Have you ever heard the words, “Close that door, you weren’t brought up in a barn you know!” If so, most likely it was from a parent wanting to keep the heat in during the dead of winter to save on heating costs. (Actually, that is a good practice … after all, who wants to pay more than necessary for fuel to heat their home?) In the summer, when someone is in a room that’s stuffy, the words you’re more likely to hear are, “Open that door and let the fresh air in!” So, depending upon the circumstances, sometimes it’s good for the door to be open and sometimes it’s good for it to be closed. Spiritually speaking, when God offers us an “open door” that we need to make a decision as to whether or not to “walk” through it, we have the option of either exercising faith or entertaining doubt. If we truly feel like we are being led by the Holy Spirit to go forward into the plans God has for us, hopefully we will choose to keep the door open rather than close it through unbelief. The choice is ours … are we going to open or close the door of our faith? We may feel nervous … we may feel scared … we may even feel fear trying to grip at us when we’re in the process of making a decision of what to do next in the choices we need to make in our lives (even when we believe we’re doing the right thing by going forward through an open door the Lord provides for us). Feelings, however, cannot be trusted. They change depending upon what we are thinking about the most. If we are entertaining doubt, for example, we will be feeling that doubt and we will be feeling that nervousness more so than if we are exercising faith and trust and hope (which would lead to us feeling more confident, more optimistic, and more positive about the situation or circumstance). 2 Timothy 1:7 (ICB) tell us, “God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid. He gave us a spirit of power and love and self-control.” So, the timeless truth for today is this: In order for us to walk in victory over fear, we need to truly believe that fear is not from God, but, rather, from the enemy (Satan). Therefore, we should choose to confidently walk through the open doors God has for us as He leads and guides us in our journey of life … trusting that He will be with us every step of the way. To build up our faith even more we can keep in mind the words of Joshua 1:9 (ICB) that says, “Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”
Transition periods are not fun. However, when God gives you a new perspective, everything changes. Your spirit goes from feeling down and depressed to uplifted and hopeful. Such is the case with me at this stage of my life.
As I was in the process of finishing up writing Whispers to the soul, I was sensing in my own spirit that it was time for me to retire from writing books and “just” maintain a blog on my new website to keep the books “alive” to the public. I didn’t know what I would write on the blog – just that I was going to need to write “something” at least periodically. After all, I had done all the work writing all those books … and I didn’t want them to just fade away. I still wanted people to know they existed. I still wanted people to buy them. To read them. (Even if they only read sample chapters from them … even that would be fine with me … at least that would be something to know that my efforts weren’t all in vain.)
Then came this morning. I read a devotional and, after pondering it, God gave me a new perspective on my whole situation.
It wasn’t that I was going to be “just” writing a blog to keep my books alive. It wasn’t that I was going to be “stagnant” or going backwards or that I was going to have to try to come up with something more to write about the books that were already “out there” when there was really nothing left to write about. No. Instead, it was that I was actually going to be going forward. I was actually going to be allowed the privilege of writing a blog. I was actually being trusted by God to let the Holy Spirit lead me and guide me in knowing what to write and when and how … it was like a revelation. It was like God had trusted me to write all those books for Him, and now He was trusting me to take this next step of faith into the unknown – not knowing what the blog would look like, not knowing what exactly I would be writing about or how often… or, really, much of anything for specifics … just that this is what God was leading me to do next … for Him.
Then, realizing that it wasn’t really about keeping the books “alive” like I had originally thought. No. It was really about keeping my “voice” alive – about keeping the voice of all that the Holy Spirit put into me that needed to be shared with others alive. About continuing to let the Lord speak through me whatever He put on my heart to speak … just like with the books, but now, with the blog. But now, without all the pressure that comes with writing books and everything that goes along with it. But now, with freedom … freedom to just “speak.”
And so, here I go – just speaking what’s in my heart on this day – being led by the Holy Spirit to share my story with you in hopes that it will somehow inspire you to see things from a different perspective than you may have seen it before – a perspective that leads to you feeling the way I feel now – hopeful, nervous, and excited all at the same time. Not knowing what God has in store, but knowing – since it’s God – it’s gotta be something good.