You’ve probably heard the saying, “When one door closes, another one opens,” or the concept of a window of opportunity. For women who have too much on their plate and not enough time to consider ministry, maybe the focus must begin with shutting the door to see the window of opportunity.
Choosing Which Doors to Shut
You have numerous calls on your time, appointments to keep, obligations staring you in the face. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the urgent and overlook the important. You can’t see beyond the immediacy of today for the significance of the eternal.
Sometimes we must stop in the midst of our busy, over-scheduled day to reflect on what our lives really mean. Are there some obligations that could be turned down to allow for more important use of our time? Is what we’re doing having an impact on the kingdom of God or is it just helping us get through another day?
While some things, like feeding your family and transporting the kids to school, are essential, there are far more obligations that could be delegated or even ended. If you took the time to look at your day, week or month, you would likely see some doors you could close.
If you’ve been praying for an opportunity to get involved in ministry, God may be waiting to answer that prayer until you have time for what He has planned. Instead, start praying to discern which doors you need to shut in your life now to have room for those opportunities. Maybe He’s telling you to give up something else in your life so that you have the necessary time to commit for His purpose.
It’s important to note that even if everything on your list is good, it may not be right for you. Sometimes you have to remove the good to get to the best.
Finding the Window
Once you have space in your schedule for ministry, you can be sure the right one will arrive if you are praying and open to God’s leading. However, you may have to get rid of your preconceived notion of what ministry is all about or where you think you’d like to serve.
Maybe God will lead you to a women’s prison ministry or to a battered women’s shelter. You may find yourself working with heroin addicts, prostitutes and others who lead a drastically different life from you. On the other hand, God may choose to have you start small, such as leading a women’s Bible study at the local nursing home or helping out at a food pantry.
You have to remove the unnecessary clutter from your life to find the path where God is leading you. Begin by looking for doors to shut and then focusing on finding those windows of opportunity God is giving you.
Let us know which doors God is leading you to close and if He’s shown you any windows of opportunity to serve Him in the comments below.
