Another Stop-Over “In- Between”

Ever feel like you’ve just left a dry place but it was where you truly experienced God’s amazing presence and provision…then you find yourself in another “pickle of a place” when you really want to get to that mountaintop of perfect contentment and accomplishment?

Often, waiting is like that. We wait and wait. Then God moves, and we think it’s all behind, and we’ve learned what He wanted to teach us. Now let’s get to the good stuff! Then there’s another delay in that perfect picture of life.

As my husband and I waited in days of infertility, and eventually were blessed with the adoption of twins, I thought…now it’s all behind and things would be perfect! But twin babies are hard though wonderful. They don’t sleep at night. They are always hungry, and at different times. Then they grow up and things are more amazing, but also more challenging. As we moved through one season into the next, I was reminded that we “never arrive” in anything this side of heaven.

But each layover, each stopping place, was preparation for the next step. Each time, I learned more and more about who Jesus is and how He is ALL I would need if I would just learn of Him and do what He says…WHEN He says it…not before.

Last week I posted about Elijah’s first “in-between” stop over on his way to Mount Carmel. You can read that post here. Today, I want to share about his next delay in the journey, and how essential it also was for his Mount Carmel assignment.

In her study Elijah, Priscilla Shirer said: “Comfort and steadiness is what we crave, but overstaying our welcome in one place can rob us of the work God intends to do in us at the next one.”

After the “wadi delay” where Elijah saw God’s miraculous and surprising provision, now God called him to Zarephath, to the home of a poor widow and her son. Check it out in 1 Kings 17. It still wasn’t time for his mountain top experience. God had more work to do in him to prepare him for Mount Carmel.

This Zarephath delay was another time of purifying for Elijah. He stayed in a very humble home of a Gentile widow and her son. She was on the low end of the social and economic spectrum. With only enough food for one more meal, Elijah asks her to prepare it for him to eat! She got to witness the miracle of the multiplying of the flour and oil as long as the famine was in full swing and Elijah was in her home. Elijah, and this widow, got to witness this daily provision from God. This woman was part of God’s plan in Elijah’s life! God often uses the lowly, the quiet, the “behind the scenes” people, like ourselves, in a greater story than we could ever imagine!

When the widow’s son dies, Elijah immediately prays and trusts God fully to bring the boy back to life. Again, both mother and Elijah witnessed God’s miracle as the son begins to breathe again. These works of God strengthened Elijah’s faith so he could be ready to face the Baal worshipers at Mount Carmel. These interruptions in the journey were not delays, they were preparation for the next leg of the trip!

And so this is true for us as well. When infertility delayed the joy of parenting for about 4 years, God was at work deepening my faith so I could face parenting twins! In fact, infertility was what truly drove me to a full commitment of my life to Christ, not just for salvation, but for purpose, direction and for a laying down of my plan for His. It forced me to stand on the faith I said I had, to get into His Word to get to know Him, to trust Him even when life made no sense, and to learn to endure in prayer as I trusted His timing.

These principles weren’t just for the issue of parenting. They prepared me for a multitude of future difficulties and joys.

A year before the Lord moved us to Nashville for my position in women’s ministry at LifeWay, another possible vocational opportunity entered my realm of possibilities. We’d lived in Tyler, Texas most of our married life and raised our girls there. We never planned to leave East Texas where my husband was born and raised. But the Lord took me through a season of asking if I would be willing if He chose to move us. I wrestled with it for a period of time before saying, “Yes, Lord, I’m willing.”

Then, the Lord went quiet about it and closed that door. But a year later, this new opportunity, one which I knew God has provided, presented itself and, because I’d already been taken through the “possible move” scenario, I had to listen and obey. My heart had already made this decision a year earlier…IF He asked us to leave, and we knew God was directing, we would move.

Each “in-between” experience has been necessary for my life in present time. And so is yours. Perhaps this COVID season the Lord has helped you to cultivate your faith in solitude and now you are ready to live out your faith, as Elijah was.

If you are standing in between where you were and where you want to be, trust God in the moment. Ask Jesus to purify and refine your heart and mind as He is preparing you for the next stop on your life trip itinerary. If you jump too soon or delay too long, you may miss some of His greatest lessons and miracles! And remember, sometimes, the harder it is and the less we have, the greater God shows off on our behalf.

Read what happened in Elijah’s life right after his mountaintop experience at Carmel in this last post in the series here.

Banner photo by Thiago Barletta on Unsplash