We’re officially into the second half of the year and it’s been a helluva year. I bet that on January 1st you never imagined that this year would pan out like this, did you?
If you’re anything like me, you were probably filled with hope and excitement for what was to come this year. Then came a global pandemic—WHAM! Then came the racial tensions—KAPOW! There was and is so much emotional upheaval that some people ate their way through it, some people chose to wait it out, and some will use it as an opportunity to pivot and flourish. I believe that it all comes down to your ability to see God’s hand in everything and believe the Scripture that tells us, …
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
In the future, all this will be a memory and my hope is that I (we) will have a testimony as a result. We’ll get through this and we will grow from it, but while in the thick of it, it kinda sucks. We just want it to end already!
And it will, but in the meantime, know this …
It’s Messy in the Middle!
The middle of most journeys is the toughest part.
It’s where the commitments we made at the start come face to face with the reality of the work involved. It’s where we decide if we’re going to rise to the challenge or revert back to our places of comfort (which is actually discomfort).
Messy middles are where the rubber meets the road and you’ve got to make a decision whether to advance toward God’s promises or retreat back into the comfort of complacency and convenience.
When Jesus said that He is the Alpha and Omega—the first and the last, that also means everything in between. Among the Jewish rabbis, it was common to use the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to denote the whole of anything. This means that just as we trusted Him at the start of this year, we can also trust Him to get us through all of our messy middles—individually and collectively as a nation.
This pretty much sums up our health journeys, too—the yo-yoing, the backsliding, and the promising to never go back to old habits but going back anyway. It’s all part of the messy middle. However, if you allow God to use these moments as opportunities to strengthen and grow you, then you will be victorious in the end.
Things are not looking like you had hoped
It’s true, there is a lot of discouragement and despair. It’s uncomfortable and things are not working out the way you had hoped. But know that it’s always messy in the middle and if you can find purpose in your trying times …
- Your misery will become your ministry.
- Your problems will become your purpose.
- Your greatest pain will produce your greatest power.
- Your greatest struggles will become your successes.
Are you going through a messy middle right now? Be encouraged, you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. (Gal. 6:9)
Love,
P.S. Messy in the Middle is also the name of one of our devotional challenges. If you’re looking for a community of Christian women to support you as you move through your messy middle towards achieving your healthy weight, learn more here Commit 365.