The Grace Street Blog

“They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to Him during the battle. He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.” – 1 Chronicles 5:20

I have a feeling that “stuck in the middle” is a phrase many of us are familiar with. Whether it be a hold up in the day or a place you can’t seem to move on from for years. The middle of anything that wasn’t planned can often seem like one of the most hopeless places to stand.

As I have been reading through the Old Testament for the first time, I finally reached 1 Chronicles. I was excited to start a new book and see what happened after the cliff hanger of freedom given to the imprisoned king of Judah in the last few sentences of 2 Kings.

But to my surprise, 1 Chronicles did not start how I expected. For days now, I have read only genealogies. Trying my best to track who is who and what time-frame is being referenced, my morning quiet time has been quite the struggle if I am being honest.

However, I am a firm believer that all scripture is always teachable and alive, so for days on end, I have been begging the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom in regards to how I ought to apply this scripture to life today. And praise God, between a column note in my Bible and the song “Middle of It” by Lainey Wilson, I was given a piece of hope.

Genealogies can be quite extensive in scripture. But what I began to notice was how much we learn about the detailed God we serve. Every little thing matters because the journey is part of it all. He is a God of seasons, and seasons bring new life and prune was is not life-giving.

As a planner, the middle of anything is often centered around how I want something to end. But as I have stumbled through this portion of scripture, I began realizing how much life is missed and undervalued when we consider it only “part of the process”.

Between the long lists of names written chapter after chapter in 1 Chronicles, we actually find time slow down for a few moments here and there.

In chapter 4, we see a brief pause in the listing to mention Jabez’ call on God and God’s blessing given to him. Then just 2 verses later, we return to listing names, but stop again to mention the skill set of the people of Ge Harashim in verse 14 and those in Netaim and Gederah in verse 23. Continuing through the verses, you will find moments where certain individuals or groups were called out by a specific identity. But it’s in the latter part of chapter 5 where we see the name listing take a much longer moment to mention some incredible details.

Starting in chapter 5:18, we find a few tribes of Israel go to war together and see victory in the end. Not by their own strength, but clearly by the power of God as they humbly seek out His deliverance.

The Israelite people had a nearly 45,000 able bodied men to fight. But in the midst of war, they knew no amount of man-power would deliver them into a blessing that was given by the Divine. So instead of seeking out more troops, stronger men, or fancier weapons, they surrendered themselves to the God they heard their ancestors call their great Rescuer, Deliverer, and Provider.

In doing this, they ended up capturing the land alongside many of its resources like livestock. They end of this story contains a beautiful phrase that brings us back to the reality of a life surrendered to Christ; “because the battle was God’s”. (v. 22)

When we face tough circumstances, it is easy to focus on what deliverance will look like. But as a follower of Christ, a child of God, all of our battles become our Heavenly Father’s.

God does not just promise His goodness in the end, but He has proven time and time again that one of the greatest gifts we receive is His presence through every step of this roller coaster we call life.

It can be so difficult to look around in the midst of chaos, hurt, confusion, or loss and believe there is reason for any of it. Honestly, Lainey Wilson captures that feeling best in the chorus of her song “Middle of It”:

“In the middle of the road when the smoke ain’t clear
Don’t know how to look at that half glass beer
Got ya leaning on the Lord while ya under your breath just a cussing
Oh but one of these days you’re gonna miss these days
When you didn’t even know you were on your way
Knee deep in the weeds you can only see just a little of it
Smack dab in the middle of it”

What I am seeing in 1 Chronicles is that this feeling of being stuck, lost, or hopeless is heavily due to our limited perspective.

When I began reading this book, I must confess that I mumbled my way through it in hopes that the next chapter would bring another story. Because aren’t success stories what we are trained to seek out? In others and ourselves?

But with every new list of names, I began to wonder how often I do the same thing with my own life. How many ordinary days have I simply mumbled through because they didn’t feel significant enough to live intentionally?

I had reduced these names to something I needed to “get through,” when in reality, each one represented a life God knew, a story He was writing, and a person He chose to use in preparing the way for my Savior. A list of broken people that God chose to use for His gracious plans.

Perhaps the middle feels meaningless when we only value the moments that look significant.

How often, dear Christian, do we skim past hours, days, months of our lives because we are so focused on what God has not given us yet? How many opportunities have we missed by calling the place we are in now simply the “means to an end”.

The more we depreciate the value of the present time, even when it is not going our way, the longer we ignore the opportunity to experience God in it.

The people you walk by now matter in God’s great plan. Because their souls are too the ones Jesus died for. Their ears need to hear the good news of salvation and their hearts need to experience the love of God. Being present and available to God through surrender starts with seeking Him more than we seek an end.

My dear friend, will you choose to set your eyes on being with God in the middle of it over experiencing your dream deliverance? Will you be okay not knowing the end because you are content with the One walking you through the journey? Life is so precious and fear has a way of making us wish it would go by faster. May we realize that life is filled with names, moments, relationships, and quiet encounters that God considers far more significant than we do.

Thoughts To Consider:

What might you be missing by being so focused on where you are going?

Can you find contentment in being with God even when you cannot yet understand where He is leading you?

Where have you struggled to see God’s presence because you were looking for His deliverance?

Consider the middle isn’t something we have to survive until we reach the good part, perhaps, God is inviting us to discover that He has been the good part all along.

“They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to Him during the battle. He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.” – 1 Chronicles 5:20