(I had to add flowers to my background for a few days. We have a snowstorm here in Michigan and we Michiganders are not happy. More snow tomorrow. Grrrrr.)
I read this Tuesday in My Utmost For HIs HIghest.
God never opens doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut, doors which need never have been shut, imaginations which need never have been sullied.
We often hear, “When one door shuts, another one opens”. There is some truth in that but I buy into this statement from Oswald Chambers more. Just because a door shuts and another one opens, does not mean this was God’s original plan for us. He meant for us to walk through that door when it first opened. Later I address what happens when we don’t.
There might well have been doors we have shut because of our own actions. Our lack of initiative. Our own fear. And maybe just plain ole’ neglect and eventually we forget all about them.
How many times have you had a really good idea to do something, to initiate something, tackle something and you didn’t. Sad to say, I think that’s true of most of us. And that’s not to say that every idea we have is meant to be pursued.
But I have a hunch, it’s been more of the other way around.
So what kind of things have been mulling around in your mind? Are there some you need to really consider?
I can remember when I started this blog. It was something I had never thought about until the idea started to roll around in my head. I wasn’t at all sure about it but I sensed it was a prompt from God so I pursued it.
It was a steep, and I do mean steep, learning curve. You can read about it here, here, and here.
But I worked really hard. It probably took me a year before I even figured out the basics. I’m not kidding. But eventually, I broke through the wall and now I feel pretty comfortable.
In this case, I knew that God opened this door. But even knowing that, there have been times over the years that I’ve almost quit, mostly because I don’t have great pictures of my DIY projects. But then I remind myself that’s not my main focus anyway. Leave that to the professional bloggers. (Besides, these are money-making blogs for which there is great competition. I wouldn’t want that anyway.)
But back to those doors.
I think sometimes we confuse who is opening the doors anyway. I wrote a post that highlights an experience my husband and I had with this very thing that literally turned our lives upside down for a while. You can read about that here.
Satan is capable of opening a door as well.
There are all kinds of “doors”. Doors to opportunities. Doors to relationships. Doors to financial freedom.
Doors to a deeper spirituality.
I would say that’s the door that has been opened for me lately. I sense God calling me to a deeper commitment in a couple of areas in my life. I won’t say what but I know what they are. It’s the next step God is requiring of me for my spiritual growth.
Let’s be clear. If you have closed some doors in your life, don’t be afraid to look them straight in the eye. Here’s more of what Oswald Chambers in this regards:
Never be afraid when God brings back the past. Let memory have its way. It is a minister of God with its rebuke and chastisement and sorrow. God will turn the “might have been” into a wonderful culture for the future.
God has a tailored-made and personal plan for each of us. He has specific doors for us to walk through. But even when we don’t, God can still work out His plan for us in another way. His creativity knows no boundaries.
I think most of us can look back and have regrets about the things we didn’t do, the doors we didn’t walk through or didn’t even try to open in the first place. We’re human after all.
(I think of Judas here. He felt he had closed a door when he betrayed Christ. But he hadn’t. He just didn’t believe he could be forgiven. Peter, however, who denied Christ (one could say betrayed as well) somehow managed to find another door. Think what good Judas could have done.)
But we serve a God who is a God of second chances and alternative doors. God has a “best” door for us but nothing can thwart His plan for us. It’s just that often it’s easier on us when we walk through the “best” door.
Think about it. How many times have you accomplished something the hard way?
If you’d just done it right the first time….
If you’d just done it when it was easier…..
If you’d just done it when it was financially more possible……
How many times have you seen your children do it the hard way while you sit back and think to yourself, “I wish they had listened. It would’ve been so much easier.”
While I do believe we often learn best through our mistakes, I don’t think that is how God wants it. I don’t think that’s backed up anywhere in Scripture and yet, it’s the way it is for we mere mortals.
So if it looks like a door has been closed, (and especially if you know you’re the one who shut it), remember, God is waiting to take you through a different door. It might be a little harder but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
God bless and have a good day.
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