He Shuts and He Opens!
Verse for Today: Friday, September 07, 2012
Genesis 7:16b – Then the Lord shut (Noah) in.
We serve the Lord who knows all our ways to be able to shut some doors at sometime and open the same or other doors at other times. When He shuts the doors it is always for our good, for no good thing will He ever withhold from His children. Sometimes He shuts a door because we are not ready to enter that door. But when we are ready for it, He will open the same door to let us in. Sometimes He shuts a door so that no undesirable element will enter into the place we occupy. At other times, He shuts us in to teach us that we are in His hands and under His care. He also shuts doors to cut us off from the rest of the world to prevent us from the catastrophe that is around us. Our Lord shuts or opens doors according to His infinite wisdom for our good. He shuts us off to protect us from destruction as in the case of Noah and his family. But when the destruction around Noah was over, the Lord opened the same door to usher in a new era. The Lord brought him and his family into a new beginning with new blessings and fresh opportunities including a rainbow. When the Lord shut the door with His own hands, no one could open it to bring trouble for Noah. So also, when the Lord opened the door to new vistas, no one could prevent the new blessings from flowing into Noah. When the door of protection is shut by the mighty hands of the Lord, no force will open it. When the door of opportunity is opened by the creative hands of the Lord, no force on earth will dare to shut it. Moreover, our Lord knows what door to open or shut at what time and place for our blessings. Let us today praise God for the doors He shuts to protect us from trouble. Let us praise Him for the doors of opportunity that He opens at His time. Of course, we have to learn to wait for Him to shut or open the right door at the right time.
Dear reader, are you frustrated that a certain door is shut in front of you? Are negative thoughts creeping in your mind as to why that door is shut? If you are in tune with the Spirit of God and if He so fills your heart with His peace, you will recognize that the hands which shut the door were your Lord’s loving and protective hands. He will never shut you off from blessings and will not plunge you into trouble because He is your compassionate and caring Father. He knows all about the various doors which are around you through which trouble or blessings come and so He will open or shut doors according to His unmistakable wisdom. His timing is also perfect as He shut the door to the ark so that not a drop of water will enter the ark. He shut the door early for all the living beings inside to settle properly rather than rush in and scramble. As the rain poured in, the passengers in the ark had a smooth ride by faith until the wrath was over and the Lord allowed the ark to land smoothly when the trouble was over. He proves to us that His timing is the best and His leading is comfortable. But we can enjoy it if we take Him at His Word and are willing to be content with His leading by faith. So dear reader, there is no need for you to be frustrated about the closed doors which are for your good. He wants you to be in His presence and rest a while until you are ready for new opportunities and situations. Till new responsibilities and ministries are ready, He allows you to rest a while and be rejuvenated in your spirit and body. Let us today praise the Lord for all the doors that He has shut in front of us and look forward for Him to open the right doors at the right time and place for us to enter into new vistas of opportunities and ministries.
Revelation 3:7b – What He opens no-one can shut, and what He shuts no-one can open.
Thought for Today
Blessed are those who receive the grace to perceive the shut and open doors of the Lord as part of the divine plan for them.
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