Joy in the In-Between
I have been a runner for about a decade. I’m not a great runner by any means, but I do enjoy the exercise. What I have learned over the years is that there are some runs where it feels like you are dragging a thousand pounds with each step. Then there are others where you grasp that coveted runner’s high; you feel weightless like you could run a thousand miles.
The other day, I was having one of the runs where each step makes you question why you ever started running in the first place. It was brutal. In fact, in the first five minutes, I looked ahead at my three-mile course, and I thought, I might not make it today. The distance in-between the start and finish line seemed insurmountable.
I have noticed that growth happens amidst tension. I can run further and become stronger when I push myself just a little bit more when running gets strenuous. My writing becomes tighter when I do the painstaking act of editing. Growth and progress happen when I embrace the tension and pain of my circumstances and press forward.
Growth happens in the tension of the in-between.
I think all of us can say that we are intimately acquainted with the “in-between” moments of our lives.
The in-between space between your prayer request and God’s answer.
The in-between space between the test and the test results.
The in-between space between the mess of the situation and its resolution.
The truth is that all of us live in these “in-between” moments, whether for a short or long time. And I think all of us, if we are honest, do not consider these spaces to be joyful or pleasurable experiences. In fact, we all can probably say we look for the quickest way to escape from our trials.
The book of James talks about the in-between spaces of our lives:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
In this passage, James reframes our in-between moments. Rather than seeing them as roadblocks to our joy, he says that joy can be found in them. Joy in the in-between comes not from the painful circumstances themselves, but from a powerful truth about those circumstances: the in-between spaces of our lives are the crucibles upon which our steadfastness and faith are forged.
When I was in high school, my youth pastor had something he would tell us whenever we brought our problems and pains that felt so weighty at the time. He would say, “God never wastes pain.” If I am honest, I don’t remember a single sermon he preached, but I do remember that. God never wastes pain.
My youth pastor wanted to drill into our brains that God is in the process of redeeming our pain and suffering. The in-between spaces that we go through are not interruptions or detours; they are the exact situations that God repurposes and uses to fashion us to be like Him.
Maybe today you find yourself in the in-between. Maybe right now you are looking at your circumstances and you aren’t sure how things are going to turn out. Maybe right now you feel like you are in the waiting room, not knowing what the answer is going to be. I want you to remember:
God never wastes pain.
There is joy in understanding that God is using our in-between spaces to sanctify us. Then the application is to “let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” In other words, lean into the in-between spaces, lean into the present uncomfortable, miserable, hard, and anxious spaces.
When I was running and questioning my ability to finish, I shifted my focus. Rather than focusing on my trembling legs or side stitch, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I didn’t dwell on the two miles I still had to go, I focused on the pavement right in front of me and the fact that all this discomfort I was experiencing was ultimately building steadfastness.
You can embrace the in-between in your life today with joy, knowing that the outcome no matter how difficult or tenuous is guided by the steady hand of God.
