This third day of the New Year has me musing on shut doors again; but of a different kind. Yesterday I was encouraged by the tender initiative care that God has for us through the metaphorical use of open and shut doors. I learned that God is the one who opens and shuts doors and they are always directed towards our best interest.
Today I learned about another kind of shut door. Yesterdays shut door was the kind that kept us from something but today’s shut door keeps us in something. In this case a really big boat.
“On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons entered the ark….Then the LORD shut him in.” Genesis 7:13&16b
Can you imagine? God shut Noah in the ark with no door handle to get out. Have you ever felt like Noah where you have been trapped in a situation that you want so desperately to evacuate from. Maybe it was a job position, a relationship, a financial strain or any other long term condition. You have prayed and fasted and done everything conceivable to change your circumstances but to no avail.
We see in this account with Noah that God selected Noah and his family to be the recipients of a special kind of grace. While God was dealing with the rest of the planet, He kept Noah and his loved ones protected and secure until it was safe for them to come out. Once again, God had Noah’s best interests at heart when locking him in what would seem like a maddening situation (especially if you are prone to sea sickness).
Have you or are you in a situation which you are powerless to change? For years I was in an unequally yoked marriage with a Jewish man who was very hostile to the gospel and the mere mention of the name Jesus would set him on edge. I thought at times I would lose my mind. I cried and prayed and fasted so many times that if I was in the Olympics of crying/praying/fasting I would have won a gold medal. I surely felt that God had locked me up in a very difficult situation and wouldn’t let me out.
It took nine years but that Jewish man did give his heart to Christ and is actively engaged in missions work. Who knew? God knew? He knew what He was doing all along, just as He did with Noah. And not only did I survive it but I got to be a part of something that God had planned.
How about you? Do you feel locked up in a situation that you are desperate to be released from? Can you maybe look at it as God keeping you there for a purpose? Maybe God needs you to represent Him in that job, that neighborhood, that relationship or even that doctors office. God has you locked up to bless you? When Noah was finally released from the ark it says in scripture that God blessed Him and he would be fruitful and multiply. I can tell you from personal experience that after those many years of being locked up, I feel blessed and my life is fruitful. I think God wants to do that for you too. Would you let Him?
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