A few weeks ago, I was hiking on a freshly cut trail in the hills above our home. When I got to the end of the trail, I entered a new development of high-end homes. A few weeks later I went hiking on the same trail and discovered a “No Trespassing” sign had been put in place. While I didn’t like the fact that the trail had been closed, I realized I was given a preview of an entire area that others will not have the opportunity to experience. 

This early access to closed areas has been granted to me on several occasions in the last 16 years while living in our home and hiking the many miles of trails that surround our small town. Over the years, new real estate developments have been built, and some of these developments have restricted public access to areas once open before the “No Trespassing” signs went up. I carry an image and understanding of terrain of these places not many in our small town possess.

Access into certain relationships in your life might resemble the trails I once hiked upon. Your previous access enabled you to see and understand what others cannot see. Now, you have been forbidden reentry. At first, you thought the closure was a theft of your freedom, but God has another plan. 

While the closure has been a shock, it actually contains a hidden gift. You now know in great detail what these closed environments look like and the intimate details of the lives of people who still live within their restricted enclosures. You are not without recourse. You can pray with wisdom and insight for those living behind the signs of closure because you have hiked the spiritual trails of their lives. 

You carry an image of what life was once like when these relationships were an open place. That image is your map of prayer and a place to invest your faith in the health and wholeness of people you know and love. God made a way for you to see inside these enclosures so you can work with Him to bring freedom to those who lives have been cut off from outside contact. Your faith will show them the pathway to their freedom.

“I will make a pathway through the wilderness”(Isaiah 43:19).