By Teri Clouse
Praying about what doors to go through in life can almost seem like playing “Let's Make a Deal” with God. We're spiritually dressed up ready for God to use us in this next season of life and then we get picked to stand and wonder what's behind the doors in front of us...aren't we lucky. Door number one sure looks good, but then door number two might be more promising, and you remember the last time you picked door number three, well...it didn't work out too good. So now which one should you pick?
Picking doors can be a very exciting opportunity, too. Oh, the hopes and dreams we have. Who knows what God will do next in our lives? Maybe now is the right time for that hidden dream to finally come to pass. You visualize the door opening and the fulfillment of your prayers being answered...what elation. But what if God doesn't want that to happen now? Worse, what if He never does? He wouldn't trick us would he? He wouldn't dangle joys and possibilities in front of us and then yank them away? You weigh the possible outcomes of each door and what they might hold behind them, and anxiety sets in. What if I pick the wrong door? So we turn to our audience of friends and ask everyone's advice. They all blurt out different answers. Not much help there. We turn back to the doors and search each one for some miraculous sign. We're tempted to pick the one that looks the most glittery and profitable for us personally, but then remember that one usually has a donkey or a llama behind it. We go back to God and say "Okay, Lord, let's make a deal." What price do I have to pay to get this prize?
We might feel that's how it works in life, but that's not how it works in the spirit. Our life in the Lord is not based on lucky guesses or a happen stance of circumstances. Psalm 37:23-24 says "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. He's already paid the price for us to receive all the benefits of this life and the one to come, and enjoys leading us to them. Matthew 7:7-8 says: “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. No deals, no guessing, no anxiety. Just faith and confidence in a good Father who wants us to enjoy asking and seeking Him about all the doors in our lives and He will open them for our good and His delight.
Praying about what doors to go through in life can almost seem like playing “Let's Make a Deal” with God. We're spiritually dressed up ready for God to use us in this next season of life and then we get picked to stand and wonder what's behind the doors in front of us...aren't we lucky. Door number one sure looks good, but then door number two might be more promising, and you remember the last time you picked door number three, well...it didn't work out too good. So now which one should you pick?
Picking doors can be a very exciting opportunity, too. Oh, the hopes and dreams we have. Who knows what God will do next in our lives? Maybe now is the right time for that hidden dream to finally come to pass. You visualize the door opening and the fulfillment of your prayers being answered...what elation. But what if God doesn't want that to happen now? Worse, what if He never does? He wouldn't trick us would he? He wouldn't dangle joys and possibilities in front of us and then yank them away? You weigh the possible outcomes of each door and what they might hold behind them, and anxiety sets in. What if I pick the wrong door? So we turn to our audience of friends and ask everyone's advice. They all blurt out different answers. Not much help there. We turn back to the doors and search each one for some miraculous sign. We're tempted to pick the one that looks the most glittery and profitable for us personally, but then remember that one usually has a donkey or a llama behind it. We go back to God and say "Okay, Lord, let's make a deal." What price do I have to pay to get this prize?
We might feel that's how it works in life, but that's not how it works in the spirit. Our life in the Lord is not based on lucky guesses or a happen stance of circumstances. Psalm 37:23-24 says "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. He's already paid the price for us to receive all the benefits of this life and the one to come, and enjoys leading us to them. Matthew 7:7-8 says: “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. No deals, no guessing, no anxiety. Just faith and confidence in a good Father who wants us to enjoy asking and seeking Him about all the doors in our lives and He will open them for our good and His delight.
Teri Clouse is passionate about loving the Lord and seeing others mentored in Christ. She is a licensed Foursquare minister, ordained in 1991. She and her husband Gary have partnered in ministry together for over 35 years, currently serving as Lead Pastors at Valley Community Church in El Monte, CA. They have two married children and five grandchildren.
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