“ When God shuts one door he opens another” was my Mother’s favorite expression wherever my sisters and I faced a disappointment growing up. It was her mantra. She said these words with great conviction and passion. She meant it too. And it seemed that when she did. Her troubles disappeared.. However it wasn’t until later as I was growing up that realized there is another important part to my mother’s mantra. While true, God may open doors in our lives, it is most important to get up and move towards that door. God is gracious in providing the means, but we need to make the choice to do it.
Simply stated to be a follower of Jesus we need to get up from where we are, surrender ourselves to His care , and step through that open door to whatever is on the other side. This takes large amounts of courage, but it sparks the change we need to make.
This is what Jesus means when he says: “Amen Amen, I say to you I am the gate for the sheep. …whoever enters through me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” Jesus is that pasture where we need to grow holy and healthy. Jesus only makes promises he will keep.