If You’d Only Known

Even when a door closes, God unveils a new path to peace—the kind found only in Christ.

In today's reflection from My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers draws our attention to Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem—a moment filled with sorrow, not for His own suffering, but for what they had missed. The people were steeped in religious appearances, but their hearts remained hard, blind to what would bring them peace. Jesus entered the city not with fanfare in His heart, but with tears in His eyes, burdened by the reality that their pride and false security had shut the door to His life-giving presence.

Chambers presses the question inward: What blinds me in my day? Not necessarily something grotesque, but perhaps a “strange god”—a mindset or pattern of self-reliance that governs my responses. Something I may have let live in the shadows, even after the Spirit graciously exposed it.

There’s a sober warning here: to ignore God’s inner promptings is not merely a passive mistake. It’s culpable. It keeps us from seeing what would bring peace. But this isn’t a message of despair—it’s an invitation. While God may not reopen certain doors, He offers new ones. The past, with all its “might-have-beens,” becomes a sacred ministry when entrusted to Him. He transforms regret into redemption, and loss into wisdom.

Journal Entry – In the Voice of the Holy Spirit

You were made to walk in peace, not the fragile version this world peddles, but the kind that guards hearts and minds, anchored in Me. When the noise of religious striving drowns out My whisper, I come not with condemnation, but with compassion. I weep not because you are weak—but because you were meant to see and enjoy more of Me than you've allowed.

There was a day you brushed aside My gentle voice, and I saw the sorrow that would grow from that choice. But I never turned away. I opened another door. I led you into a place where My presence could still heal what was broken and make beauty from the ache. I called you out of whitewashed appearances and into the living union where peace is no longer a concept, but a Person.

You do not live in the shadows of what might have been. You are seated with Christ, where grace overflows. I am not showing you your past to shame you, but to awaken you to the brilliance of your present. Let memory do its work, not as a tormentor, but as a holy reminder: what once blinded you has no power anymore. You see clearly now because you are in the light.

Let the old doors stay shut. Let regret lie silent. Your eyes are no longer hidden—I have unveiled you to glory. You are Mine, and every step forward with Me is full of hope.

Scripture woven in: Luke 19:42; Philippians 4:7; Ephesians 2:6; John 14:27; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:1-4; Romans 8:1; Isaiah 43:18-19

Prayer of Trust

Lord, You have brought me out of places I didn't even know were holding me captive. I trust that every moment of blindness You allowed has now become a testimony to Your mercy. I no longer fear what I missed, because I know I cannot miss You. You’ve opened my eyes to what brings peace—Your life within me. I walk today not in the shadow of what could have been, but in the brilliance of what is. And that is Christ in me, my hope, my peace, my everything. Thank You.

Devotional Credit:
From My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
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