Have you ever had dreams, hopes, and goals? Then they may disappear like a vapor. The Word of God says in Proverbs 16:9 New American Standard Bible 1995 “9 The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”
A plan, hope or dream gone awry can be a blessing in disguise. At that moment a snag appears, it may seem hopeless, and despair may set in. Jeremiah 29:11 New International Version states “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
As an older person I have experienced closed doors. As my walk has progressed over the years, I have learned to praise God when he closes a door. I may not understand it at the time, but I will be able to look back in hind site and see His plan.
I had accepted a management position at a state university and arrived just as they had completed a migration from one data management system to another. One of my employees played tennis with my boss on a regular basis. They were very good friends.
One of the first things I discovered was that the data had been migrated without cleaning it up. We set to work on that and fixed the data.
About a year into the job my supervisor called me in and indicated I was not right for the job. God’s grace is always sufficient. I asked if I could tell my employees of my demotion and he agreed. Months later I left the institution and returned to my home state. My family was there, and my mother was in a nursing home. Little did I know that she would only be on this earth about a year more. This change in employment gave me additional time to spend with her. God provided a job much closer to home and I commuted on weekends to spend time with her and my family.
About two years later I attended a convention and the man who replaced me at the state school saw me. He came up to me and told me my former boss had discovered his friend, my employee, did not have the knowledge he thought he had and letting me go was a mistake. He just wanted me to know that.
Little did they know that through it all I had the peace of God. Initially Satan came in and wanted me to be bitter and unforgiving. By this time in my Christian walk I was able to recognize this instantly and put a stop to it. By the grace of God, I was not bitter and unforgiving. I did not have to carry that burden. Praise the Lord.
This change gave me more time with my mother and family. It gave me a better and more challenging job.
God had used the closed door at this one job to bless my life more abundantly.