Don't Pinch Your Fingers in the Door as it Closes

We have in our mind a plan… our plan for what we want to see happen.  Then we take it to the Lord and pray that if it is not His plan, that He shut the door.  This is how I (Stacy) approach many of my decisions in life.  I used to get so tied up in the idea that if the Lord wanted me to do something specific, He would make it very obvious to me.  But He has yet to write even one answer across the sky for me.  This is why I have learned to take a different approach.  When I have something on my heart that I desire to do I pray, seek counsel and move forward, praying that the Lord would shut the door if it is not in His plan.  And, more often than not, if I began in prayer, in the Word and heeding the advice of wise people, He keeps the door open for me to walk through.  But, what happens when I do all of those things and then He closes the door?  I do what every self-focused child would do… I stick my fingers in the door so it can’t close all the way.  I figure, maybe I can pry it open in my own strength and venture through when nobody is looking! What does that look like...  pure disobedience, a lack of peace and missing out on God’s better plan for me.  So, a word of advice, if you are going to pray for the Lord’s will in your life and ask Him to open and close doors as He directs your path, then you best not pinch your fingers in the door as it closes!