Have you ever felt like you were in the middle? You are not where you were… But you also are not where you are supposed to be going. You’re in the middle.
Sometimes being in the middle can make you feel stuck. Being in the middle can make you feel like you’re stuck in the middle of issues, problems, and circumstances that are outside of your control.
The truth is these things are outside of your control!
The middle is a place where you have to fully rely on God. The middle is a place where God has to show up for you in your heart… Encouraging you, strengthening you, and changing your mind in the middle of your situation.
Let me just be really honest…The middle is not a fun place to be.
In the middle you’re halfway to something, and halfway to nothing…Or so it feels!
You just want something to change! There are even moments when you don’t care what it is the changes, you just want something to change!
I want to encourage you not to give up in the middle of your process.
Process takes time, it takes energy, and it takes the movement of God to shift things, to change things, and put things into places where they need to be. In the middle of the process you are also being moved into a place where God wants you to be.
You have to keep your eyes on the place where you’re going… Not where you are right now… And not where you’ve been… But where you are going.
That’s what we find happening in the passage we’re going to look at in just a moment. The writer finds himself in a place of transition.
Transition can be fluid, almost like you’re treading water.
And if you feel like you don’t know how to swim, then you feel like you’re going to drown!
But you have to remember, if God is the one who threw you in the water, God will also be the one that pulls you out at just the right time.
Listen to what scripture says...
Psalm 77:1-6 NKJV
[1] I cried out to God with my voice- To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me. [2] In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. [3] I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah [4] You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. [5] I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. [6] I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search.
This sounds like a Man UNDER ATTACK.
You have to understand that, attacks come, because attacks are part of the process.
The enemy is cunningly aware that SOMETHING IS HAPPENING INSIDE OF YOU.
Sometimes YOU don’t even realize that God is doing something inside of your life and your heart.
The devil tries to convince you that things are spinning and going haywire because of “how bad a person you are” or because of how “unworthy” you are, or some nonsense like that.
He is trying to throw you off track, because satan understands that the minute you truly realize that SOMETHING FROM GOD IS HAPPENING INSIDE OF YOU, you will run into it full force.
Even if the times in which you live seem difficult, it won’t stop a warrior who knows that the END RESULT is God’s purpose.
Every demon battling your life right now knows that the “something” that is happening in you, is from the Lord.
Let me tell you...
What God is DOING IN YOU scares the living daylights out of the devil.
Why? Because God is raising you up for purpose.
God is raising you up to connect with heaven for your generation.
God is raising you up to spread his fame in every place you go.
Remember, every place the sole of your foot treads BELONGS TO YOU!
The devil knows if he doesn’t wear you out in the middle of the process and cause you to quit, that eventually, that mighty power of God is going to be released in and through your life.
It will be devastating to the enemy forces.
And before you get the impression that your life isn’t really valuable enough to have anything so grand happen...DON’T!
Understand something:
GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU IS A HUGE THREAT TO THE DEVIL IN YOUR AREA OF CONTEXT, BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN BE YOU.
There is no plan “B” because you are plan “A” and there is NO OTHER YOU.
So WHEN GOD RAISES YOU UP IN YOUR PLACE, IN YOUR TIME, IN HIS WILL...MIRACLES BEGIN!
What the writer did in the middle of the process was the correct thing to do...
He began a diligent search of his spirit and his heart about what was happening to him.
Here’s the importance of meditating and searching for the reasons you’re going through something:
YOUR SEARCH LEADS YOU TO THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
Listen to the what the Bible says...
Psalm 77:7-9 NKJV
[7] Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? [8] Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? [9] Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah
The Psalmist isn’t REALLY questioning the character of God, he is comparing what he KNOWS DEEPLY about God’s character, in the context of his current situation.
Please understand...
How it goes in your darkest moments is NOT THE WAY it will stay forever.
It is the the middle.
It is the process.
It is the time of attack.
It is the time of preparation.
It is the time before the REAL TIME.
You need to know that your REAL TIME is coming.
God’s plan won’t hold off forever.
There is coming a moment when heaven will be unleashed in your life, and EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE.
It can happen so quickly and before you even realize it.
All of his questions lead him to THIS reaction...
Psalm 77:10-15 NKJV
[10] And I said, "This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High." [11] I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. [12] I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. [13] Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? [14] You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. [15] You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
This is what you need to do in the middle of your process…
You have to REMEMBER WHO GOD IS AND WHAT GOD HAS DONE!
The Psalmist goes back to WHAT HE KNOWS IS TRUE ABOUT GOD.
That there was a time when God’s right hand upheld him.
That there was a time when God was working and he could see it clearly.
So he is going to THINK ABOUT what God has done and TALK ABOUT, or in our words...DECLARE what God has done.
His trouble moves him to declaration of the goodness, mercy, and triumph of God!
He is reaching down and pulling himself up by his bootstraps and declaring the character of God over his life in the middle of his difficulty and in the middle of the unknown parts of the process!
Listen to the wording...
God you are GREAT!
God you DO WONDERS!
God you DECLARE your STRENGTH.
God you REDEEMED your people!
And notice he talks about the redemption of the “SONS” of Jacob and Joseph.
Why? Because HE HIMSELF WAS IN THAT LINE.
The writer was saying, “God, your redemptive work is part of my heritage! If you did it for my ancestors, you will do it for ME!”
Now listen as he finishes the song he is writing...
Psalm 77:16-20 NKJV
[16] The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled.
We talked earlier about God throwing us into the water...let me say it again:
Transition can be fluid, almost like you’re treading water.
And if you feel like you don’t know how to swim, then you feel like you’re going to drown!
But you have to remember, if God is the one who threw you in the water, God will also be the one that pulls you out at just the right time.
Please understand that the water itself that seems to surround you is AFRAID OF YOU because of the God INSIDE OF YOU.
God has you there for training, but even the water itself wants to spit you back out because it’s afraid of the power of God.
Remember, God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, but the fish God prepared eventually had to spit Jonah up!
[17] The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. [18] The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. [19] Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known.
I want to encourage you...
DON’T BE AFRAID OF WHAT YOU ARE FACING BECAUSE GOD IS IN THE MIDDLE OF IT WITH YOU!
He is shaking things up!
Sometimes the process is painful, but don’t forget who is in charge of the process!
Finally, the writer comes to a conclusion.
[20] You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Don’t let the devil fool you.
God is leading you.
You are part of his flock.
He has his eye right on you at this moment.
There is no evil that will ultimately befall you and defeat you because, though things seem difficult, you are STILL IN THE SHEPHERDS FIELD!
Thanks for reading!
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