When God Closes One Door, He...

WANTS IT TO STAY SHUT!

You thought I was going to say OPENS A WINDOW, don't you?

That's one of the problems we have.

God will close a door that we never should've entered to begin with, and we are so busy running around trying to pry it open or find a window that we get trapped in a burning house.

Sometimes the Lord shuts a door for our own good.

And sometimes it's hard to see.

When we first moved to the coast and became involved with The Jeremiah House (see "Beware of Wolves in Sheep's Clothing), something would come up every time I was scheduled to go over there.

"That devil!" I'd exclaim. "He's not shutting me down."

I was determined to make it over there even when it seemed impossible.

A couple of months later a strange thought entered my head.

What if it wasn't the devil trying to keep me away? What if God was the one shutting the door?

I tested it out.

That's okay, by the way. Try out the spirits.

Unbeknownst to me, my gift of discernment was greatly hampered at that point.

You can't submit to the authority of someone operating under the power of Satan without hindering the Holy Spirit in your life.

And when you place yourself in a church or mission, you ARE submitting to the authority of the person in charge, whether you want to or not. (So be very careful, little feet, where you go. You may want to be the only "light" in a sea of darkness, but you are still under the authority of that pastor or director.)

A couple of weeks later, the thought that the Lord was closing the door was getting stronger.

I began praying in earnest.

"Show me, Lord," I implored, "if this is You." I didn't want to be fooled by the devil but I also didn't want to be a fool.

He showed me.

I never should've been involved with Jeremiah House to begin with.

I could see where he kept shutting the door over and over.

And I kept opening it back up. And climbing through windows.

There was a lot of senseless destruction. A couple of friendships, my peace, marital discord...

All because I couldn't see that the Lord was shutting a door.

I'm a lot more careful now.

I always consider that the Lord may be behind a closing door.

And if He is, I sure don't go looking for a window!