I don’t think I’ve ever run that fast…
We ran through gate after gate but it was too late. Our first flight had been delayed, and our connection was all the way in gate Z (because why would it ever get to be gate A, right?) and there was no way we were going to catch that last flight.
It is comical now to look back on this moment, but I will never forget my poor sister turning around and shaking her head to say the doors had closed and we had missed it. We had flown from Italy at the end of our family trip and had a connection in Germany. Needless to say, we were a long way from home.
There are several reactions when these types of things happen. You have people like my mom, who are very calm and honestly amused at the situation, and you have my sisters, whose first response was, “We are never going to get home!”
Once we had calmed everyone down…
We were able to talk with the support desk and they informed us we couldn’t fly out until the next day, so we’d be staying in a hotel. Suddenly, as a result of closed doors, our journey had become longer and much different than expected.
What started as a shocking and stressful circumstance turned into a bonus evening where we got to explore an entirely different country. Never did we expect or plan to get to see Germany, but there we were strolling the streets and admiring the city at night.
Sometimes we find ourselves like my family in that airport. Staring at a closed door, confused, frustrated, and even afraid of this very question - “what now?”
We live in a world where we feel entitled to everything.
If we don’t like something, we return it. If we don’t like what they said, we cut them off. If we don’t like a church, we quit going.
And if God closes a door we wanted to walk through, we turn our back on Him.
We are taught that jumping ship, abandoning our post, and just starting over every time is okay, as long as we get what we want.
But God loves us too much to allow us to walk into what may lead to our destruction.
In the book of Numbers…
A prophet-for-hire named Balaam was hired to curse the Israelites on behalf of Balak, a king threatened by his enemy.
Balaam starts his journey and as he travels down the road, his donkey keeps turning in a different direction. Balaam becomes angry all three times the donkey does this and lashes out, hitting the donkey.
What Balaam failed to see was the angel standing in the path, protecting him from going down a very bad road.
We become frustrated with others, even with God, when doors close in our face. We had a plan, we told everyone about it, we even had it on the vision board, and yet it didn’t come to pass.
This is hard. It’s confusing and painful, and it’s okay to ask God “why?”
But when we find ourselves in the hallway, waiting on the door to open for us, we fail to remember the words of the Lord,
“For I know the plans I have for you—this is the Lord’s declaration—plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Maybe you’re asking…
“Where will I go?”
“What will I do?”
“What will I tell people?”
“What if I never get there?”
But what if you trusted God’s plan? His plan to prosper you, to give you a future and a hope? What if you embraced this scenic route? God never closes a door without guiding you to the right one in the right time.
As you go down the hallway, I encourage you not to keep knocking on closed doors, but to thank God for closing them.
For it is often the very thing we don’t want to lose that God is saving us from.
Trust in God. Stay the course. He is working it all for your good.
This week on The True North Podcast…
In a brand new series titled “Thank You Anyway” we are exploring how to have gratitude for the hard things we go through in life.
In this episode, we dive into what it looks like when we try to force something to work, push against every obstacle, & get frustrated when the plan doesn’t go our way. We’ll talk about how to recognize when you’re fighting a closed door, how to trust God when you don’t understand His timing, and what to do when disappointment turns into doubt. You’ll be reminded that God plays the long game — even when we’re focused on the short one.
If you’ve ever felt angry, confused, or forgotten when God closed a door in your life, this conversation will encourage you to see His “no” not as rejection, but as redirection. Because behind every closed door, there’s a God who sees what’s ahead — and loves you too much to let you walk into something that wasn’t meant for you.
Have a great rest of your week and thanks for being here!
Love, Mykah (and Nimbus)
