Sometimes in life, doors close permanently and sometimes they stay cracked.
It’s that time of year again, graduation. I live in a college town, so I’m really immersed. All of the stores have graduation cards and gift ideas. The invitations start arriving in the mail and it makes me remember my own high school graduation. It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty-six years, when in so many ways, it seems like yesterday.
High school graduation is one of those surreal life moments that’s hard to explain. They walk onto the stage as high schoolers and walk off the stage as graduates. As each student receives their diploma and steps off of the stage, a door silently closes behind them and everything is somehow different.
There’s a wide world out there and even if they want to go back, that particular door is closed forever.
We walk through many doors in our lives, high school, college, first job, marriage, parenthood and sometimes divorce. We have dreams that we sometimes realize and sometimes we leave them firmly locked behind a door.
There are times when we have closed certain doors and should leave them closed, but we are tempted to take a peek at what lies behind them. Think of things like unhealthy relationships or addiction.
Sometimes we leave doors cracked a little, so we can check out what’s on the other side at a later date. These can be things like dreams and aspirations that we haven’t realized yet, but don’t want to give up on. It may be something like going back to school or starting a new career or learning to paint. Everyone’s doors are different.
There are times when God closes a door. In the Bible, when Noah and his family boarded the ark, the scripture says, “A male and female of each kind entered, just as God commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.”
Why did God close the door? Was He trying to deprive them of something? Nope, He closed the door to keep them safe. They had no way of knowing how bad the flood would be. God told Noah that He would flood the earth and that it would rain for forty days and forty nights, but do you really think Noah and his family could truly conceptualize this? God closed the door to keep them safe.
So what can we learn from this story? When we pass through doors like high school graduation, we know they can’t be re-opened. But, when we are faced with doors that we are uncertain about, we really need to take the time to pray about going forward.
Is this particular door one that God would want closed or is this something I should pursue? Anything that’s harmful or doesn’t line up with scripture, is a pretty safe bet that we should leave shut tight. But, what about old dreams or plans? Well, sometimes God may have said, “Not now” instead of “Not ever.” Sometimes we are supposed to pursue those things.
God has plans to prosper you and not harm you. The Bible says so. So as you are walking along life’s road and encounter a door, ask God whether you should go through it or turn around and head up another path. If you are patient, He will tell you. That’s a promise.
What do you think about life’s doors. I’d love to hear from you.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂