Sometimes the hardest thing to accept isn’t rejection—it’s a closed door that won’t open no matter how hard you try. You replay it, question it, and wonder why it didn’t work out.

But not every closed door is a loss. Some are there for a reason you can’t see yet.

The right door won’t require you to break in.

– Jacqueline Whitney

“The door is locked for a reason.

I know you’ve been standing in front of it, knocking, hoping it will open.

I know you’ve been praying for it, begging for it, convinced it was meant for you. And I know it’s been hard to accept that no matter how much you push, it won’t budge.

But that lock isn’t there to punish you. It’s there to protect you. What’s behind that door isn’t what you think it is. It looks good from where you’re standing, but I see the whole picture. I see what would happen if you walked through. I see how it would cost you your peace. How it would lead you somewhere you’d spend years trying to come back from. I locked it because I love you.

I’m not keeping you from something good. I’m keeping something out that would’ve harmed you. I’m protecting your future from a decision your present self would’ve made out of desperation, not discernment. Stop trying to force it open. Stop standing in front of what I’ve already closed. The right door won’t require you to break in. It will open easily, in its time, because it’s actually meant for you.

Trust the lock. It’s there for a reason.“

Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.