is in between two steps. There is plenty of space between what you let go of and what you are reaching for. Halfway there, you start to realize, «What if there is no next step? What if I can’t reach it?” It would be much easier to go back down and let’s face it, much safer. Besides, at least you know what to expect there. You might even be comfortable there, for a while at least. For instance, when you are trying to get physically fit, you start looking better than you did. Your belly doesn’t hang as low, those arms don’t giggle as much as before. It is also like growing out your hair, it starts nice but hits this unmanageable phase. It’s a weird, awkward, frustrating place to be. It reminds me of a lyric from one of my favorite bands, «I’m not the boy that I once was, but I’m not the man I’ll be».
When we leave our old life and decide to follow God’s purpose, we find ourselves in such a place. I’m no longer the person of the world but I have yet to become the faithful believer I so desperately dream to be. We quickly forget, it’s a process. A process that is typically a very long one, that requires many things including patience and endurance.
During my own process, I wasted so much time looking at others and how God was using them in his kingdom, that I neglected to see how he was actually using me. I failed to see the unique purpose He called me to. God may not use me to speak in the prophetic or to heal someone, but he will use me. Please, do not think I am saying to stop praying for God’s gifts, for he is a loving giving father and his gifts are as abundant as his grace. What I am saying is, maybe we should focus on praying for God to simply use us however, he sees fit. I don’t want to keep wasting my time seeing others, I only want to see him.
In the book of Jeremiah, we find that God is calling us to realign our purpose, our desires, our hearts to Him, to have a «singleness of heart» towards him. «I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants» (32:39). We must love him above all else. Stop thinking about where you were and where you want to be. Stop desiring who you think you should be and start praying that God aligns your heart with His desires. Pray he aligns your heart with His. And that he stays right in the middle of it.
*Para leer la versión de este artículo en español, ingresa al siguiente link: https://lion.church/2020/11/03/el-corazon-del-hombre-contigo-en-el-lugar-medio/
