"Abraham...obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Hebrews 11:8 NIV

God guides us by closing one door then opening another. Abraham didn't know where he was going, but he knew he couldn't stay where he was - and that's enough to create movement in the right direction. Knowing you can't stay where you are is often the starting point of God's guidance. And it usually begins with an inward stirring and restlessness in your soul. Seasons have beginnings and endings. When a season is over, you sense it's time to move!

"They headed north [to]...Bithynia, but again the Spirit...said no. So instead they went on through Mysia province to the city of Troas. That night Paul had a vision. In his dream he saw a man over in Macedonia, Greece, pleading with him, 'Come over here and help us.' Well, that settled it. We would go to Macedonia, for we could only conclude that God was sending us to preach the Good News there" (Acts 16:7-10 TLB).

Notice, when God kept Paul from going into Asia, Paul didn't stay there praying and asking "why?" - he just kept moving. For Paul, trying something and it not working out was no big deal. He believed that his gift to God was his willing heart and his mobility, and that God's gift to him was that He would always guide him to where he needed to be. What God prevents, denies, or keeps us away from, is as much divine guidance as what He permits and opens up to us.

Every door that didn't open, every opportunity you didn't get, every call that didn't come, is as much God's guidance as those that did. Think about it!

Bishop E. Earl Jenkins