It amazes me how many people think Christians have everything together. We see it portrayed constantly on social media, in films, and on TV. The perfect Christian family with perfect, well-behaved children, a perfect home, a perfect job, and a serene, untroubled smile permanently fixed on their face. This curated image suggests that once you find faith, life’s struggles simply melt away, replaced by a life of uncomplicated bliss.

But for many of us, for most of us, this is not the picture we find ourselves in.

Welcome to the Messy Middle

And dear reader, this is what I have found to be the messy middle. It’s the part of life that is defined by the “now and the not yet.” It is the space we inhabit after we have met Jesus but before He returns to make all things new. We read and hear the promises of what is coming: a life with God, a life of no pain or suffering, a life with no hurt, depression, or illness. A life of pure love.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.

Revelation 21:4 (NLT)

It is through these future-tense promises that we hold onto our faith and hope in HIM. He is the one Who is, Who was, and Who is to come.

I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,’ says the Lord God. ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.

Revelation 1:8 (NLT)

That might be sounding overly dramatic, or perhaps you are unsure of what this all means. Well, if I’m honest, I am not really sure myself sometimes. I don’t have all the answers. But I do know this: God is Good, and His promises will become reality, either in this life or the next. I would bet everything I own and am on that one, unshakable fact.

The Autumn Parallel

So why have I started this post with such a heavy theme? Well, there is a lot going on in life right now. I mean, there is always a lot going on, but this season feels particularly weighted. It’s turned to autumn here in the UK. This means the days are shorter, the damp sets in, and the sky seems to settle into a permanent shade of grey. And, of course, it means the annual debate about the central heating.

I have tried to keep it off. I’ve held out, putting on a jumper and telling myself it’s “not that cold.” But the family looks at me like I am Scrooge, and as it’s not quite Christmas, I don’t feel I’ve earned that title yet. I have, inevitably, caved.

This autumnal shift—the creeping cold, the gathering clouds, the feeling of hunkering down for a long, dark season—serves as a perfect parallel for what is going on in my heart at the moment.

A Vision of Peace in the Chaos

I was laying in bed this morning, the house quiet in the early hours. I just wanted some peace. I craved ten minutes of stillness to rest and connect. I closed my eyes and whispered, “Lord, I am seeking you here in this moment. Speak to me.”

With that, a picture formed in my mind. I saw storm clouds rolling in, dark, bruised-purple, and angry. They were moving, circling, and swirling with a fierce, chaotic energy. Yet, behind this maelstrom, I sensed a strong light. I couldn’t see the light itself—the clouds were too thick—but I knew it was there. It was big, powerful, and unwavering.

In this vision, I found myself laying on the surface of the water below these raging clouds. By all logic, the sea should have been rough, churned up by the tempest above. But while the water had waves, they were small, manageable, almost gentle. And as I lay there, looking up at the chaos, I felt an inexplicable, profound calm.

This is the peace that the Bible talks about, the kind that defies all logic.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

My circumstances were stormy. The visual was stormy. But my spirit, held by Him, was calm.

Holding on to a Promise in the Storm

This vision immediately reminded me of a promise God made to me a couple of years ago. It was a simple, direct, and powerful promise concerning my daughter. He said to me, “Don’t worry, I have her.”

Why is this promise so important right now? At the moment, my daughter is going through a difficult time personally. As a father, watching your child struggle and navigate challenging situations is one of the hardest things in the world. You want to fix everything, but you find yourself in a position where you can’t control all the circumstances surrounding them.

This, as you can imagine, is quite a bit of a storm in my life. The feelings of worry, helplessness, and the deep desire for their well-being can be all-consuming.

So, these past couple of weeks, I have been trying to understand what’s been going on, why it’s going on, and the best way to approach things. My human instinct is to fix it, to control it, to figure it all out. But aside from trying to offer love and support, I have been left with only one viable path: to pray, to contemplate, and to constantly seek God to know that He is in this with me and with her.

The image I had this morning confirmed that. It was God’s direct answer to my seeking. Although the clouds of my circumstance are raging, I could see God’s light behind them, looking to battle and break through. Although the waters of my life look rough, I was in them, calm and safe, held afloat by Him.

He wasn’t promising to stop the storm. He was reminding me that He holds my daughter, and He was promising to be with me in it.

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

The True Crux of Our Faith

And that, right there, is the crux of the matter. If you are following Jesus because you hope He will give you nice things, or because you think your life will become perfect and easy, you may be missing the point. If you think that everyone who follows Jesus has that perfect, social-media-ready life, you are being misled.

Faith is not a transaction for an easy life. Faith is not an insurance policy against suffering.

Faith is about knowing, in your deepest core, that God is with you. It is knowing that He is Good, even when circumstances are bad. It is knowing that He will never, ever leave you in a situation alone. Faith is the anchor that allows you to rest easy in the storm, because you can trust Him. And trust is the most important part of any relationship.

We are called to trust Him, not our own finite, human-all-too-human understanding.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

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A Reflection for Your Messy Middle

We all live in the messy middle. We all have storms. We all have those grey, autumnal seasons of the soul where we just want to turn the heating on and hide. But the promise of our faith is not that the storms won’t come, but that we will never, ever face them alone.

As you read this, I invite you to pause and reflect on your own life:

• What “storm clouds” are swirling in your life right now?
• Are you, like me, trying to “understand” and fix it all on your own?
• Are you so focused on the wind and the waves that you’ve forgotten to look for the light behind the clouds?
• What promise from God do you need to hold onto in your own messy middle?

A Call to Action:

This week, I want to challenge you to do something practical. The next time you feel the wind pick up, the next time the anxiety or worry begins to rage, I want you to stop. Don’t fight the storm. Find 10 minutes. Lie down, close your eyes, and pray the simple prayer I did: “Lord, I am seeking you here in this moment. Show me where you are.”

Don’t demand that the storm stops. Instead, look for His light. Don’t listen for the wind. Listen for His promise. He is there. He has you. And He can be trusted.