Doors

"Stand clear...doors are closing..." has been the announcement that
has rung in my ears now for a couple of days. As I have frequented
the subways all over New York, that is what I have heard each time the
doors are about to close. The subway system is a no nonsense outfit.
Seldom are you able to negotiate with its operation...but here and
there there are the experienced travelers who try to defy the odds and
push their way through. Yesterday there was one of those fellows...He
was determined to get on in spite of the warnings..and the doors
actually closing...he stuck his body part way through the door...then
backed off..causing the door to reopen...and as he tried to enter
again the door closed again...if was a vicious game for several
seconds..and most eyes on the crowded car were on him...I am sure some
were cringing like I was hoping that something would give...either his
determination...or the doors access for entry. But he was determined
and was going to hold his position until either the subway was
defeated or he was. Finally, he was able to manipulate the doors to
his advantage. his timing worked and he hurried onto the crowded
subway car. No one said a word...about the struggle...it was over.
And immediately everyone reverted back to their own personal plac eof
thought.

But oh I thought....how many times do we fight to keep doors from
closing in our lives. We have a plan....and if the doors close we
would have to adjust those plans. We try to wedge in a
negotiation...or a foot that just keeps the ineffable from
closing...sometimes we are able to extend the workings that we are
comfortable with and then sometimes we have to bow out and wait. We
do it in relationships, in jobs, in projects, and in everyday
practices that deal with other people and challenges. There comes a
time when the doors no longer will allow the temporary interruption
and demand to be closed...and when those times come we have only one
choice...wait patiently for the next train to come along...and it
will. It might cause a little inconvenience and a lot of despair and
even fear on our behalf...but in the long run...the next one might be
a bedtter one..one is that is better suited for where God has planned
for you to go. We make our plans and dertermine a charted destination
and even have a timeline laid our for what our personal goals
are....but too many times we leave God out of the process.

We get something in our heads and we will fight for it without
sometimes stepping back and truly reevaluating our destination. We
chose somethign familiar, and without a bunch of visible potholes, and
get so tunneled in our approach that we waive any possible variable
that might be a better fit for our talents, for our personality, and
for our proposed life style. We fight galantly for what we think is
the best way to get to where we have planned to go. But sometimes God
closes doors....and keeps us protected from going to a place that we
can not clearly see....or remaining in a place that we have outgrown
or that has outgrown us. God knows where we best belong. He knows
where we are best able to be strengthen and to grow....in Him and
through Him. But some one quoted Oswald Chambers last Sunday in Sunday
school and said something about we are to live life loosely. I
mthoguth that was a great comment...becasue if we live life losely we
are allowing adjustments to be made without critical concern as to
what wil happen next. That is living in trust...a trust in God to do
with you what he deems is best. It so often doesn't seem like best
when doors abruptly close....and dreams are shattered or relationships
are in a twist, or finances are unsure or prospective changes are
playing our or not playing out according to our predetermined
models........God is driving each of our trains....and he will be
driving the next one that comes....

God has a way of working us through those door closing times. Living
life loosely means that if doors close and keep you from moving down
the tract that you have intended then there is another option on its
way. Another way for you to get to where God has intended for you to
go.. We fight to get in...sometimes we fight to get out...we fight for
doors to stay opened..so we can come and go as we please...we fight to
get our way.but sometimes we are fighting for the wrong thing. If we
allow God to open and close our doors according to what he has
proposed for our lives...then when one door closes we will be watching
with great expectation as to what God's next option may be. If we
truly trust that God has got our best route mapped out...then we will
be ok with the waiting...even confident in it. Maybe if we just stay
where we are...instead of fighting to get through closing doors
...that is where we will find peace for the moment... God will send us
His next train...sometimes we have to wait a lot longer than
expected....but if we prayerfully consider His will...then He will
help us to board a train going His way.

Dear Lord...Closing doors leave me uneasy...they put a wedge in my
plans and as a defense I so often fight to keep them opened and try to
squeeze my way through. Help me to not be so insistent on my way and
taking the train down the track that I alone have
designated....without consideration of what is best in your eyes for
my life. Teach me to rely on you in confidence and to trust that when
doors close ...there is always another option...but sometimes I just
have to wait to see it. Amen
--
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you
to be in . . . His glory will shine through!