Is anything in the whole wide world better than grandbabies?!
No one fills my heart with more joy OR keeps me on my toes quite like my twenty-one-month-old granddaughter, Hadassah Hope. She exhilarates my days and creates cartwheels in my heart. But mercy! I need a nap after chasing that energizer bunny all day! (Mamas and MiMis KNOW what I’m talking about!)
My husband says Hadassah is the most curious human he has ever met. He’s not wrong. That inquisitive spirit especially shows up in her fascination with water—any water. Sinks, cups, puddles, and even…wait for it…toilets.
That particular aqua-addiction keeps us habitually shutting all bathroom doors. That infuriates this child! We try to distract her, but nope! When she encounters a locked door that she believes should be open to her, Hadassah passionately persists. Through tears, she pleads for help. She works that handle with determination to break through, with or without our permission!
If I’m honest, I see myself all wrapped up in that story. The doors that close in my life, the plans that fall apart, the dreams that don’t work out…oh, how they sting in the moment! It can feel like God is holding out on me; like I trusted Him, yet He didn’t come through!
In Hadassah’s mind, she’s sure our “no” is meant to hinder her. She can’t imagine in her wildest dreams that our “no” actually shields her. Though it seems like punishment to her naïve understanding, it’s protection! Slurping toilet water is just not conducive to her digestive health!
Truth is, Hadassah cannot remain safe if we give her what she’s sure she must have. STILL…her heart feels denied. Her mind feels confused. From where she stands, she simply can’t know what we know.
The closed doors are her protection, not her punishment.
The closed doors are her security, not her stumbling block.
The closed doors are for her success, not her setback.
What door is closed in your own life right now? We knock, we push, we plead, certain that exactly what we need lies beyond that door. The locked door leaves us frustrated, confused, even hurt—believing that something good is being kept from us.
Could it be that God is redirecting us away from outcomes that will work against us?
Closed doors can feel like loss, even heartbreak. But in time, we see that God knew EXACTLY what He was doing. His Goodness protected us from ourselves and everything we could not see coming!
If you’re in a season where things aren’t unfolding the way you hoped, it doesn’t mean you are forgotten or forsaken. If God is in it, He’s guiding you with high-level intel. He’s covering and caring for you in ways far above your pay grade and experience!
Sometimes God says “no,” not to hold you back, but to hold you safe!
Can we choose to trust the heart of a loving Father who sees the full picture—past, present, and future—and is always working for our good? Can we believe the Lover of our soul is steering us away from what was never meant for us and toward what is?
Can we thank Him not only for the doors that open, but also for the ones that close?
Because sometimes, the greatest blessings don’t come from what He allows into our lives, but from what He lovingly keeps out.
Closed doors are not the end of the story. They are often the beginning of something better.
And just like my sweet Hadassah, one day we may look back and realize those closed doors were never meant to bind us but were there to bless us and lead us into far better than we imagined for ourselves.
For comments or prayer, contact Dr. Lanier at www.HopeCommunityChurch.tv.
