An Excerpt

From a book, The Land Between, read at just the right time on a dark day for me this week. It's long, but it's something I want to always remember.

The Blessing of the Land Between

A serious athlete submits to a rigorous training program to reach his or her full potential. What is true for the runner or wrestler or gymnast is also true for the disciple. Dramatic growth requires pain. Remember this when you find yourself in a maddening detour. Remember that God is at work in all things, that he desires to shape and transform you. Resist the temptation to zone out, numb out, or check out. Pain is purposeful when we respond to God with open and receptive hearts in the midst of deep trial. God intends to grow something beautiful and deep and lasting, but we must cooperate with God for the season of hardship to work its intended transformation. Don't let your detour go wasted. You are in training, and God is up to something good.
The climate of the Land Between can be so harsh that neutrality is not an option. The conditions have a way of either drawing us toward God or driving us away from him. While the desert is the ideal climate for transformational growth, it is also the place where faith can shrivel and die. Refuse to cave to a pattern of complaint. A spirit of complain is lethal to the trust that God intends to grow. As you journey through the Land Between, remember that God desires your trust more than anything else. The question he will ask repeatedly is the same question he asked Abraham, Joseph, and Moses: Will you trust me? In the barren landscaped of wilderness God desires to forge a relationship of trust.
Remember that God cares deeply for you. Remember that nothing can separate you from his love. He sees, he knows, and he is concerned. In your weary fatigue, pour out your heart to him. His shoulders are strong enough to bear your confusion and frustration. Turn toward God and speak candidly about your pain and disappointment. He really wants to hear from you and can absorb whatever it is you have to say. But turn to him in trust and hope, believing that he is there, that he is wise, and that he is at work. Trust that God will provide. In your season of shortage, open your hands to receive his blessing and provision. He loves to provide. It is a refection of his generous giving heart.
As you travel through the Land Between, if you experience the disciplinary hand of God, trust that he is at work to rescue something. Good parents discipline the children they adore, and God's discipline is an expression of his merciful love.
In the Land Between, a remarkable phenomenon occurs. We come to possess a vital faith that allows us to be at our best when life is at its worst. We emerge from a season of profound disappointment, unnerving chaos, or debilitating pain with faith worth having. We learn that the Land Between is about a journey of trust and that something flourishes there that could not be produced on any other soil. We discover that the place we most want to escape has produced the fruit we most desperately crave.
The Land Between is fertile ground. Welcome to the Land Between.