the parable of doors

You ever asked God for something and when He delivers you are shocked? Oh come on, we've all been there, like myself for instance... in asking God for direction to close doors that are to be closed and open those that are to be open. I had the opportunity to either work the holidays here Myrtle Beach or Columbia.

Monday I was laid off from my current bartending gig.

So this time in a week I will be packing up my little suzuki with myself and Muffy and heading to work in Columbia for the holidays. Having a work opportunity is great, but I'm not going to lie, this is a little quick to be leaving friends/family/church without knowing when I will return again. (considering I will have no job or place to live to return to)

I asked God for direction,

 I asked God for His best, I asked for this.

 And yet I find myself drowning in moments of weeping

 for thought of leaving here uncertain

 of what/when/where I will return back.

At the beginning of the nativity story, the first part of Luke focuses on the birth of John the Baptist being fore-told to the priest Zechariah. Now Zechariah and his wife were both considered to some past the age of child-bearing and in my humble opinion probably had a desire for children.

Yet when the angel of the Lord appeared to him,

 not only was Zechariah gripped with fear,

 he also was overcome with doubt.

 DO YOU HEAR WHAT I'M SAYING????

the Lord answered the prayer of this man and

 his FIRST reaction was fear and doubt concering the very thing he prayed for!

“When Zechariah saw him [the angel of the Lord], he was startled and gripped with fear. But the angel said to him, ' do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard”
(Luke 1:12-13)

We can't ask God to close doors that are to be closed and not expect Him to do so. We can't ask things of the Lord flippantly because He is a God who moves and answers. (sometimes in the way we'd like and sometimes not)

Next stop you ask something of the Lord, be careful what you ask for; because the Lord desires to give us His best and when we open ourselves up to Him moving, He WILL move in our circumstance.

Don't look like an idiot and be shocked when the Lord hears and answers.