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The Bible is full of closed doors. The door to Eden was
closed after the Fall. The door to the ark was closed in judgment. The door to
the Promised Land was closed to Moses. The door to building the Temple was closed
to King David.
We generally don’t like or understand closed doors. Most of
us don’t want to be on the wrong side of a closed door. Closed doors discourage
us. Close doors may come up at work, in our finances, our education or with a
relationship.
When an opportunity we wanted gets closed we feel like, “Hey what’s the deal?” Yet, it must be a
good thing that God alone has the power to shut a door that cannot be opened. Looking
back, doors that God had closed to me I was grateful for later.
I thank God for these closed doors, but not always. Some closed
doors I still don’t like and would like to kick them in. Regarding persistence
in prayer Jesus said, “Knock and the door
shall be opened.” He didn’t say how
loud and how long we should keep it up.
God has greater things in mind for us
than “knowing for sure.” But understanding why some doors shouldn’t be opened
can help us to grow in our ability to discern what God is up to.
We Can Knock on the
Wrong Door
Sometimes doors remain closed because we want the wrong thing. Looking back we can all say, “What was I thinking?”
A Closed Can Mean There’s Something Better
Sometimes a door remains closed because there something better down the road, only we can’t see it. God always reserves the right to say no because he knows what will lead to better outcomes than we do.
Sometimes doors remain closed because we want the wrong thing. Looking back we can all say, “What was I thinking?”
A Closed Can Mean There’s Something Better
Sometimes a door remains closed because there something better down the road, only we can’t see it. God always reserves the right to say no because he knows what will lead to better outcomes than we do.
Our prayer may be, “Lord change that difficult person” but God
has something better. That better may mean He wants to use that difficult
person to change us.
Doors Close Because I
Need to Grow
Paul asked God to remove a thorn in his flesh. He asked repeatedly. God answered with a closed door by saying “no”. But that closed door brought a greater gift than his thorn. Paul came to understand that grace came not by removing the thorn, but along with the thorn.
Paul asked God to remove a thorn in his flesh. He asked repeatedly. God answered with a closed door by saying “no”. But that closed door brought a greater gift than his thorn. Paul came to understand that grace came not by removing the thorn, but along with the thorn.
The thorn was painful, but would actually enable him to be a greater vessel of God’s grace and healing. Sometimes the door that is closed is actually a wide open door called ‘grow.’ I just need to trust God that he knows what’s best for me.
