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In the middle of the night

     In the middle of the night is a phrase used throughout the Bible. The phrase “in the middle of the night” often signals a moment of epic transition, transformation and change. It is the moment that is filled with promise and remarkable peril. It is the moment that indicates you are about to change. It will be risky and you will never be the same again.

·         In the middle of night Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32)
·          In the middle of the night the angle of the Lord passed over those who had placed the blood of the lamb on their door posts. (Exodus 11:4)
·         In the middle of the night Jesus says 10 virgins were awaked to find that the bridegroom had arrived. Those who were unprepared were not treated well and those who were prepared were treated beautify. (Matt 25:1-13)
·         In the middle of the night Nicodemus goes to visit Jesus (John 3:1)

How many of us know what it is like to live in the middle of the night? How many of us know the experience of feeling like you are going down “the road of life” and suddenly you become very aware that there is about to be a serious injury? You become acutely aware that you are not approaching a Y in the road but a hard T. You going to have to go either left or right. It is one of those moments in life that we all wish there was as pause button on this machine called life. It is a moment that could go horribly wrong or potentially be redemptive. This is what it means to be in the middle of the night.
Have you ever been in the middle of the night? Have you ever known what it is to face a major transition in your life, your career, your relationships or perhaps your sense of purpose? Being in the middle of the night is the point at which things are the darkest. Dawn is coming but there is a lot of uncertainty. How many of us have lived in the middle of the night?
Perhaps you find yourself going thought a “in the middle of the night” situation. Maybe you are just coming out a “in the middle of the night” situation. If I may here are some things that I have learned from my own “in the middle of the night” moments.
1. When you are in the middle of the night . . . darkness is normal. In the middle of the night the sun is gone and it will be dark. That is its nature. When you are not sure what to do or which way to go that is not a problem. You are not supposed to know yet. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have an answer to the question of what are you supposed to do. You don’t have to know it all nor fix it all. Things are dark and it is hard to see things clearly. This is all normal.
2. Don’t panic it will pass. The great thing about the middle of the night is that it never stays the middle of the night. The sun will rise again. It will pass. I have good news for you. If you are having a really hard time I promise you it will pass. If you are having a really good time . . . this too shall pass. I promise you it will pass. Don’t panic because what is happing will pass.
3. Keep first things first. This is the most important part of living in the middle of the night. Keep first things first. In the middle of the night you might hear voices or noises. It is tempting to go and investigate what the voices or noises might be. Be careful because if you wonder off in the middle of the night you might bump your head or stub your toe. Wondering around in the middle of the night chasing various voices and noises might land you into a situation that could get you hurt. Sit tight. Let whatever happen . . . happen. In the middle of the night it can often get cold. When we get cold there are parts of our body that we need to protect from getting cold. All of you is important but some parts matter more. When the body is in crisis mode it will direct blood away from the extremities and towards more vital parts. God designed the human body to know that the heart or lungs is more important than a finger. The same is true for us. When you are in the middle of the night make sure to focus your attention on the vital organs. Jesus said seek first the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33) and everything else will be taken care of. In the middle of the night stay incredibly focused on the Kingdom of God. All the other stuff that needs attention will be taken care of. Stay focused on the Kingdom of God and don’t go wondering around in the dark.  
4. Which every way you go – it will be okay . . . eventually. As long as you are doing the first 3 you will be faced with choices and those choices will have darkness. The point is not how to totally avoid all darkness but what darkness you might be able to live with. Sometimes we don’t get to pick the stuff that happens to us in the middle of the night. Sometimes things will get lost or broken. The questions to consider is in this transition what are some things that I can accept? What is so wonderful is that when we keep first things first and then we make the choice we have to make – know that it will be okay. Why do I know this?
Because we have a God who loves us. We have a God who really wants the best for us. The good news is that you are never out of God’s care. You made some bad choices in the middle of the night yet you are never beyond the reach of this loving God who says that I can redeem even that. I can take whatever it is you have done in the middle of the night and turn it into something redeemed and wonderful. Whichever way you have gone in the middle of the night you will not tire God out. He is not like us.

 

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