Let the Door Swing Closed

God is doing a separating work. The threshing floor can be a hard time of disillusionment. Bewildered? It's okay. But understand this:

We aren't meant to pry doors back open that God is closing. It's not unloving to turn away and move on. Being judgmental and being discerning are not the same thing.

If the Lord is giving us assignments, know that there will be assignments also given against us. (Matt 11:12) We don't need to fear them or be suspicious, but we do need to know that the Lord gives us the ability to see below the surface. He doesn't always call us to minister to everyone with open arms or to keep people forever. The beatitudes are a good place to go to understand the disposition of someone who will receive Christ, his instruction, his wisdom, his blessings, and who will grow.

If our intuition says to turn someone away or let someone to, trust it. Listen to the Holy Spirit and be thankful that he reveals snares. And don't look back.

God sends people into our lives. So does the adversary. And Satan usually deals with us according to our likes. He's not going to brush our feathers the wrong way, but he will try to seduce us with false light. It's okay to love someone by kindly, humbly, graciously walking away, if that is the Lord's will. Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, so that we can love well who God has assigned us to and are not hindered in what God has called us to do. (Matt 10:16)

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:16