Budzban: Sometimes a closed door is an opportunity

“He will direct your paths”

—Proverbs 3:6 (NIV)

A relative of mine just lost a job of 30 years. The shock and disappointment is devastating when something like this happens. Sometimes, it’s hard to move forward when you are feeling the hurt of disappointment. I pray God opens a new door for them soon, so they can put it behind them.

God is the opener of doors, but he is also the closer of them. I have found in my life that the biggest redirection has come during times of closed doors.

I remember the first time I realized this. I was reflecting on my life and was feeling rejected and disappointed. My health was declining and the person I thought I was going to be with the rest of my life backed out of the commitment. I was listening to a Christian radio station and I heard a woman Bible teacher 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. Due to a sudden illness, my 18 years as a nurse were behind me. What would I do now? I had so much loss, and felt so sick.

During my prayer time I heard God say, “Write.” After that, many new directions came for me to write. I started learning that disappointment is reappointment.

Jesus experienced closed doors in his life, even before he was born. When the birth of Jesus was imminent, his 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 the stable with a manger. God opened another door.

Looking back, I can see God weaving continual opportunities in and out of my life because of closed doors.

If doors seem to be slamming shut in your life, doors that don’t appear to open no matter how hard you kick and scream, it could be possible that a loving Father is redirecting you to a new way for your life; one that only comes through closed doors.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author of the book “Letters To A Friend,” speaker, life and writing coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com.