Why are you trying to go back? God already closed that door.

Broken Keys, Closed Doors

In a dream, I was at a door to a house. It appeared to be my house because I was holding keys in my hands. I put the key in the key hole and the key broke. I removed the broken piece from the key hole and there was another broken piece, so I removed that one, and so on until I removed a handful of broken pieces. Once I woke up, I knew that God was showing me something. I began to question myself. “Am I using the wrong key to open a door?” “Or am I locked or stuck in someway?” ” Am I trying to go back to something that I have been broken free from?” And then I heard God say, “Stop trying to go back through that closed door. Your key doesn’t work anymore.” My question to you is, why are you trying to go back? God already closed that door.

She Changed the Locks

A scene popped into my head, I may have read it or seen it in a movie or tv show, but it’s a common scenario. There is a character who is being cheated on, let’s just say a wife being cheated on by her husband. Throughout the movie, everyone in the movie and everyone in the audience knows this guy is cheating. Everyone except the wife, until there is a turn of events.

The woman realizes the man is cheating, that she can do better and throws all his clothes out the window. The unsuspecting man comes home and notices a shirt on the ground, a shoe, a tie, he then realizes these are my clothes. In his confusion, his heart starts beating fast, he looks up to see his wife throwing another pile of his stuff out the window. He yells up, “Baby, what are you doing? Stop! Don’t do this!”

Psychological Closing of the Door

Bystanders begin to gather to watch the commotion. Noticing the people watching, he tries to compose himself. He thinks, “I’m just going to go up there and talk to her.” He takes his keys out of his pocket and rushes to the front door. He’s trying to get his story together in his head when he realizes his key doesn’t fit the lock. He tries another key and still can’t get in. She changed the locks physically and symbolically; and he no longer has access to what he thought belonged to him.

The wife changed the locks to protect herself from a threat. The changing of the locks is symbolic of her ending relationship and new found freedom. There is permanence. The physical and psychological closing of the door and locking it with a key. She is blocking access to harmful things that although may be familiar and comfortable no longer suits her.

I’m holding the key

What if, we are that person holding the key to a door that God has already closed and changed the locks? It may be a door that we have actually prayed for God to close. We beg and plead to be delivered from certain people, situations, sin, bad habits, addiction, self destructive habits; yet we often find ourselves right back in the same situation, doing the same sin, with the same people, and self destructing. We are all good when our situation is all good. We pray for freedom, we get it and we are doing well until…those trials come, the enticement comes, the pain comes, the loneliness comes.

1 Peter 1:7 says, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold…” How genuine is your faith? The first trial comes and we may brush that one off. Then another trial, our faith seems to be hanging on strong. But then another hit and another, a few jabs to the face, a right hook, and then an uppercut that lays us out. We didn’t see it coming. The vulnerability, the shock, or the change, may have us intentionally or unintentionally slipping back into old habits for some comfort and familiarity.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold– though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

1 Peter 1: 6-7 NLT

Justifying wrong decisions

Here’s a hypothetical situation. After many trials and challenges, maybe, I am not praying as much anymore. I’m no longer fasting. I am spiritually letting my guard down. Coincidently (or not), here comes an enticement. This old toxic relationship that God has delivered me from, starts looking appealing because of the state that I am in. “Maybe God is bringing him back in my life because he has changed”, justifying in my head a wrong decision. I run back to that relationship because the toxicity feels better than the pain of being lonely. I am not praying, so my discernment radar is off, not picking up on the predator looking to stifle and push back the progress I have made. This is why I am trying to go back.

Why are you trying to go back through that door?

I wake up from the dream, nervous because I know God is trying to tell me something; a warning perhaps. I usually associate doors and keys as positive opportunities. However, the breaking of the key in my dream symbolized the breaking free from the unhealthy ties that used to feel like home.

God was saying to me, “Why are you trying to go back through that door? I’ve already broken you free from that. I changed the locks, you do not live there anymore. There is nothing for you behind that door. That is not what I have planned for you, no matter how many times you might think of going back, I’m not letting you back in. An opportunity is not always a good thing. Behind that door is the opportunity for sin; the opportunity to fall back into old habits. Behind that door is sickness and disease.”

“I usually associate doors and keys as positive opportunities. However, the breaking of the key in my dream symbolized the breaking free from the unhealthy ties that used to feel like home.“

Omens on a early morning walk

As I was pondering all these things, I was out early that morning walking my dog. I am checking my phone and a daily scripture pops up, true story, it says, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” (1 Peter 1:14) “How dare you call me out bible app!” I think to myself. I then think, “Ok Lord, I hear you.”

As I continue walking, my dog sees a tree and walks towards it. As I am walking I notice something shiny in the dirt next to the tree. It was a single golden key, just laying there. That was the scariest key I had ever seen. Any other day I wouldn’t give it a second thought. My second omen on this very brief dog walk.

Shaken, I walk back to my building and when I get on the elevator all I could see was all of the keyhole locks on the elevator panel; seemed like one hundred of them! It felt like I was in a scary movie. Feeling foolish I thought to myself, “I’ve broken my key; I can’t open the door it was meant for.” God said, “No, I am not keeping something good from you, I am keeping something bad from you. I am protecting you. Your faith is being tested as a fire tests and purifies gold. Don’t go back through that door.”

Don’t Go Back! God already closed that door

If you’ve read to this point, I appreciate you. It’s not by chance that you have read this. Please heed this warning. God was warning me, protecting me from whatever was about to come to entice me, or distract me away from the path that he has for me. You are already free from that thing. Why are you trying to go back? God already closed that door! Don’t go back! Show your faith genuine.

“As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”

2 Timothy 4:6-7

Take a moment to take inventory of your heart. Where is home? Is it in your faith or in the thing you’ve outgrown?