A Gate Before the Gate

At 2 years old Leo started tagging along to feed the elk. During that time he followed us into and through the shed and discovered how to open the final gate. The final gate that directly opens into the pasture. And this is NOT okay. The elk think he is a predator and he is clueless of this danger. So to protect him I shut a gate before the gate. A gate that he cannot unlock. He was so upset and did not understand. 

And then God spoke. 

God also does this to us. There are things you can unlock and get into so to protect you He adds and shuts a gate before the gate. Why? To upset you? To make you confused? No. Because He loves you. Because He protects you. Because He can see the danger. Because He can see you are not yet prepared for what’s behind the final gate. Because what’s in the pasture isn’t yet ready. Maybe it’s because you don’t have the right work boots for the job. Maybe your current stance makes you incorrectly appear as a predator to those already in the pasture. Maybe you don’t yet have the understanding of how to approach this pasture. Whatever the specific reason, know God knows what’s best for you. And if the gate you come to is shut, it might just be because it’s a gate before the gate, and you are not yet ready. Be encouraged today. Trust in His timing.

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scroll for more thoughts for digging deeper, imagery to supplement these thoughts, and comment box for anyone with words to engage!

Words for Digging Deeper

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.
What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time…” Ecclesiastes 3:1-11a NIV

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

“For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’” Job 38:10-11 NLT 

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”  Lamentations 3:25