I’ve spent a lot of time in-between endings and new beginnings. I have transitioned from the old to the new when I moved from Idaho to England, and from England back to Idaho. Then, I transitioned from Idaho to Germany; Germany to Texas; Texas to Colorado; Colorado to Georgia, and Georgia to Illinois. I’ve transitioned from being a kid to being an adult, from being a teacher to being a writer and speaker, and from being a single to being a wife. I’ve transitioned from having friends and then not having them each time I relocated. I’ve transitioned from being healthy to being sick, and back again. No doubt, life is filled with beginnings, endings, and in-between places!
In-between places are when you have let go of the old, and you are deconstructing some aspect of your old life or calling, but you haven’t yet received the new thing God has for you. Or, if you have received it, you are still letting go of bits and pieces of what was. In-between places can be filled with anticipation, or they can be very confusing as we wait on Christ to reveal His plan.
Maybe like me, you are in an in-between place as you transition from the old to the new. Maybe you don’t know what God has for you next, or you do know, but you are still confused. If this describes you, here are obstacles anyone can experience as they transition from what was to what will be.
1) Unbelief About God’s Work
Sometimes in an in-between place, we think God isn’t at work because He isn’t working the way we want. When He doesn’t move in the areas we desire, we may believe the lie that that He has forgotten us. Our expectations can blind us. In reality, He may just be trying to us to shift our focus off the old to the new.
2) Regret
After God has removed the “old thing” in our lives, and we are in our in-between place, if we don’t believe that God is at work, in despair, like the Israelites, we may want to go back to our own personal Egypt. In Isaiah 43:18, God says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Oh, boy! Can this be hard when we are in-between and longing for comfort! It’s at these moments, that we have to make a conscious effort to believe God.
3) Striving
Remember that when you are in an in-between place, it’s not your job to figure out how God will get you to your new thing; it’s your job to trust Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will direct your paths.”
There is nothing like the discomfort of an in-between place to cause me to want to figure it all out so the discomfort of my transition with vanish. For analytical types, controllers, or those of us who always like to have our ducks lined up, being in an in-between place can feel like torture!
According to Proverbs 3:5-6, God doesn’t expect you to figure out how to get to your new thing; He just wants you to trust Him. I had someone once tell me, “It’s not your job to get yourself to your destiny; it’s God’s.” I believe this is a great word for in-between places.
When you are in an in-between place, choose to believe that God is at work; look ahead to the future even if you wonder if you should be in your in-between place, and trust that He will get you to your new thing.
He will do it! I just know it!
End of Year Donation
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