In the Waiting

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. — Isaiah 41:10 NLT

• The messy middle is the hardest part.

When the homework project is halfway done and the room is a mess. When the kitchen renovation is at peak craziness and you’re cooking out of the back bedroom. When a loved one is in treatment, but not quite yet cured. When you’re waiting for the results, and the anticipation feels as if it may drown you. When you’re aching for that significant other, that baby, that job. When you’re slowly adding one more day to your sobriety calendar and choosing yourself over the addiction minute after minute. When you’re waiting, putting one foot in front of the other, hoping to get to the next day.

I once heard someone say, when you can’t take one more step forward, move just an inch. And sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a whole inch — just make sure you’re not moving backward. Move forward any way you can. And, if you can’t move forward, try stepping to the side. Some seasons, the strongest thing we can do is move sideways. When the grief, the struggle, the fear, or the yearning feels like it may do you in, move forward or move sideways.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and trust that He will be with you in the messy middle places.

How will you move forward or sideways today? Celebrate your progress, even if it is tiny. You are one step closer to who you are becoming.

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Delight in Discipline

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. — Hebrews 12:11

Have you ever adopted a new habit — say, eating healthy — and given it up after exactly forty-eight hours because you didn’t notice an enormous change? It takes a lot of willpower and intention to make healthy choices for two whole days in a row. So why aren’t we back in our jeans from college after all that effort?!

I sometimes struggle with maintaining discipline for the long haul. I love immediate gratification, great transformation, and awe-inspiring befores-and-afters. But people who’ve achieved such things will tell you they only got there by making a series of small choices over and over again for a long period of time.

Let’s use vitamins as an example. If I take my vitamins daily for three days, I probably won’t see a fantastic impact. I probably won’t see a fantastic impact if I take them for a week. But months or even a year? That daily choice will add up to something really good for my body.

• The tiny choices we make every day make up our lives.

What will you commit to? Moving your body every day? Spending time with God? Wearing sunscreen? Delighting in discipline can be tough, but the long-term rewards are worth it.

What healthy daily habits would you like to implement? Make note of one or two Consider a physical reminder to help you remember this task Put a Post-it Note on your bathroom mirror or set up an automatic reminder notification on your smartphone.

Excerpted with permission from Sure as the Sunrise by Emily Ley, copyright Emily Lew.

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Your Turn

Keep going! What are you waiting for right now? What are you in the middle of that’s stretching your faith? The Lord is with you in the messy middle and He will strengthen you to endure. Keep seeking the Kingdom of God! ~ Devotionals Daily