The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is … Middle. You can click at the bottom of this post to get to Kate Motaung’s site and read all that has been shared on this topic.
Staring at the word, I can be grateful this morning that I am not in the middle. You know that spot … when you are just as far from the start of a project as you are to the end. Or the child in the middle so you don’t get the same recognition as the oldest nor the attention of the baby. And then there is being placed in the middle, torn between two individuals and having to mediate.
The middle can be the hardest position to be in. And yet, God told His people to go to the middle:
“Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.” (Joshua 4:3, NLT)
The stones from the middle of the Jordan River were to be set up in a memorial. Stones of remembrance.
Often it is in the middle of our hardest circumstances that our God shows up, works His grace and mercy. Perhaps He parts open the most impossible situation and right there in the middle of it all, we get a glimpse of His Presence there with us.
And it is in the middle that we most often can collect those stones of remembrance. We can pile them up in our hearts and minds so that we never forget the deeds of the Lord our God in our lives in the middle of it all.
And when our children ask, we can tell them …
“He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:24, NLT)
The middle.
The place where God most often does His most powerful work.
Today I am joining … Five Minute Friday and Faith Filled Friday and Faith ”˜N Friends and #DanceWithJesus .
Now, this is just plain good. I didn’t like the word and if you read my post? You’ll see I struggled. Or maybe I just haven’t had enough coffee!
I did read your post 🙂 and it was good. None of us like the middle as we feel “stuck”. The other middle I don’t like is when I am in the middle of replying to a comment and my computer freezes up. Oh wait, that just happened 🙂 Thankfully, we don’t need to stay stuck! xo
Yes, yes, YES!!! What we’re going through may not always be good, but God is and seeing, then remembering, what He is doing on our behalf bolsters our confidence in Him the next time we face struggles! Beautiful!
Liz, now my turn to say yes, yes, yes! I love that you worded it that remembering bolsters our confidence in God. And each time our faith will grow. Glad you shared!
Oh, how I do struggle when I’m in the middle, but that’s because I forget that I”m supposed to be busy gathering up those stones. Thank you, Joanne, for this beautiful application of that difficult word.
Michele, I actually have stones from from a river in China that are beautiful that I have kept as “remembrance” stones. Seeing them can definitely change my focus.
Oooh, I liked you thoughtful comments about the middle. those remembrances are Ebeneezer’s.
Gabriele, that is exactly the name of those stones!
Hi Joanne … I love this emphasis on gathering stones so that we can remember. It’s helpful to have something to touch, to see so that our recollections will come easier and more often.
Beautiful thoughts here …
Thank you, Linda. I actually have river stones from China that I have kept in my desk drawer for that very reason. Makes it so much easier!
I love this…”Often it is in the middle of our hardest circumstances that our God shows up, works His grace and mercy. Perhaps He parts open the most impossible situation and right there in the middle of it all, we get a glimpse of His Presence there with us.”
I got a glimpse of His presence and saw a miracle this morning, smack dab in the middle of my kitchen! I will always remember that moment – my own stone of remembrance. Stopping by from #FiveMinuteFriday
Jennifer, how precious that it was in the middle of your kitchen. May you never forget!
Great post! The middle is not always an easy place to be, but I agree it is often where we see God’s faithfulness and where we learn and grow. It’s so important to gather those stones of remembrance to remember how God has been working in the midst of it all.
Lesley, I so agree. And maybe that is what makes the middle all worth it – that we have learned and grown in Him. Thank you for stopping here today!
Joanne, so much THIS: “Often it is in the middle of our hardest circumstances that our God shows up, works His grace and mercy.” Some of our local Lutheran campus ministry students just got back from a trip to the Holy Land. It was fun to read you talking about the Jordan river Sunde they were just there. I’m in the 14 spot this week.
Hindsight is so important. When we look back over our life, we see God’s faithfulness in our darkest times. God so often tells us to remember these times and I love how He instructed His people to make a visual reminder.
I love the story about the stones of remembrance and that they were indeed from the middle. I appreciate your encouragement to remember that the middle is not always a bad place to be.
I love the story as well, Holly. The middle is truly not so bad. It can often mean we have been faithful to follow the Lord thus far. And when we see how far we’ve come, we’re spurred on to follow Him all the way. Keep going, my friend, as I cannot wait to see what He has yet in store for you! xo