Sometimes God closes a door to set us on a new path

“He will direct your paths.”

— Proverbs 3:6 (NIV)

How many times have we said, “If God would just open the door.”

God is the opener of doors of opportunity, but, oftentimes, he is also the closer of them. I have found in my life that my biggest direction has come through closed doors.

I remember the first time I realized this. I was reflecting on my life and feeling very rejected. My health was starting to fail me and the person I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with backed out of the commitment. I wondered what I was going to do.

I was listening to a Christian radio station and I heard a woman say, “Disappointment is his appointment.”

Pondering those words, I thought to myself, “Could this be true?”

The rest was history. Within a year I met my husband. The next closed door came when I was no longer able to work. I thought my 18 years of nursing were behind me. What could I do now? I had so much loss and felt miserable.

But during my prayer time I had a spark of hope when I had a God-given thought to write. After that message, many new directions came, many for my writing. I started to learn that rejection meant redirection.

Jesus experienced closed doors in his life, even before he was born. When the birth of Jesus was imminent, his earthly father, Joseph, approached the innkeeper for a place to stay, but he was turned down. It was made perfectly clear there was no room for them there. (Luke 2:7 NIV).

But wait — they were directed to stable with a manger. God opened another door.

Looking back, I see God weaving continual opportunities in and out of my life, all because of closed doors. I learned that God closes a door to direct us down a new path.

If doors seem to be slamming shut in your life, doors that don’t open no matter how hard you kick and scream, it could be possible that a loving father is directing you to a new way for your life — one that can only come through closed doors.

Ÿ Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She will be speaking from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Panera Bread in Round Lake Beach on the topic of “Writing and Speaking for Fun and Profit.” Due to limited seating, registration is preferred. There is no fee for the conference. Contact her by calling (847) 543-8413 or email Annetteebudzban@aol.com