♪♫•*¨*•. In The Hallway .•*¨*•♫♪

♪♫•*¨*•. In The Hallway .•*¨*•♫♪ by Denise Kennedy

For several weeks now, a phrase I heard has rolled around my head, at times causing me to literally stop all I am doing and let it impact my heart deeply.

♪♫•*¨*•.“Until God opens the next door for you, PRAISE Him in the hallway!”.•*¨*•♫♪

As I sat in the garden to begin writing this piece, and had simply written the quote at the top of my blank page, my cell phone rang…my dear friend shared this exact quote with me as we talked, having had no idea what I was writing about…perfect timing and confirmation!

God opens doors it’s true – sometimes He opens them as soon as we ask, while at other times He chooses to open them whether we ask or not.  There are occasions when God seems to keep us in the holding pattern, circling to land, and we wait and wait.  Recently a huge open door presented itself in my life, and as I currently walk through it, I’m very much aware of the other doors I want to open in my life.  There is a lesson in ‘doors’ and a learning curve in how we handle them.

Is there anything grander than that perfect ‘door-swinging open’ moment?  When at last that brilliant big door you have been waiting on, opens wide before you and you rush right through it with heart-beating expectation, and excitement.  It is a wonderful time, and we thank God as we run with our arms waving over our head like a giddy child at Christmas.  So, what happens when the door seems to be solemnly closed, at least for now, or forever?  Do we sit sunken and despondent in the hallway of our life, dreading the season of waiting?  Do we sit there quite possibly drooling at the door handle begging it to open, and tiresomely hating even the wallpaper or paint on the familiar walls around us?  In this place our attitudes can become indifferent or nonchalant, despairing and forlorn.  But read again for me if you will, these thought provoking words:  “Until God opens the next door for you, PRAISE Him in the hallway!” ~ read them again, this time slowly and let them sink deeply into your tired heart.  Let them rest there unshaken and still.

♪♫•*¨*•.“Until God opens the next door for you, PRAISE Him in the hallway!”.•*¨*•♫♪

What door are you waiting on?  Are you imagining a new career which will suddenly bring success and comfort into your life?  Is there some new quest or adventure beckoning you on to a place of wonder, that somehow seems out of grasp for now?  What or who are you possibly waiting for?  Well, stop right now – could it be that in all of the time you are waiting for these doors to open, that God wants you to learn to be content right where you are, with Him in the hallway of your life?  With Him in the hallway could be the preparation place for what is behind that yet closed door?  There could be amazing secrets, words of wisdom and songs of ascent that He longs to share with you, as you sit in the hallway of your present life.  Don’t wish this season away, there are diamonds and gems to be gleaned at your feet.

Have you ever locked yourself out of your hotel room?  You sit there on the soft plush carpet hoping a room porter will come along, or you wait on that family member who said they would be with you shortly.  You suddenly notice the hallway you usually rush hurriedly down, in a whole new light and from a very different view now that you’re sitting on the floor.  You see the beautiful light fittings on the chandelier above you, or you admire the ornate mirrors and exquisite paintings on the walls.  You take time to appreciate the flowers in the cut glass vases and the stunning antique furniture beneath them.  You see, sometimes God causes the doors to close so that we simply learn to appreciate what is around us, and we begin to praise Him in the hallway of paused moments.  True it has to be said, when we finally get inside to the other side of the closed door, we truly welcome it with a greater appreciation, having had to wait for it.  The delays can cause a deeper appreciation to grow in us, which will make the grand door opening event a far more delightful experience.  Sometimes, what the heart must wait longer for, it also grows to miss and then value much more!

God may open the right door but in a different way, He may even open a completely different door at a time we had not foreseen or planned. He may even lead us through a door we do not want or desire at any time in our lives, and these are the moments that show us whether we really trust Him or not.  These seasons reveal to us what is really in our heart – if we trust Him as the ‘Door Opener’ of our lives, then we trust His timing too!  You may see others rush through the doors that you yourself wanted, and as they disappear through it leaving you with only the sound of their laughter, you sink again onto the carpet of your life and wonder why?  It seems so unfair you feel – but for now, just leave the lives of others in His hands, their journey is not any of your business, let it go.  Don’t envy the lives of others, when really only they and God know the journey that took them to that place of His providence.

The same God of providence and provision is also with you.  He longs to be the One your eyes are fixed upon as you sit in your hallway.  He wants to be the One you lean on, run to, sing to, cry to, talk to, laugh with, live with, rely on and depend on!   The doors that you walk through are important, but timing is crucial and critical, indeed the right door at the wrong time is a disaster waiting to happen.  So whether someone else has closed a door for you, or indeed if it were you who slammed it shut yourself, start trusting God that He can open it again at just the perfect time.

If an employer, friend or family member has let you down with regard to a door you were pounding on, stop pushing it!  Begin instead to look to the only One who holds all the keys to all of the doors, all of the careers, jobs, plans, adventures, and dreams you’re hoping for in the future.  If you’re tired of pounding doors or screaming at them to open, decide to sit down, not in defeat but in strength.  For you know that the Key Holder is in control, and at just the right time and in just the most perfectly beautiful way, He is able to unlock that door, sweep you up and walk you through it.

As I walk through doors, and contemplate many new ones, I know that there is a still, quiet place called the hallway – and there are wonderful lessons to learn there, there is strength to be found there, with the Key Holder of my life.

“We have the choice to: Worry or Worship. Panic or Pray. Tremble or Trust.” – Rick Warren ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸❤¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

There are doors we are called to wait at, keep knocking on or keep believing for – these are the ‘Faith Doors’ in our lives, and we keep on asking and seeking, and God will honour us as we trust Him.  But whether the doors open that we want or not, we must learn to ‘Praise Him In The Hallway’, while we wait – God also waits, on our honest response!  So sit down in strength, in trust and in the knowledge that the One with the keys and time in His hands, knows what He is doing –

He is doing something in our hearts in the hallway!