Faith Matters” is a column that features pieces written by local religious figures.
Being in the middle is not always a popular place to be in our society. We tend to avoid being in the middle of things because life has a way of showing us there’s typically madness in the middle.
For example, nobody gets excited for the middle seat on the plane because you’re stuck between two people with no arm room and very limited personal space. Wednesdays are typically seen as the least popular day of the week because you have another half of your tough week to go. If you’re on vacation, however, it’s the other way around: Wednesday means you’re halfway done with vacation! Either way, Wednesday has the downside of being in the middle. Likewise, the most devastating winds of a hurricane are at the eye wall in the center of the storm.
The challenge is in the middle.
As it pertains to our faith walk, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that when we’re in the middle of a difficult life situation, we tend to need reminders of God’s faithfulness. Regardless of how faithful God has been, being in the middle of a storm has a way of causing us to forget the favor and faithfulness He has shown us throughout time and history. For example, when in the middle of an intense and recurring argument with your spouse or trudging through the middle of a battle with cancer, if we’re not careful, we’ll struggle to remember the faithfulness of God.
The middle is challenging. For all of us, it’s in the middle of life’s challenges where doubt tries to give the knockout punch. The past is complicated, and the future is unknown. It’s in the middle where your patience has been tried and may be running low. It’s in the middle where you’re tired and doubt has built its case against hope.
In Exodus 25, we get a detailed description from God concerning how the ark of the testimony was to be constructed. Exodus 25:22 states, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” It is interesting to notice how God gave directions for the ark to be constructed in such a way that His presence was in the middle, right between the two cherubim. I believe this is God’s genius way of letting us know that He’ll be there in the middle of everything we go through. Even if you can’t see the move of God, keep pressing and keep moving forward. He’s there in the middle of your pain, worry, grief, health challenges, lonely days or financial struggles.
I discovered that one of the scriptures located in the middle of the Bible is Psalm 103:1 – 2, which says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” This is significant because God is revealing that when you’re in the middle of hardships, struggles or challenges, you must command your body and your very soul to bless the Lord! When it gets hard and you’re halfway done, but you still have halfway to go, bless the Lord and forget not His benefits!
Jason Goubourn is the lead pastor of Church on the Rock New Haven and president of Church on the Rock Global.
Previous“Faith Matters” columns:
• Extreme Compassion
• Faith Matters: Faith Over Fear
• Faith Matters: Scar Glory
• Faith (Still) Matters
• Faith Matters: Gaza & Ramadan
• Faith Matters: On Passover & Redemption
• Faith Matters: Freedom Struggles & Holy Week
• Faith Matters: Welcome The Stranger
• Faith Matters: Beyond Neutrality
• Faith Matters: The Lightened Yoke Is Love
• Faith Matters: Combat Negativity With Compassion