Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Looking for the Window

Have you ever heard, "When God closes a door, He opens a window"? Well I'm living proof that is true. It means that when you have a plan for your life, sometimes God shuts out opportunities to guide your steps in His heavenly direction.

Sounds so simple,  right? Our all knowing God wants the best for us. He knows where we need to be and He is not only willing to show us how to get there, but to make our options limited so we can be well aware of the path we need to take. Even in Psalms, we see how our steps are guided. Psalm 32:8 says "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eyes upon you".

God will never take His eyes off of us. He will constantly guide our movements, when we ask for it, and when we do not. To me, this is so relaxing to know that even if I'm not actively seeking God's will, He is still moving our feet in His directions. However, how much greater could the rewards be if we were seeking God's will and asking Him to lead us where He wants us to go. To move throughout this life deliberately, wanting to keep our movements in line with God's plan for us.

In a perfect world where we were not battling the devil, this would be the simplest thing in the world. It also would be easy and rewarding. God would not have to drag us kicking and screaming in the direction He wants us to go. The truth is, praying earnestly for God to direct our steps is hard!

Real hard...

Impossible actually.  We have to have Christ in our lives and the Spirit in our hearts for it to even be a possibility. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians tells us right there, to be able to follow God's plans, we have have Christ and rely on Him completely.

In our minds when we hear, God opens a window, we expect the window to be door shaped and right beside the closed door. We expect simplicity. "God I see you shut that door but thank you for opening the door right beside the closed one immediately after it closed." Oh if it really was that simple.

Lately, though,  I'm learning those windows God opens are sometimes hard to find. Sometimes they're so high up you have to find a ladder and a boost, and a screwdriver to loosen the window. Sometimes you can't even find the window you just hold on to the faith that it's there.

And that's okay! Everyone has set backs. Everyone has moments where we follow selfish ambitions and God has to start shutting doors to get us back in the right direction. Sometimes God has plans for us so far past our earthly perspective that we need Him to shut out all of our options to show us exactly where to go.

For those of you in a dark hallway with every door shut around you, stay strong! God has plans for you otherwise He would not take the time to direct your steps. Surround yourself with like minded Christians who can lift you up. To encourage you while you are looking for the Window to climb through into God's will.

As you find these windows that God is leading you too, do not be scared to tell others how God has led your steps! You never know, there may be a person with a door slammed in their face, reaching for the courage to move away from their dreams into God's plan.

Remember always Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans I have for you,  declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

In the midst of turmoil and questions, we can cling to this promise. When we are unsure of our situations and where to go from here, remember to follow God. He has given us a hope and a future and it's okay to cling to that! To expect God to follow His promise. Because you have a friend right here doing the same!

No comments:

Post a Comment