I realized many years ago that I am a woman who likes to know what she is doing. Indecision and wishy washiness have long been pet peeves. I try very hard to make prayerful, wise decisions. I will even do my research and due diligence. So, I’m not a rash decision maker, but when it’s time to make a decision, I want to make it and move forward, so I know what I’m doing or at least feel like I do.
Like the Prophet Elijah, I don’t want to halt between two opinions. If God be God, let’s serve Him and move forward (1 Kings 18:21). That sounds great and definitive until the Lord puts you in those places that your decisions can’t get you out of—those places where choices seem few and far between and there is little that you can do to change your situation. I call those places – betwixt and between. These are the places where you are not yet one place, but the previous place doesn’t quite fit either. In other words, you are midway between two alternatives – you are neither here nor there.
We have numerous scriptural examples of people living betwixt and between – including David when he was anointed to be king but running for his life from the current king. Another example is the Israelites in the wilderness – they were no longer Egyptian slaves, but not yet Promised Land Conquerors. This is an uncomfortable place – on the one hand you want to celebrate what you have come out of, but you don’t quite know how to capture what you’re headed to.
This can also be a frustrating place. In the betwixt and between, the journey is seldom straight, and the path is seldom clear. David spent years going back and forth between geographical locations and warring nations on his journey to be king. In this place, self-doubt usually also rears its head to try to convince you that you must be doing something wrong or somehow you are not enough otherwise you would have already grasped your promises.
Many of us are living in this place right now. We’ve outgrown some behaviors, some friends and relationships, and even some jobs. But we have not quite learned how to apprehend the fullness of what has been promised to us. So, what do we do?
I wish I had a great plan for you on how to escape the betwixt and between, but unfortunately, I don’t. What I do know is that God has not forsaken you. And when the journey is darkest and most difficult that is not the time to quit, but rather the time to press in. When the path is unclear, we have to look to the one who designed the journey. He may only show us one step at a time and when that happens, we can only take one step at a time. For it is in this place of uncertainty, that faith is forged, and character is built.
The key is to remember three things. First, you are never alone. No matter how dark the journey, God is still there. Second, you may not know the way to go, but the Lord does. Keep acknowledging Him and allowing Him to direct your path and He will get you to your God-destination. Finally, commit to never give up on His promises knowing that He watches over His Word to perform (Jeremiah 1:12).
You might be living betwixt and between right now, but God knows exactly where you are and where He’s taking you. Stay on the journey with God!
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