By The other day I had an idea. It was a good one. A perfect chance to reach out and network with an individual who, I thought, might have a job opportunity for me. I had met with her a couple times before, and we really connected. A strong, faith-filled woman with similar interests to mine, I thought maybe God had a reason for her somewhat random email. I offered a suggestion of meeting together again and discussing new opportunities. As it turns out, she has moved out of state and closed her business.
Even when we feel a tug in our spirits to do something and it doesn’t work out exactly how we hoped, this doesn’t mean it was purposeless –
sometimes the purpose, or the lesson, is in how we respond to a closed door.
If we fall into hopeless thinking, questioning why God isn’t providing or opening doors, doubting his goodness or presence, we put ourselves at risk. We give the enemy space to enter into our thoughts and hearts, which will cause us more destruction.
The enemy will tell us we are wasting our time knocking because we are not good enough for a door to open. He will discourage us by reminding us of the 37 doors that didn’t open, even when we truly felt called to knock. He will distract you with “worldly doors” that never close – we’re always welcome to walk through the doors of foolish decisions and sinful desires. The enemy will do everything in his power to stop our knocking.
For me, I saw a door, and I knocked, but the door didn’t open. However, I choose not to allow this closed door to cause me to lose faith that God has a plan and open doors for me. And this isn’t the first time this has happened. In fact, I’ve knocked on a lot of doors throughout my life, and though some have indeed opened, many have not.
In these moments, I have to choose to remember that God knows my heart – he placed my desires and dreams into the core of my being, and he is faithful. I have to remember he promised that if I submit my life to him, he will bring to life every desire of my heart. He will help guide me into creating and building and sustaining a life of my own that brings more love, joy, peace, and happiness than I could have ever hoped.
In these moments, I have to choose to be grateful for all the good things I do have and all the love I do get to experience everyday. I have to choose to trust God and his timing – that what he has for me will come exactly when it is supposed to, and not a minute too soon or too late.
I have to choose to remember his ways are higher than mine; they do not even compare.
When I speak truth in the face of closed doors, it encourages me to keep knocking. God promises open doors to those who knock and answers and solutions to those who ask and seek. Even when no door has opened in the past; even when our arm is tired and knuckles hurt from banging so much; even when it feels like God has forgotten about our needs, our dreams, our desires, we must knock anyway and never stop knocking because God has promised himself to those who love him.
It might not be the first door. It might not be your favorite door. It might not even be a door you can see or have access to yet. But there is a door for you, and it is good. If you submit your heart and your life fully to God, I believe he will lead you to the door created specifically for you exactly when you need to find it. And even if what is on the other side of that door is outrageously different or harder or scary or better than what you expected, walk through it. Always walk through God’s open doors with trust, unwavering faith, a little curiosity, and a whole lot of determination to bring God’s will for your life to life itself.
