When Friends Leave And The Gate Closes Look Up. Recently we listened to the most amazing message from T.D. Jakes. It was titled “I Got It”. Referring to the people in our lives who constantly lift us higher, and carry us closer to our destiny. He talked about our need to be constantly encouraged by others. We may need help with finances, borrowing until payday, or help with finding a place to live for a while, or help to find our way out the messes of life. Or inspiration to follow our dream.
But there comes a day when we have to let go of friends and say, “I Got It”, and take it from there. Passing on the goodness towards others becomes our task. Our friends carried us with their faith, but now we must use our own faith to get to our destination.
Kinds of friends
Do we live among those kind of friends or the kind that bring us down with their negative talk when share our dreams? Once in a while we need to take stock of where we are going? Are our dreams about to be accomplished. Are we there yet? As mature Christians we tend to coast along without a detailed master plan, and take life for granted. Do we even recognize our own pride and stop growing in Christ? The Bible says that we live from glory to glory. So it means we must be changing daily. The fruit of the spirit grows in us, whether we see it or not. We trust the process until one day we can say “I Got It”.
When the four friends heard that Jesus was coming by, they immediately went to town and grabbed their friend and his bed, booked time off work, and carried him to the house where Jesus was staying. We can imagine how hot it must have been and the road was dusty and bumpy. Every time the bed jerked as the friends stepped over boulders, the sick man flinched with pain. Friends were exhausted when they finally arrived. (Luke 5:19-20 NIV)
Grateful for the safe journey until they were hit with a barrier. The crowd of people blocked the door. They couldn’t get in.
After talking among themselves they looked up!
When you hit a barrier
When you hit a seemingly impassable doorway, look up! God is there. When the answer to prayer takes too long, look up. When others discredit you, look up. When you lost your loved one to the disease of drug or alcohol addiction, look up. When you come to the end your hope, look up. When you lost your job, look up. When your spouse is hit with an incurable sickness, look up. When you lost your home to bankruptcy, look up.
Look Up
After battling the rush hour traffic in Orlando, we finally arrived at our destination, Holy Land Experience, a Christian theme park. It was ten o’clock in the morning when the park opens, and the parking lot was already full. We were directed to another parking lot across the street. After thirty minutes of bumper to bumper traffic we arrived at this parking lot. We were fortunate to drive into one of the last parking spaces before that lot was full. Once we got out of the car and started walking towards the gate, people were already coming back? What? There were no more tickets to get into the theme park! (The park was free that day!)
What if something happened that closed the door to your opportunity? You were expecting to get that promotion, new job, get married, or have children.
Not only would you need to accept the fact, but your trust in the human factor would be tested. Not to mention God. Would he still be there for you?
When one door closes, look up. Go through the window if you have to. Or wait. Another door will open.
If you are experiencing closed doors in your journey, look up and find a new way of doing things. Creativity comes when you hit the wall. New opportunities will show up as you trust God to be there when you look up. I hope this has blog has inspired you to look up, and not give up.
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