The House with Many Rooms: When God Changes the Classroom

“In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2

 

Over the years, and in my walk with the Lord, I have come to view my life and my spiritual journey as a series of classrooms.

Each stage of life, circumstance, and relationship is an opportunity—a classroom—in which I can grow and learn more about myself and my Lord. I have come to believe that nothing is random or unplanned. There are no mistakes and no accidents. Every aspect of my life has been orchestrated and designed by God.

I first began to grasp this concept years ago when Tom and I started working at the B&B in North Carolina. Things were super slow, so I was able to spend a couple of hours each morning with the Lord. I was going through a book called Adventuring Through the Bible by Ray Stedman, and I was enthralled and immersed in the study. After that book other studies came along. I absolutely loved those mornings with the Lord.

Eventually, the inn grew busier, and I no longer had those quiet mornings. I really began missing that time.

One day, I was lamenting this to the Lord. I was longing to have that time back, and then He gave me a very clear vision.

The Room

I was standing in an old-style house full of unique rooms. The Lord showed me one room that looked like a library. It had rich wood bookshelves, a bay window seat, and classic English Tudor-style library furniture. It was warm and comfortable, and I knew this was the room where the Lord and I had spent all those months together.

Then the vision changed. I was outside the room, but the door was locked. I kept knocking and pulling on the door trying to get back in. Finally, I put my back against the door and slid down it until I was sitting on the floor. Waiting and hoping the door would open again.

I was longing to get back inside that room. I wanted so much to return to those precious times I had enjoyed with the Lord.

Then I heard Him say:

“Linda, while we had a wonderful time together in that room, I have shut the door so that you can explore the other rooms. I have so much more for you that you won't receive unless you explore the other places in My house.”

Suddenly, in my mind, I saw the house from a completely new perspective. The library wasn’t the only place I could meet with the Lord.

I saw how big the house was. And I realized there were so many rooms I had not explored. This was incredibly encouraging to me! My time with the Lord doesn’t have to look the same all the time. I can spend time with Him in different ways, and rooms, and it can still be just as good as it was in the library.

I realized that the Lord doesn't want us to stay in one place, one room, or one classroom for too long. He wants us to learn what we can and then move on to the next level of knowledge and relationship with Him.

Don't Stay in One Room

So often, we try to stay in a place, a church, a relationship, or whatever, because it was so good—and we don't want to lose it. But I believe we were never meant to stay there.

Think about Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration:

“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’” Matthew 17:4

Peter wanted to camp out in the glory of that moment. He didn’t want to leave! But remaining there would have been like staying in first grade. We would never expect our children to remain in first grade forever. Why would we expect that in our spiritual lives?

When God Say’s “Not Yet”

There is another side to this. Sometimes we desperately want to leave the classroom, but God says, “Not yet.”

I have experienced seasons when I wanted the circumstances to change. I longed for the door to open so I could move on and enter something new. But the Lord wasn’t moved by my whining and insistence.

Instead, He said to me “Why are you fighting me? You need to appreciate where are now because you will never get this time back.”

That certainly gave me pause and gave me something to think about! I had to learn to trust Him—not only with where I was, but with when I would leave. Anytime I started to feel that anxiety and began to complain again, I would remember those words. They encouraged me to step outside of my desire to leave and instead, look around, and truly appreciate where I was.

There are times when we know God is moving us forward, and other times when we are convinced, we have learned enough and are ready to move on, but God knows that there is still something He wants to accomplish in us right where we are.

The door may be shut. But sometimes the door is shut because God is asking us to stay. And if He is asking us to stay, then there must still be something for us to learn there. Perhaps it is patience. Perhaps it is perseverance. Perhaps it is forgiveness, compassion, humility, or trust.

Maybe He wants us to appreciate people or circumstances that we have begun to take for granted. Or perhaps the lesson is simply learning that His timing is better than ours.

Sometimes the hardest classroom isn't the one we want to leave. It's the one where we have to wait.

Change Is Hard – and Good

Change is difficult. Moving into something new, learning new things, meeting new people, starting over—all of these things can be hard and uncomfortable. But are we still growing where we are? Or have we settled for a familiar peanut butter and jelly sandwich when God has prepared a fuller meal?

Change develops spiritual strength, character, integrity and empathy. Uncomfortable doesn't automatically mean “wrong.” Sometimes it simply means new. And sometimes new is exactly where God wants us to be.

God doesn't force us, He draws us. He says:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

And again:

“I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands...” Isaiah 65:1-2

He invites us. He draws us. He holds out His hands.

He encourages us to reach out and step forward. Whether that means walking through a new door or waiting patiently beside a closed one. The important thing is knowing that He alone decides when it is time to move.

We Can't Stay in Middle School Forever

My youngest granddaughter just started high school this year, and it reminded me of when I transitioned from middle school into high school. Leaving a familiar place where we felt confident and known, and stepping into something larger, unfamiliar, and a little scary.

That's a lot like our spiritual lives.

The longer we remain in one classroom, the more comfortable we become. Who wants to leave a place where we know the people and understand how things work? But we can't stay in middle school forever. If we stay too long, we will stunt our spiritual growth.

Tom often says when things get harder, “God is adding more weight to the bar.” Just when we think we have learned what we need, He brings us into another classroom with different lessons and greater challenges. And sometimes the reverse is true: we are ready to put the weights down and walk out of the gym, but God says, “Not yet. One more lesson.”

We may not understand why. We may not like it. But we can trust that the Teacher knows exactly what He is doing.

There Are More Rooms

I have explored many rooms in the Lord’s house by now, but I have SO many more to go! And that excites me. I have learned a valuable lesson through all of this: when my time in a particular room or classroom is up, I can trust that the Lord will move me. And instead of clinging to the old room, I want to look forward to the new one.

New experiences, new scenery, new relationships, new adventures, and new things to learn about Him and myself.

We are now in Arizona, managing another Bed and Breakfast. After 15 years in North Carolina, I had gotten into a groove—a rhythm. I thought I could simply transfer everything I had done before.

But alas...no.

This is a new classroom. The owner has her own ways of running HER inn and I am having to learn new ways of doing things. The Lord had to remind me yet again:

“Don't try to recreate the old things. Look for and experience the NEW things.”

Isn't that what He has been teaching me all along? The classroom changes. The room changes. The scenery changes. And sometimes we have to let go of what was good in order to discover what He has prepared next.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

 

Selah — The Classroom God Has You In

Perhaps God has you in a classroom right now that feels familiar and comfortable. Or perhaps you are standing outside a closed door, wondering why God would ask you to leave something that was so good.

Maybe you are inside a classroom you desperately want to leave, yet the door remains shut.

Whatever classroom you are in, take a moment to pause and consider:

·        What might God be teaching me in this season?

·        Am I trying to leave a classroom He is asking me to remain in? If so, what might He want me to appreciate because I will never get this time back?

·        Have I become so comfortable that I am resisting the next thing He wants to teach me?

·        Is there something from a previous season I am still holding onto that He is asking me to release?

·        Can I trust His timing even when I do not understand it?

·        Where might He be inviting me to grow—in faith, character, trust, empathy, or intimacy with Him?

·        Am I willing to step into a new room even when I do not know what is waiting?

We do not always understand why God moves us from one room to another, or why He asks us to stay. But we can trust Him. There is always more to learn. There are always more rooms. And there is always more of Him to discover.

A Prayer

Lord, help me to trust You when You change my classroom. And help me to trust when You ask me to stay.

When You close a door, keep me from spending all my energy trying to force it open again. Give me eyes to see what You are doing right where I am. Help me appreciate this season, knowing I will never get this time back.

And when You do open the door, give me the courage to walk through it.

Help me recognize what You are teaching me in every season, even when the lessons are difficult. Keep me from becoming so comfortable that I stop growing, and keep me from becoming so impatient that I miss what You are doing in the place You have put me.

Thank You for every room You have allowed me to explore, for every lesson You have taught me, for every season of waiting, and for every new adventure still ahead.

I trust You with the classroom.
I trust You with the waiting.
I trust You with the next room.
And most of all, I trust You with the journey.

In Jesus name, Amen.