
“Life is not shrinking for me. It's morphing into a whole new world of possibility."
Peyton Manning on retirement from football.
It’s a great mistake to go into ‘mourning’ when a door closes for whatever reason. Most of us have lived long enough to have dealt with the possible discouragement of a door closing or failing to open.
Peyton has the right outlook. When it’s time, begin your search for the open door. Often there is more than one door of opportunity and that will require soul searching and leadership from the Lord and His word.
Jesus said, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." Rev. 3:7.
The verse gives hope that even though a door is shut, if we keep the faith, God will open another. It will most likely be a door to challenge with a different set of obstacles. Sometimes a door closes wiping away a lifestyle, one that is good, or not so good, as in the case of Lot’s wife. Looking back too long will turn anyone into a pillar of salt, unable to make forward progress. You already know it’s hard to walk forward while looking over your shoulder. High school and collegiate runners are taught to never look back, but to keep your eyes forward toward the prize.
Along with the previous verse from Jesus, note this one:
Rev.3:8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
There would be no point in opening a door behind you. The courageous blind Helen Keller wrote:
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
Life teaches us that we cannot look forward and backward at the same time. It’s a fact of life, be the life one of achievement or apathy.
God in His grace and mercy teaches us the principle of learning to look beyond the obstacle to the reward, the finish line. As we run the race of life, which is often an uphill course, with many blind turns, we do so with the knowledge that He who planned our course knows what lies just around the corner. Thus He will give us the grace that enables us to keep on running.
Heb 12:1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Copyright © 2016 Larry Lilly
Uptodate IT Work at Oral Deckard