Waiting On The Promise: A Season of In-Between

Do you remember the last time you were in a season of In-Between?  Perhaps you’re in that place right now.  If you are, you’re not alone because I’m sitting right next to you on the transit.  These In-Between moments find us caught between a promise received and the promise delivered.

This morning I was reading Matthew chapter 1, where Joseph finds out his betrothed is pregnant.  We all know this story well.  I have to wonder, even though he received confirmation of the legitimacy of her story via an angel, did he have doubts?  Perhaps the doubts didn’t set in immediately, but 9 months is still a long time and I’m curious if the sharpness of that angelic visitation faded, if he didn’t question what he saw and what he heard.

We often experience doubt on this journey.  We feel confident in the Word from the Lord that we received, we write it in our journals as a promise from God, but as time passes and the growth to fruition is slow, we begin to question if we heard it correctly, or at all.   Faith becomes an action verb when we sit in the In-Between.

We live out our trust by continuing to put one foot in front of the other, even when we don’t see the horizon of our promise.

Here’s why I think we don’t see more promises fulfilled:  Our culture needs and expects instant and tangible.  We get really excited about a promise and we can live off the momentum of emotion for a short time, but when the fruition is slower than we expect we throw in the towel and walk away.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us this:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”.

In this Season of In-Between, I want to be more like Joseph who was resolved to move forward in faith and put one foot in front of another, in spite of the questions rolling through his mind.  Let’s be intentional about enjoying the road we’re on that will lead to the promise.  We’ll very likely pass some incredible vistas that we’ll miss if we are solely focused on the horizon.