It's easy to have faith at the start of something. When that new baby is born, you marry the person of your dreams or start your business, that's exciting! There's adrenaline flowing, and you have drive! It's easy to have faith at the end when you can see the finish line, when that dream is in sight, and you know you've fought the good fight.
Having faith at the start and at the end is no problem; the real challenge is having faith in the middle. That desire is taking longer than you thought, you don't have the funds, or the medical report wasn't good. That little baby you were so excited about, he was so cute, he couldn't do any wrong. Now he's a teenager. You're convinced he's not your child because of the way he's acting! The mistake we make is that we get discouraged in the middle. We think, "God, I know You gave me this child, but He's making my life miserable. God, You brought this spouse into my life, but there's conflict. God, You blessed me with this business, but I don't have the funds I need to run it." In the middle is where most people lose the battle.
God never promised that we would reach our destiny without opposition, disappointments or things we don't understand. The scripture says, "Don't think it strange when you face fiery trials." That means don't be upset because that person did you wrong. Don't start worrying because business went down. God is still on the throne. Nothing that's happened to you has stopped His plan for your life. He's not in the heavens scratching His head thinking, "Oh man, that one threw me off. I didn't see that bad break coming." What God promised you He still has every intention of bringing it to pass. I know you can have faith at the start; I know you can have faith at the end. My question is will you have faith for the middle?
Today I encourage you, when things are not happening the way you thought, when it seems like you're going backwards, when every voice tells you to give up, press through. It's all a part of the process. Here's the key: when God places a dream in your heart, He also equips you to see it unfold. He is with you in every battle and making your crooked places straight. It's more important what's happening in you than what is happening around you. Stay in faith, stand strong and press forward into the victory He has for you!