Are You Feeling Stuck in the Middle?

Today was a day filled with watching blue lines and blue circles. I kept waiting. It kept processing. As each hour passed, I felt more and more stuck in the middle. After several hours of trying to work the process and patiently waiting for results, I realized I was only in the beginning phase. Worse yet, I had no clue when I'd ever see even the slightest flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. Do you know the feeling?

My reality today was wrapped up in trying to get Sunday's sermon (as in tomorrow!) to upload onto YouTube. Two different computers, several browsers and literally hours later my project – amazingly – was uploaded. (Praise the Lord!) I didn’t know what to do with my emotions. Scream, cry or simply sit in disbelief!

Have you felt stuck lately – at that halfway point of COVID19? Many say we have arrived, others are not so sure. The blue line is moving, but we don’t know how long it will all take to process. In the meantime, we wait and pray. We find creative ways to cook with all the random food that still hasn’t been eaten in our pantries and freezers. We’re more thankful for toilet paper than we have ever been, and we now realize how much we’ve taken for granted in life.

Freedom to move. Freedom to worship – together – in church. Side-by-side! Oh, how we long to gather together. To hug freely and not give a thought about any germs we may be giving or receiving. The list may seem endless when we think of all that used to be.

Life in the middle.

One quote I saw online this week explained it this way: “The beginning is all action. The end is anticipation. But the middle is boredom and madness.”

It got me thinking. I wonder what it was like to be in the middle of some of the most powerful scenes in all of the Bible. Just think…

- Moses leading the people through the Red Sea. I wonder what they were thinking about the time that they were halfway through? Were they trying to just keep up with the kids or making sure that someone had an eye on wandering Grandma? Were they scared the whole way through or were they mesmerized by the walls of water? Did they reach out to touch them - just to see what it would feel like? Were they tempted to look back?

- How about Joshua and his men? They circled the city once, twice, three times and more. When they got to day six were they excited that they were nearing the end? God promised to defeat their enemies on day seven, right? Yes, but when they woke up that morning they weren’t even half way through. They had seven more circles to march! This time with trumpets blaring for all to hear. Did some of the men lose count half way through? If they didn’t already have blisters on their feet, I bet they weren’t far from it.

- What about those who lived through the wilderness wanderings? Consider Abraham. Making it half way up Mt. Moriah with no animal sacrifice in sight. Or, what about Mary? Just think what it would have been like for her to be half-way through her second trimester with only Joseph and Elizabeth knowing that the Messiah would soon arrive?

- And, we haven’t even talked about Noah and his family. Stuck on an ark for forty days and forty nights, right? No! The end of that deluge of rain only brought them the tiniest bit closer to the middle of their virus-free cruise. Most scholars believe that Noah and his family were on the ark about a year, 365 days – give or take a few. Talk about feeling stuck! Moses’ family truly lived through an extended “shelter at home” type of order, didn’t they?

As we continue to face the uncertainty of life amidst a medical crisis, economic upheaval, and virtual ‘home schooling’ careers we never anticipated, we may be feeling the chaos and exhaustion of it all. There has been a lot of change in our lives, but we’re not alone. Many have gone before us, and for many - they have lived through much worse!

The good news is that Jesus never changes. He “is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). We may feel like today is just somewhere in the middle of the unknown, but we know who holds tomorrow!

So, what do we do in the meantime?

Let’s just jump back a few verses in Hebrews to get some ideas. 

- “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters." 

- "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers."

- "Remember those in prison…and those who are mistreated.” 

The writer continues on by reminding us to... 

- Honor our marriages and to keep “the marriage bed pure.” 

- To keep our lives “free from the love of money."

- And, to "be content with what you have.” (Hebrews 13:1-5a)

But why? How will these things help us now?

They will keep our priorities straight. They will keep our minds focused on the grace that God has placed on our lives – even as we deal with the mundane, routine and chaos of life. Because even when you’re feeling stuck in the middle of this current crisis, God’s promises are true. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b)

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory for every and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21