Did you ever have a door literally close in your face? Recently, this happened to me both literally and figuratively. First, here is the literal version.

I was with my family in the Pittsburgh, PA, airport preparing to depart on a flight. We just had a very blessed time at the April General Church Conference. After checking in our luggage, I did not hear the gate number indicated by the agent at the counter. I followed my family, lugging my personal items and lagging behind their quick strides to the train that transports passengers to the concourse where the gates are located. My whole family boarded the train, and as I attempted to get on, the doors immediately shut.

My instinct was to put my hand out to see if the doors would open but to no avail. There I was mouthing the words, “What gate are we going to?” My teenage daughters were laughing at the sight of their mother left behind. I waited for the next train and I knew I could eventually find my gate. In the meantime, probably at the prompting of my husband, my family waited for me as they got off the train.

To add to the comedy of errors, they were standing on the lower level on a different side of the track from where I got off the train. The agent waved at me to go up a floor, and then down to get to where they were. Eventually, we were all united and headed toward our gate, but it has become one of those funny family stories that begin with, “Remember when mom…”

The part I most remember is how the door closed.

Fast forward a month later, and a couple of doors closed, figuratively speaking, on some job opportunities. I found myself, like at the airport, standing on the outside as the train departed. Trusting God and knowing that His will is perfect, I swallowed my pride and took a job where a door opened pretty quickly — but with much less monetary compensation. However, like at the airport, my hands are not going to physically open a door that closes. The train transporting my family departed, and I ended up on a completely different side of the tracks.

John 10:3 says, “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. In John 10:9, Jesus explains His parable, by saying “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in an and out, and find pasture.”

In reality, this door matters the most. My chance to heed the Savior’s call and enter the door of salvation is really the right track to follow. Thinking about how Christ knows and calls me by my name is just so amazing to me.

My biggest distress at the airport was not knowing my assigned gate number. The gates at airports are critical to reaching the right destination. David assures us in Psalm 118:19: “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD.” Verse 20 explains, “This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.” Entering the incorrect gate in an airport can lead to serious delays, but NOT entering the Lord’s spiritual gate has much greater consequences.

You may have had a similar experience, where doors of opportunities that you thought were open suddenly closed. These closed doors could take many forms such as:

• Job opportunities
• Choosing colleges or areas of study
• Personal relationships
• Geographic relocation
• Selling or buying a home

Remember the door of salvation that remains open to us is explained like this: Jesus knows us by name and leads us through the door as His sheep. This is the ultimate destination, which is eternal life. Christ offers this freely and knows the best track for us to follow in life so that we end up in exactly the right place He planned for us all along.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.