Door Closes – Door Opens

A Lesson on Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. KJV

I had known for a few months that changes were being made to the training process for new believers and new members who join the church, and I really didn’t know how it would affect me.  But, I continued to teach the classes faithfully until I was told that they were being replaced.  I had been teaching the new believers/new members set of classes for over a decade.  I found out officially that I would no longer be teaching the classes on Thursday, 1/26/17.  My last Sunday teaching was 1/29/17.  I was thinking about/pondering what I was going to do next. This was a loss for me.  How was I going to use the gift God had given me? I had to trust that He would not have given me this gift, if He did not give me the opportunity to use it for His glory.  He had opened a door over a decade ago for me to use my gift, and I trusted that He still wanted me to use it now.  On Monday, 1/30/17, I was contacted about becoming a blogger for Fruit of the Spirit Messenger.  God didn’t even give me time to grieve the loss of that door closing before He opened another door for me to continue using my gift to give Him glory.

About 8 years ago, my 30-year career came to an end as a result of the company downsizing.  I was in management and had seen it coming for over a year.  But God had given me peace about it.  I felt it was more God’s will for me to leave, and since He knew I wasn’t going to leave on my own (we had 2 kids in college at the time), He used the company downsizing to ensure I left.  God had so much in store for me to do; things I probably would have never accomplished had I remained with the company.  He closed the door on my 30-year career, but opened other doors for me – becoming an Adjunct Professor at North Carolina Central University, publishing a book of poetry, starting my own tutoring company, writing 3 children’s books, starting a nonprofit K-2 school, and now blogging.  I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for me.  I don’t know how long this door will remain open, and to be honest, I don’t really care how long.  I will just be obedient and trust God.  When He closes it, I will move on to whatever else He has in store for me.

I’ve learned to trust God in all situations because He will work everything out for my good.  I’ve learned not to concentrate on the door that closed, but to look forward to what God has in store for me.  I have also learned that God has given all of us one or more gifts and that we will bear much fruit when we use those gifts to bring Him glory.  What door has God closed in your life that you are still grieving over? When will you open your eyes to see all that God has in store for you?

Deborah Watkins
“At Your service to do Your Will”
Deborah.Watkins@fosmessenger.com