Encouragement

Stranded at an Open Door

Blog_DoorOur apartment was unusually quiet for a miraculous thirty seconds. I was in the living room, basking in the glorious silence when my puppy started scratching against the bedroom door, whimpering. When I’m home, she doesn’t like to be apart from me, even for one minute. Didn’t she know I’d left the door open for her?

Forcing myself to my feet, I trudged down the hallway to see what the problem was. Somehow, the once wide-open door had closed to a crack. If my puppy had been resourceful enough, she could have used her nose or paw to nudge her way through. Instead, she sat there, helpless—staring me down with those puppy-dog eyes as though I’d abandoned her.

Sometimes, we live under the notion that we’re stranded—stuck behind a door that’s slammed in our face, when all along that door would open with the slightest nudge. In fact, it’s already open—we just don’t see it. We may feel abandoned by God, but truly he’s made a way for us to be close to him. It says so in his word: “he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him” (2 Samuel 14:14).

When God sent his son Jesus to die for us, he made a way for us to be reconciled to him. If we feel far from him, it’s not because he hasn’t made a way for us—it’s because we haven’t walked through the door he opened for us. Ravi Zacharias put it most eloquently, “I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him.” God is only as far as we’ve run from him.

If you feel far from God, ask him to open your eyes to see the open door he has set before you. Pray for strength to stop running far in the wrong direction—to turn from where you are and to return to the God who knows you, loves you, and has the power to set you free.

There Will Come A Time

Design_Rainbowthere will come a time
when the storm will pass
the clouds will break
and the sun will shine

but for a moment
sorrows last
soon you’ll embrace
the joy you find

there will come a time
when the fire dies
the smoke will clear
you’ll breathe once more

and from the ashes
you will rise
each loss to forge
an open door

there will come a time
when the mountain’s scaled
the conquered valley
now in view

and though you’ve stumbled
fallen, failed
your strength
will finally be renewed

there will come a time
when wars will cease
the endless, raging battle
won

a healing song
will be released
and through it
you’ll have overcome

there will come a time
when fear is gone
tears, sorrow, pain
will be no more

from burdened lives
we will move on
through heaven’s waiting
open door

 

Photo Credit: Full double rainbow.jpg – Wikimedia Commons

Nothing is Wasted

 

Nothing is useless, and nothing is wasted. In the hands of a master craftsman, even what most would view as junk can be turned into a priceless treasure.

 

Photo Credit: buried treasure | Sterling Ely | Flickr

Door to Freedom

Open Door from Google ImagesWhat is this load that you carry?
I see you are weary –
Life weighs you down

What is this burden you bear?
You’ve no one to share
Your unspoken prayers, your secret fears
Your hidden tears

What is this sorrow that lies
Behind downcast eyes
Would you be surprised to realize
That someone has seen
And heard
And known
Your heart?

Before God your heart is laid bare
And this I declare
That before the foundations of the world
He knew –
Proclaimed that you would need a Savior

And He alone could provide
He alone would decide
To suffer, to die – and yet to rise
Because you were His pearl of great price

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

It is finished
Your debt paid in full

It is finished
Your sins are no more

It is finished
Lay that burden down
Wear His joy for your crown

It is finished
Your Savior has come
The only One
Who owns the key
Who is the Door
To freedom

(Originally posted by Jen on FaithWriters, Helium Network, & the Nightlight Blog)

The Law of Spring

Blog_SpringFlower

New life will always prevail over death. It’s the law of spring.

Photo Credit: Spring – Free images on Pixabay

At the Right Time

 

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

 

Photo Credit: Corn, Harvest – Free images on Pixabay

How Close You Are

If you feel like quitting, don’t. You don’t know how close you are to your breakthrough.

 

Photo Credit: Zion Canyon Late Afternoon by Vanessa Kay – Photo 54421654 / 500px