In the Hallway

One door shuts.

Another door is opening.

Have you heard that message? Doesn’t it sound exciting? Easy? It’s a message I’ve heard in the church a thousand times. Every time a chapter is closed another is beginning. Every time a season ends, another is starting. Every time a door closes, another is opening.

“ing”…

Until you've been there, until you've managed to find yourself in the "ing", this message makes perfect sense - A perfectly timed progression of events, moving from one door to the next, from one place in life to another.

Instant. Easy. Exciting.

But it’s the "ing" we don’t want to talk about. It’s the waiting, the moving, the happening, the progressing…

It’s the time spent in the hallway, when one door shuts and the next door hasn’t opened yet. It’s the waiting, the moving. It’s the trying, the proving, the growing, the questioning, the doubting. It’s the listening, the hearing, the knowing, the planning, the building.

No one talks about the hallway.

Yet it’s a familiar theme in the Bible.

It’s called Exodus.

Israel. David. Joseph. Jesus. The list goes on. They all spent time in the hallway, in exodus.

So why don’t we talk about it? Why does it feel so wrong? Why does the hallway get such a bad wrap?

The first question you’ll get when you decide to walk out the door is, “So where are you going now?” And if you don’t have an answer to that one, be ready for the follow-up, “Then why are you leaving?” The hallway can be confusing and uncomfortable. The hallway can even feel like punishment. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Exodus is a departure, a leaving, a movement. It’s motion, energy, action. An exodus is something you do, something you’re caught up in, somewhere you’re going, something you join because you don’t want to stay where you are.” –Rob Bell

The hallway is hard, but it’s a necessary part of our walk with God.

The hallway is where God speaks and gives direction.

It’s a time of growing, maturing. It’s a time of preparation.

We like to have things figured out, perfectly planned and put together. But God likes for us to rely on Him. We like to know where the closest and safest open door is before we let the door behind us slam shut. But God wants us to step out in faith and rely only on His all-sufficient grace, mercy and wisdom.

In the hallway we may look confused and misguided, but that's exactly how we maybe ought to look, because in that, the light of God’s perfect way shines that much brighter. Besides, who are we to pretend we’ve got this all figured out?

In the hallway, after you’re finished complaining and groaning, doubting God and questioning your lot in life,

make an attempt to just stop and listen.

God speaks in the hallway.

And when He has finished leading you and the next door finally opens, the light of God’s perfect way shines that much brighter and our past steps and seemingly misguided ways begin to make perfect sense in the scheme of God’s unchanging plan.

The hallway doesn’t always make sense, but in the end, it’s a necessary part of our walk with God. And when one door shuts another will always open. It's not our job to have our next move all figured out. That's God's knowing. He'll let us know when He's ready. Just be prepared to spend a little time in the hallway.

Listen.

Follow.

A door is opening.