Flying to Africa in the middle seat
– No one wants the Middle!
►Define The Middle
– The space between where you were and where you want to be
►Nobody likes the Middle
– Middle seat
– Middle child syndrome
– Lukewarm water (Middle temp)
►There are some examples of Middle Places we find ourselves in
– In-between relationships
– In-between Jobs
►The Middle is uncomfortable
– Can feel new pressures
– Can’t get comfortable
– Can’t find solid ground
►The Middle is unfamiliar
– It’s easy to get lost/lose your way where you are in a “Middle” season
The Middle is dangerous
– Many people go off track in the Middle
– The Middle can make us yearn to go back to what we knew before
The Bible doesn’t use the world “MIDDLE
– Instead calls it the WILDERNESS
What is the wilderness?
– Not where you were, not where you want to be
Exodus 14
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
They were in the Middle
– Uncomfortable
– Unfamiliar
– Dangerous
They would rather be in the miserable place they knew than in the scary “MIDDLE PLACE”.
But there is purpose in the middle seasons.
►1 – A Middle Season PACES US
– Can either speed us up or slow us down
2 Types of people
– One jumps in without thinking
– One never jumps because of overthinking
TO FAST
So of you are in a middle season, and God is telling you to SLOW DOWN!!
– Seek his face
– Be ok with sitting still
– You are missing out on so much God wants you to see and experience
This type thinks the only thing that will get them through is pushing harder, but instead only extends their stay in the Middle
►TO SLOW
God is telling you in the season its time to move NOW!!
– Your overthinking is motivated by fear and control
– You know what you should be doing, have courage!
Romans 5
3 But we also boast in our afflictions because we know that affliction produces endurance,
4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.
5 This hope will not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Paul embraced the middle season because he knew that untested faith was really no faith
– Embrace the pacing that comes with the middle seasons in your life
Again, God uses Middle (wilderness) seasons to PACE us.
►2 – A middle season PURIFIES Us
We must all understand that there are things in each of us that are holding us back from God’s best for us
– Emotional hangups
– Habitual Sins
– Past hurts
We are remarkably good at ignoring those things
– A middle season brings them to the surface
►►God can’t heal you of something you won’t confront
James 4
6 God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
If you have been stuck in a middle season, you may need to confess and give up (renounce) your shortcomings.
Proverbs 28
13 Those who hide their sins won’t succeed,
but those who confess and give them up will receive mercy.
►God may have you in this middle season to purify you
– to make you better
►Confessing and giving over your struggles free us from them and gives us Christ’s freedom
– It helps up get unstuck
►Maybe you need to confess to God
– Your fears
– Mistakes
– Shortcomings
►Maybe you need to confess so someone else
– Admit to something in honesty
– Ask their forgiveness
– Repay someone
– Own up to it
Galatians 5
1 Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.
►►The middle season usually are not fun, but they are powerful
– Often painful – but powerful
►Are you in the middle season?
God is trying to:
– Pace You
– Purify you
– Make you holy
– Make you his…