Tag Archives: closed doors

Dreams and Disappointment

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1 Chronicles 17

I am always convicted when I read how King David reacts to disappointment. His disappointment wasn’t like that of someone with a craving finding out Dunkin Donuts just sold their last jelly donut. David had a passion. And it was a good one.

Out of his overflowing love of God, David wanted to build a temple worthy of housing the Ark of the Covenant, a place deserving of the Presence of God. That, to me, is a worthy cause, one that would seemingly be pleasing to God.

I’m pretty sure David laid awake at night picturing how he would build the Temple; a wall here, a window there. Maybe he even did a Joanna Gaines and pictured where the furniture would go, the color scheme, the shiplap. I think David planned a home fit for the King of the Universe. Nothing would be too good or too expensive in building a temple for the God he loved so much.

But God told him, “NO!” Put on the brakes, there, David. I’ve got other plans.

God shut the door on that project. David would not build the temple. He wouldn’t realize his dream. God said so.

Have you ever had God shut a door on your plans? A relationship ends. You don’t get the job you’ve prepared for all your life. A ministry you really want goes to someone else. Maybe your child quits playing baseball, shattering your dreams of a professional career.

How do you react? How did David react? He looked toward heaven and said, “Thank you.” You heard me right. God said, “No.” David said, “Thank you.”

Verse 6 says:

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far?

I hope you’ll read David’s prayer. He goes on to praise God for blessing him way more than he deserves. He lays his dreams at the feet of God – and lets go. How? How could he not at least question God’s judgment or try to talk God into changing His mind?

Read it.

Then ask yourself: has God been faithful to me in the past? Am I blessed?

You know He has and you are! So don’t doubt God will continue to be faithful, continue to bless, even if you don’t understand Him at the moment.

David shows me that he loved God more than he loved his dreams. Every time I read this portion of Scripture, I find myself asking if the same can be said of me.

April 5 – It’s Insane

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Judges 16-18

Isn’t the definition of “insanity” said to be doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome? I think Samson was insane.

Three time Delilah tried to get him to tell her what made him so strong. Three times Samson told a lie. And all three times Delilah went to Samson’s enemies and set up an ambush. Three times.

So why – WHY – would Samson think that on the fourth time, he could tell Delilah the truth and she wouldn’t go to his enemies with that information? It’s insane.

But, as He does whenever I read His Word, God is asking me to check myself. Haven’t there been times I’ve wanted something, but God clearly closes the door? Haven’t I been known to try again and again to get what it was I wanted, only to have the door slammed in my face each time? Did I think the door would somehow open when it hadn’t so many times before?

Have you ever wanted someone to love you, but they clearly weren’t interested? Have you tried and tried to get their attention, only to be sadly disappointed every time? Yet something tells you it’ll be different next time.

After reading about Samson today, I realize I want to be more sensitive to God’s nudges, and his outright denial of what I think I want. I want to recognize the signs. If God closes a door, I want to trust Him enough to walk away and look for an open door somewhere else.

I don’t want to read about Samson and think, “that man was insane” without doing a sanity check on my own life.

God, help me read the signs you so clearly put in my path. Help me make decisions based on those nudges that come from You, my loving Father.

September 14

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Esther 5:1-9:19

Haman was pretty sure of himself. The King asked for his advice. The Queen invited him to lunch. His wife and his friends told him how great he was. And Haman made plans. He would destroy his enemy and life would be perfect.

Those were Haman’s plans. They weren’t God’s. Haman set in motion the very thing that would destroy him. The gallows he built to hang Mordecai were the gallows that ended his own life.

The lesson here today just might be a warning. The plans we have for ourselves, the future we envision just might result in the destruction of our souls if carried out.

Have you had doors close in your face only to try to crawl through a window to get what you want? Does it seem like for every step you take to get closer to your goal you wind up taking two steps back? Maybe you should rethink your goal.

I have shared that my dad died last year. One year ago today, to be exact. My sisters and I have the job of selling our childhood home. It looked like it had sold last spring but after three months of one roadblock after another, we decided to put it back on the market. Our prayer has always been that God would bring a Christian family to that home, to love it and make memories like the ones we have of living there. God did bring that family and we are scheduled to close next week. Parents with two daughters (we love the idea of another family of girls living there after we five) will live and grow inside those precious walls. We weren’t necessarily thankful for the roadblocks last spring but we can see God’s hand at work for this young family today.

How do we respond to roadblocks? We need to ask ourselves if the roadblocks are put there by Satan to try and stop God’s work, or are they put there by the loving hand of God to prevent us from disaster.

Pray. Stay in the Word because it is God’s roadmap. In these precious pages are all you need to know about finding God’s plan for your life. Let him guide you so that people can recognize him and want him in their lives, too.  That’s God’s ultimate plan for each of us.

Remember… God certainly does not want you to be hanging from gallows built by your choices.

June 19

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Psalms 49, 83, 91; 1 Kings 22:47-49; 2 Kings 1:2-18, 3:1-3; 2 Chronicles 20:35-37

Isn’t the definition of “insanity” repeating the same behavior expecting a different outcome? It was insane of Ahaziah to send a second company of soldiers, and then a third to Elijah after the first fifty were consumed by fire from heaven. 

Have you ever had God close a door you wanted to go through? Did you push against that door a second or third time expecting it to open? I would tell you that’s insane but then I would have to say I’m insane and, well, the jury is still out on that one.

I think it was Tim McGraw who sang a song about unanswered prayer. It basically said that those are sometimes God’s greatest gifts. I don’t think it’s so much our prayers are unanswered, though. That implies God isn’t paying attention. I think rather it’s God saying, “no”. Closing a door we’re asking him to open. But I agree with Tim that those often turn into the greatest blessings.

What does the writer of Psalm 91 say? God is faithful. He loves us. He can be trusted.

Why do doors close? Because God sees what we do not. Thanking God for closing doors isn’t easy. But we certainly have reason to be thankful that God cares enough to do for us what he knows is best.

Dear God, thank you for closing doors we think we need to go through. Thank you for loving us enough to want us to have the better thing, even when we are unable to see that at the moment. Help us to trust you more, not only with today but tomorrow, too. And thank you that we can trust you, that you are faithful. Find us grateful today.