Closing The Door The Right Way

Image by Tawheed Manzoor via Flickr

To everything there is a season

Ecclesiastes 3:1

In life, relationships come to an end. How you handle such moments can influence and shape your future. You can't enter the next season of your life properly if you don't exit this one properly. So, try to close the door with grace - you may need to walk back through it some day. Close the door with forgiveness. Resentment will poison your attitude and your memories and destroy you from within. Leave the judging to God; He knows both sides. Close the door with your promises fulfilled. At great personal cost, Jephthah said, '...I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break' (Judges 11:35 NIV). Your character is on the line here; whatever the price tag, keep your word, because God is listening when you give it! 

Try to close the door with courage. It's not easy to face tomorrow when you feel alone, but remember, you are not alone. Jesus said, '...I am with you always, even unto the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). Close the door in God's timing. Grieve your losses, but don't get stuck in the past. King Saul represented the past but David represented the future. When God rejected Saul because he had displeased Him, God said to the prophet Samuel, '..."How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him... go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king from among his sons"' (1 Samuel 16:1 NKJV). Endings bring new beginnings. It's all right to acknowledge the past and learn from it, but when God shuts the door it's time to move into the future He's prepared for you.
 

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.