I think we like these sayings because we want something tangible to cling to when we are going through difficulties or when life isn't working out the way we want it to. As catchy as those sayings are, there is no guarantee that a door will open or God will provide a window. What will you do if God doesn't provide a window? What will you do when it seems like God is allowing things to get worse instead of better? Will you look to Him and cling to his Word? Clichés don't always tell us the truth about God, but scripture does.
I don't know about you, but these last two years have been discouraging for my family and I. There are some circumstances that we would like to see changed our lives. We would like to get a bigger place than a 2 bedroom apartment (with three growing kids, it is getting quite cramped. We would like to see our finances improve because it has been very tight, even unmanageable at times because of the lack of work. I would like to get a pastoral placement sooner than later.
So far this summer has been a summer of rejection. I have applied to various churches, only to be turned down. A few of those churches gladly notified me by sending the rejection letter in the mail without giving any pointers for improvement or specifics of why I wasn't the right candidate. On top of that, I even received a rejection letter in the mail from the temp agency of the company that I work for. I work for Brunswick News which is owned by Irving, but I am only getting part-time hours right now. So I decided to apply at their temp agency to get some extra hours at their other facilities, but I couldn't even get that. So for us, it feels like doors keep closing and there is no window for us to escape.
What are we to do then? God has been beckoning us to look to Him. As unsettling, discouraging, and frustrating these circumstances have been for us, he has been our hope, our strength, and our refuge. He has supplied us with amazing blessings through this difficult time. He has given us songs to sing during this time so our affections can be stirred. He has given has various scriptures to cling to so that we will build our hope in Him. I know at some point I will be back in ministry, but in the meantime I need to rest in Him. We don't need a door to open for us. We don't need God to open a window. Why? Because He is our door and our window.
As you look through scripture, we are in good company of believers who went through some horrible things and experienced circumstances that seemed like they were never going to change. Their hope was not found in the cliches of their day, but it was rooted in God of scripture. Abraham and Sarah waited for 40 years for their promised child to be born, David waited several years before he became the official king of Israel, and Israel waited several centuries for Jesus to come as their promised Messiah.
Then you have the book of Job, where Job literally lost everything: all of his children died, he lost property, servants, and much of his livestock. All that he was left with was a wife who wanted him to curse God and die, and friends who lacked the wisdom of God and the ability to grieve with him. What he needed at that moment was not his friends to give him clichés or to figure out what caused all of this to happen in the first place, but point him to the God of hope. In fact, what they said about God was not even true and at the end of the book of Job, God rebukes Job's friends for misrepresenting him.
Job's faith in God was challenged and stretched through this circumstances. No doors opened up for him and God surely didn't open any windows for him to escape, but Job looked to God for hope in the midst of his raw emotions, his agony, and frustration towards God. Through Job's experience, we have been gifted with some of the sweetest scripture:
Job 13:15-Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.
Job 42: Then Job replied to the Lord:2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Dear Christian, where do you find yourself today? Maybe you have been waiting and hoping for a door to open. Maybe you have been looking for the window God opened, but it doesn't seem to be there. Some of us are waiting for God to heal us from our illnesses. Some of us are waiting on God to save our children. Some of us are waiting for work to come. Some of us are waiting for a wayward child to come home. Some of us are waiting for revival to happen in our church, but none of it is happening. May we look to Him and rest in him so that he can teach us to praise him regardless of the outcome.Psalm 55:22- Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you, he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
With love from your brother in Christ,
Josh Dorey
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