Navigating the In Between (Part II)
- Christy Bee
- Nov 27, 2023
- 14 min read
Updated: Nov 29, 2023
By: Dr. Christy Bee
Photocred: avtk via iStock photos.
God leads his children to in between seasons to grow us in our trust in Him, confront the parts of our lives that resist His ways and to develop us in our ability to endure until the end. He also uses them to test our character and the depth of our faith. Consider the Israelites who received a promise from God to deliver them from Egypt and lead them to possess and live in the land of Canaan which was promised to their forefathers (Exodus 6:1-8). After being delivered from 400 years of enslavement by the hand of the Egyptians, God led the Israelites a longer way out of Egypt so that they would not be tempted to return to captivity. Consider Exodus 13:17-18 (ESV) which states:
"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle."
God knew that if He took the Israelites the shorter way, that what they would face in their journey, would tempt them to run back to the hands of their oppressors. And because He loved them so dearly and wanted them to be free, He led them a way where they could not make that decision. God refused to lead them a way that would compromise the freedom He both wanted for them and gave to them.
The time between God's pronouncement of His promise to lead Israel out of Egypt and the time when they actually entered into the land of Canaan, is one of the many in between seasons that the Israelites faced. And we're told that their journey through this in between season was intentionally lengthened by God so that He could test, teach and humble them. Consider Deuteronomy 8:2-5 where Moses explains to the Israelites the why behind their prolonged in between season:
"And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you."
God led the Israelites out to Egypt and into a wilderness that they spent 40 years journeying through although the journey could have taken them 40 days. God knew that He needed to expose their distrust of Him and their proclivity to sin against Him. Remember the golden calf and all of the accusations that Israel made against God throughout their journey through the in between? Remember when Israel told God that He should have left them in Egypt, instead of leading them through the wilderness? Ultimately, God took the Israelites on the scenic route to expose their sin, teach them His ways and develop their understanding that they were His, and that He was theirs.
I sense that God wants to give you a new perspective concerning the journey through the in between that He has intentionally taken you on. Just like He did with the Israelites, God has delivered you from persistent enemies and you have been in your Exodus out of captivity. And just like He did with the Israelites, He has made you promises concerning the life and land He has for you post enslavement. However, because God loves you so dearly, and because He knows your proclivity to return to that which is familiar, He has led you a different way...a longer way. And this longer way has been filled with tests, turns, disappointments and frustrations. Your journey through the in between often doesn't make sense and if you are honest about it, it has often felt like it would never.
Have you felt like your in between season would never come to an end?
Yes.
No.
You see, while navigating the in between, the enemy does a good job in bullying the people of God into believing that God has forgotten about them and that their in between seasons will never end, but that is a lie. God lovingly leads us through in between seasons because He knows they are able to confront us, mature our faith and prepare us to be good stewards of the promises He has made us. So just like the matriarchs and patriarchs of the faith, like Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, David, the Israelites and Jesus, we are called to navigate in between seasons to become the people of deep faith that God desired, we are called to do the same.
God lovingly leads us through in between seasons because He knows they are able to confront us, mature our faith and prepare us to be good stewards of the promises He has made us.
Now, while God has a good purpose for in between seasons, there are dangers associated with them as well. If we aren't careful to navigate them well, we can easily lose our ability to dream and hope for tomorrow, which isn't the will of God for us. Additionally, like in the case of Abraham and Sarah, when we don't trust in God's faithfulness to fulfill the promises He has spoken to us, right in the middle of an in between season, we can easily grow impatient and try to take matters into our own hands. God promised Abraham and Sarah that He would give them a son in their old age, which to them would be a sign of the many generations that would come from them. Despite having a promise from God that He would provide them with a son that would come from Sarah's womb, Abraham and Sarah decided to take matters into their own hands which led to the birth of Ishmael by Sarah's maid, Hagar. If we aren't careful to navigate the in between seasons well, just like Abraham and Sarah did, we can easily run ahead of God and complicate the journey to the promise that He has us on (read Genesis 16).
So, for the rest of today's post, I want to outline seven things we can all do, to navigate in between seasons, well. After introducing them all, I'll walk through, in detail the first three and discuss the remaining four in my next blog post.
7 Things to Do to Navigate In Between Seasons Well
In order to navigate in between seasons well, we have to be intentional about practicing spiritual disciplines and monitoring what it is that we dwell on. The reason being is that the reality we choose to dwell on is that which grows the most prominent in our lives. Furthermore, whatever I choose to dwell or meditate on, becomes the guiding force of my life. So if I dwell on the hardships and length of the in between, my actions will be set on trying to escape or change my reality which can ultimately convince me to give up faith in God and do things my way. However, if I choose to dwell on Him, His goodness and His Word, the fruits of His Holy Spirit and the character of Christ will be more deeply formed in me, which will allow me to navigate whatever in between seasons that come, well.
So 7 things we can do to navigate in between seasons well, are:
Rehearse the truth of who God is.
Grieve the thoughts and emotions you have concerning your journey.
Worship God.
Remember God's faithfulness to you in past seasons.
Remind yourself of God's promises and pray into them.
Practice gratitude.
Make time to dream big dreams, with God.
Let's look at the first three more closely.
1. Rehearse the truth of who God is.
The first thing to do to navigate in between seasons well, is to rehearse the truth of who God is. If there is anything I've learned from the Word and personal experience is that in between seasons are the perfect times for the enemy to make accusations against God and tempt us to believe that He is a liar. Because of how long in between seasons can be and the fact that we are in a position of holding onto the promises that God has made and waiting for Him to fulfill them, if we are not rehearsing the truth of God's nature--His faithfulness, kindness, holiness and goodness--we can easily be deceived into believing things about Him that are not true. As a result, these beliefs can drive us to say and do things that do not align with God's will for our lives. And ultimately, they can cause us to give up on faith, which is one of the currencies of the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 11:16).
When we rehearse the truth of who God is as shown to us in His Word, we are ultimately choosing to take up our sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), to fight against the lies and discouragement of the enemy. As Christians, we are fighting a spiritual fight that requires for us to be armed with the right weaponry. God has given us His Word as an effective weapon to fight against all of the lies and attacks of the enemy, but it is our job to use it.
When we rehearse the truth of who God is as shown to us in His Word, we are ultimately choosing to take up our sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), to fight against the lies and discouragement of the enemy.
Consider Jesus' experience in the wilderness right after His baptism. God publicly affirmed His identity as His son and His approval of Him before those who were present (Matthew 3:13-17) and then Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). This transition marked the continuation of Jesus' in between season. Although God had revealed to some who Jesus was, there still was time between that moment and when He would fulfill His life's purpose--redeeming humanity from son. However, there in the wilderness, with every temptation and accusation that Satan made against God, Jesus responded with the truth of God's Word and His commandments in them. Jesus used the weapon of God's Word to resist and fight off the enemy. And ultimately, as Jesus resisted Satan's attempts to get Him to turn away from God and believe lies about Him, He was staying rooted in what He knew was true about God's nature--His faithfulness, His holiness and His goodness. Jesus chose to believe that God was worthy of His devotion and would provide all of His needs. In His in between season, Jesus modeled for us how to use the Word and what we know about God in it, to fight against the enemy, and win.
2. Grieve the thoughts and emotions you have concerning your journey.
The second thing we should do to navigate in between seasons well is to attend to the thoughts and emotions that are induced by them by grieving, or honestly processing through them. In between seasons have a way of bringing up to the surface the lies we've believed, the fears we have and the thoughts we think about God, ourselves and the world around us. When we choose to honestly process the thoughts and emotions that we have about our journey through the in between, we are gifted with valuable information about the condition of our souls. Ultimately, doing so allows us to draw near to God and make room for insight and revelation from Him about our journey.
Consider David who lived through many in between seasons within his lifetime. He was anointed to be the next king of Israel in 1 Samuel 16, but didn't come into official reign until 2 Samuel 2, after the death of King Saul. The period of time between when David was anointed as the next king and when He began His reign, is one example of an in between season that David had to navigate through. Within this in between season, David was met with difficult trials and battles that could have killed him or caused him to walk away from God's promise to him. Imagine being anointed as the next king while the current king is still in reign. Imagine being preferred by the people of the kingdom over the current king of the nation and becoming a target for him. David's in between season was met with many hardships that induced both thoughts and emotions that he needed to process through, well.
Psalm 13 is a good example of David choosing to process through his thoughts and emotions well while in the midst of an in between season. Historians believe that this psalm was written during the time that King Saul sought to kill David, a time of hardship, pain and suffering for David.
He begins Psalm 13 with a strong statement of honesty: "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (vv. 1). Here, we can tell that David is feeling abandoned and forgotten by God while in the midst of his in between season. While he is being pursued by his enemies, he feels like God has turned His back on him, and left him to be exalted over by his enemy (vv. 2). But let's dissect this a little bit--is it true that God has forgotten about David? Is it true that he is abandoned and alone?
Based on what we know about God's nature in that He is faithful to who He is and His word (See Deuteronomy 7:9 and 2 Timothy 2:13), we know the answer is no. But David felt that way because of the intensity of this in between season that he was navigating, the experiences he faced while in it and the time it was taking for him to see deliverance come. I too have been in David's shoes where I have felt abandoned by and forgotten about by God. I also have endured painful trials where it seemed as if God was allowing the wicked to triumph over me. But in those seasons, I learned to do as David did which was to expose these thoughts and emotions before the Lord and process through them honestly instead of hiding them, or pretending they don't exist.
How many of you reading can say that you make it a practice of yours to do the same?
You see, because in between seasons can be seasons filled with great emotional, mental and spiritual volatility and violence, we must be intentional about honestly processing the thoughts and emotions that come as a result to them. Often times those thoughts and emotions are not true reflections of who God is or what He thinks about us, so by leaving them unprocessed, we subject ourselves to pain that could be undone by doing as David did in Psalm 13.
God can handle our honesty. He can handle our deepest and darkest of thoughts and emotions. He can handle when we have questions or feel like He has forgotten about us; He delights in us when we choose to honestly lay them bare before Him. So as we navigate in between seasons like David did, it's important that we honestly process through the emotions and thoughts we have about the journey we are on, so that we can come to the place of resolve that David did in Psalm 13:5-6:
"But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me."
David was able to come to this resolve about him trusting in God right in the midst of his hardship because he chose to grieve his in between experiences. Whenever we choose to honestly process the thoughts and emotions we have about our journey and experiences in the in between, just like David, we are able to come to places of peace where we accept God's processing of us and receive new grace and faith to endure.
Whenever we choose to honestly process the thoughts and emotions we have about our journey and experiences in the in between, just like David, we are able to come to places of peace where we accept God's processing of us and receive new grace and faith to endure.
3. Worship God.
The third thing we should do to navigate in between seasons well is, worship God. Worship is an important part of navigating the in between well because of how it takes our eyes off of ourselves and the circumstances around us, and puts them on God.
But what exactly is worship? One of the best images I can offer you of what worship is, is the image of a weak man, bowing before the King of his nation in humility and surrender. This man is fatigued by the realities of life, and is in need of mercy from the King. But as he approaches the king, he recognizes the honor and majesty he has and surrenders His life and allegiance to Him. We are the weak man, in need of grace and mercy from God. And the surrender to and honor of the King that the man models as he bows before him, is a good example of what our worship to God, is. It is act of surrendering our understanding, our desires, our accomplishments and our burdens and bow in honor and submission to Him, His will and His way. It is the act of ascribing worth unto the one who is worthy of it.
David is also a good example of how to worship God in the middle of the in between, well. Consider Psalm 57 which is a Psalm that David wrote when he fled from king Saul and hid in a cave. Within this Psalm, David honestly presents his experience and the reality of the in between season he is facing. In vv. 4 says "My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts—the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords." He is naming that his reality is hard and that he is in danger. However, despite the harsh reality that David is facing, he repeatedly expresses his trust in God to deliver Him and show Him mercy.
Whenever you are navigating an in between season, it is important to guard your worship life if you want to navigate it well. There, in the place of worship is often where we are given new strength, a fresh perspective and grace that will allow us to endure until we reach the other side of the in between.
As you continue to navigate your in between season, I want to leave you with encouragement from the story of Israel's after they journeyed through the in between and finally entered into the promised land of Canaan. In Joshua 21:43-45 it says:
"Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass."
The Israelites not only navigated through the in between, but also made it to the other side and were able to live in the promise that God gave them. Not only did they know God as the promise-maker, but they lived to see and know Him as the promise-keeper. This is your hope today--just like with the Israelites--your in between season will not last forever. God will use the in between to perfect your faith, character and endurance so that you can be a better steward of the promises that He will fulfill to you. So hang in there, champ and rely on God's faithfulness to carry you through as you navigate the in between.
In the next and final installment of this blog post series, I will explain in detail, the remaining four practices that I've introduced in today's blog post. In the interim, I want to encourage you to take time to practice some, if not all of the ones I've explained today. And as you do, take inventory of what God says to you and any changes you notice take place in how you feel and what you think.
Until then, you all stay near to the heart of the Father through sweet communion with His Holy Spirit.
With love,
Dr. Christy Bee
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 6:30pm, I will be hosting a virtual prayer meeting to lead others in how to baqas or seek the face and will of the Lord. If you are in need of a safe place to pray and learn how to journey deeper in the place of prayer, join me for these bi-weekly prayer meetings. Use the link below to register, today!
With love,
Dr. Christy Bee
Comments