I learn life lessons the only way I seem to know how--the hard and long way. So many times in the Old Testament we are given stories of what the Children of Israel went through due to rebellion, disobedience, defiance, sin--we are instructed to learn from their mistakes so we don't have to learn the hard way. We are given great detail about their failures so we can avoid them.
I have had opportunities to share how the Lord has redeemed some of my painful mistakes in the past with the same goal in mind--"Please, learn from my mistakes! Don't learn this lesson the hard way!" It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion as you all but scream this message, watching the warning fall on deaf ears.
I have had many share those same sentiments with me as I foolishly run headlong into sin. "Stop! You don't have to learn this the hard way!"
Just like the children of Israel, though, I continue to run headlong into the door without slowing down enough to open it. I expect the door to fling itself open before me as I aimlessly run for some goal or prize, not counting the cost. When I slam into that door, I find myself angry that the door was even there, let alone shut. I often miss the fact the door was intentionally (and lovingly) placed there AND shut to PROTECT ME from whatever I was running toward so frantically.
It hurts to run full steam ahead into a hard object (like a door).
(I would hope you could trust me on that one, but if you're anything like me, you need to find out for yourself--so go ahead, try it. I will save the "I told you so" for another time).
So, the next time you find yourself sitting in stunned silence on the floor after being knocked off your rocker by a closed door, stop and think about the children of Israel. Stop and consider if you, perhaps, ran headlong into a door the Lord lovingly closed to protect you from yourself.
Instead of kicking the door for being closed and in your way, might I encourage you to simply stop and thank God for the door? Not everyone gets the door to stop them, and they are left to run headlong to their destruction. While the ricochet might hurt (a lot!), this pain is a lot less than what you would have experienced!
And, if you are like me and seemingly don't learn so well from others mistakes, do yourself a favor and try to learn from your own. Kicking and screaming gets you nothing (except to exhaust yourself and potentially embarrass yourself in ways you rather avoid, were you in your rational mind).
You rather not hear my voice echoing in your mind, either... (I told you so).