The God of the In-Between

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son…” - Galatians 4:4

The In-Between Times of Life

There is a thread woven throughout the tapestry of Scripture: God’s people often lived in the “in-between times”. These are the seasons between promise and fulfillment, between prayer and answer, between obedience and outcome. They are often silent, dark, waiting seasons, but they are never wasted seasons:

God gave Abraham a promise, but he waited 25 years for Isaac.

David was anointed king, but he waited 13 years, running for his life, before wearing a crown.

Israel was promised deliverance, but they spent 400 years in Egypt, followed by 40 years in the wilderness.

God promised a Messiah, but Israel waited hundreds of years, and then came the 400 silent years, with no prophet, no miracle, no Scripture, no visible sign of God.

And yet God is never silent because He has nothing to say; He is silent because He is doing something deeper than words can describe.

The in-between times are not absence; they are preparation.The darkness is not abandonment; it is development.Silence is not rejection; it is repositioning.

The Christmas story began not with a manger, but with 400 years of silence, and the God who was still working in the dark.

1. Preparation in the In-Between

From Malachi to Matthew, God did not speak through a prophet. He was at work through kings, cultures, conflicts, nations, and ordinary people.

The historians call it “the intertestamental period.”

Theologians call it “the silent years.”

But heaven called it “preparation.”

• The Persian Empire gave way to Greece, and the world learned a universal language, Greek, so the Gospel could be preached across nations.

• Then Greece gave way to Rome, who built roads and infrastructure, so missionaries could take the Gospel to the world.

• The Jews, scattered across the world, built synagogues, laying the foundation for the preaching of the New Testament.

• The Septuagint translated the Old Testament into Greek, enabling the Scriptures to be read widely for the first time.

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Hear this: God was building highways of culture, language, and communication to carry His Son and His Gospel into the world.

Though God was silent, He was not still.

Though He was quiet, He was not unconcerned.

Though He was invisible, He was not inactive.

Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son…”Nothing about Christ’s coming was random.

He came right on time; God’s time.

God’s delays are not denials; they are designs.

2. People In The In-Between

By the time we meet Joseph, Mary, Zacharias, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, and others, they were not living in revival; they were living in routine.

No prophet.

No miracles.

No visitation from heaven.

No spectacular worship.

Just ordinary faithfulness in ordinary days.

• Zacharias and Elizabeth were “well stricken in years” (Luke 1:7) They walked with God for decades without seeing fruit. Some of God’s greatest miracles come after your strength is gone, so you know it was never you.

• Simeon had waited his whole life to see the Messiah. God did not let him die until he held the child.

• Anna was widowed young, and for decades she prayed, fasted, and waited.

• Joseph and Mary were nobodies from Nazareth, unknown, unseen, unimpressive.

Yet God entrusted the greatest miracle in history to people who had waited well. Heaven rarely uses the impatient; it uses the faithful.

The Christmas people were not extraordinary people doing extraordinary things, they were ordinary people doing faithful things in ordinary times.

3. Principles for the In-Between

Be Consistent When You Don’t Feel Anything

“They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments…” - Luke 1:6

Zacharias and Elizabeth were not chasing spiritual fireworks. They were simply walking.

Not sprinting.

Not performing.

Not demanding.

Just walking.

The “in-between” season is dangerous because we chase feelings, signs, validation, and miracles.But spiritual maturity is seen in faith without sensation.

The greatest proof of faith is obedience without evidence.

Stay Expectant Even When You’re Tired

“Simeon… waited for the consolation of Israel.” - Luke 2:25

Simeon lived his entire life waiting on a promise that most people had forgotten. Yet Scripture says he was waiting, not wasting. Expectancy is a spiritual posture.

Waiting is not sitting still; it is leaning forward. Simeon’s faith did not get weaker; it got sharper.

Serve God Joyfully Even When Life Hurts

“She served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” -Luke 2:37

Anna lost her husband young. Her story could have been tragedy, bitterness, depression, or despair. But instead, she leaned into God. She refused to let her pain produce passivity.

God does not waste pain, but people often do.

The in-between time is when you discover whether you are serving God for results or for a relationship.

Stay Teachable So You Can Be Trustable

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” - Luke 1:38

Mary was young, untrained, inexperienced, and confused. But she said, “Yes, Lord.”

Not:

“Explain first.”

“Guarantee success.”

“Promise comfort.”

Just…“Yes.”

God never uses people who think they already know enough. Mary’s surrender was the key to her assignment.

There are things God cannot entrust to you until you lay down your questions and pick up your obedience.

Do Right When Nobody Sees You

“Joseph… being a just man…” - Matthew 1:19

Joseph served God in the shadows.

No spotlight.

No recognition.

No angelic choir for him.

His character didn’t show up because he was spiritual; it showed up because he was consistent. God uses private integrity before He uses public activity.

Joseph didn’t become righteous when Jesus arrived. He was righteous long before God called him.

Conclusion

God’s silence is not inactivity; it is incubation.

God works in the dark.

Seeds sprout underground before fruit appears.

Babies form in the secret place before they are seen.

The stone was rolled away before the disciples got to the tomb.

“Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself…” -Isaiah 45:15

God hides not because He is gone, but because He is growing something. In the intertestamental period, God was lining up history, prophecy, government, language, culture, and people.

Heaven was moving the chess pieces.Earth thought nothing was happening.

And then, in a manger, in Bethlehem, to an ordinary couple, God broke the silence!

God may feel late, but He is always right on time.

You may be living in the in-between right now:

Between diagnosis and healing

Between conflict and resolution

Between calling and release

Between sowing and reaping

Between brokenness and beauty

But remember…

He is the God of Abraham in the waiting,

The God of Joseph in the prison,

The God of David in the cave,

The God of Israel in the wilderness,

The God of the prophets in the silence,

And the God of the manger in the fullness of time.

When you can’t hear Him…

When you can’t see Him…

When nothing is changing…

God is not absent; He is arranging.

God is not silent; He is scheduling.

God is not delaying; He is developing.

One day soon, in His time, in His way, in His glory, God will break the silence.

And like Simeon, Anna, Mary, and Joseph, you will discover that every silent season was pregnant with promise.

“When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son…”

Christmas is not just the story of God coming, it is the story of God coming right on time.

If you are living in an “in-between” season, do not lose heart.

When God is silent, He is not still. When God is hidden, He is not idle. Your in-between is where God is setting up your breakthrough.