Open Doors

Photo by Roan Lavery

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

One time, my wife and I went shopping at the nearby mall, I waited for her at the entrance hall while she picked up some more groceries. So, I stood there and observed what was happening around me. Next to me was an exit door that also had an automatic door button close by. One person after the other walked to the door, pushed the button, waited for ten seconds, eventually pushed the door open and left the building. Almost everyone who left the building exited by manually opening the doors, except of one little girl. When her parents pushed the automatic door button, the girl was not focused on the door in front of them, but was still wandering and looking around. This led her to realize that there was another door in their back that actually did open automatically whereas the door in front of them did not. The little girl was the only one in the ten minutes that I was standing there who figured out the real automatic door and left without pushing the exit doors open on her own.

This situation reminded me a lot of my personal, spiritual life. How often do I ask God to open a door and lead me the way? I push the “prayer button” and wait – but actually faced towards the doors that I think have to open up for me. Quite often, if nothing seems to happen, I start acting according to my own ideas and out of my own strength. But what if I was more like that little girl: looking around where a door is opening, expecting God to answer my prayer in ways different to what I might imagine or focus on? What if I stepped back after my prayers to see what God is actually doing?

Knowing that God is in control and my prayers are not useless, I want to be open for surprises and new ways in which God is acting in and through my life. I will still have plans, ideas and visions for the future, but in prayer, patience and with an open heart to His guidance, I do not want to rush through my own doors, but trust Him to establish my steps by opening the right doors at the right time. What about you?

Ben and Julia Shöniger's personal mission statement is "Home in Christ: Being, Leading, Building." Their goal is to help ground others in Christ and help people to grow in their relationship with Jesus so that they find their true home in God.