The Middle Time
Scripture: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.” (Isaiah 35.1-2)
MAIN POINT: Advent reminds us that we all live in the “middle time” between promise and fulfillment, where faith must sustain us through the darkness of waiting.
Isaiah speaks of a wilderness that will bloom, a desert that will rejoice—but not yet. John sits in prison between arrest and execution, hearing of Jesus’ miracles but experiencing none himself. This is the middle time, the time of waiting, the time when everything we believe seems called into question. In Matthew 4, we learn John had been arrested. We won’t read about his execution until chapter 14. Chapter 11 places us in the middle—that uncomfortable space where promises haven’t yet materialized and God seems silent.
We know this space well. It’s the time between diagnosis and healing, between prayer and answer, between promise and fulfillment. It’s the nursing home veteran’s long lonely days, the new mother’s silent struggle, the student’s daily battle with learning disabilities. Isaiah promises the desert will bloom, but right now we see only sand. The challenge of Advent is to believe the promise while living in the wilderness, to trust that God is working even when we can only see the cold stone walls around us.
Reflection: Living in the middle time requires us to cling to God’s promises even when our present circumstances seem to contradict them. What “middle time” are you living in right now—what promise seems delayed or unfulfilled? How can you practice trust while waiting in the wilderness?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, strengthen my faith to believe Your promises even when I see only wilderness. Help me trust that You are working in the silence. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Responses