Accepting a Closed Door

What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open.
Revelation 3:7

If you’re struggling with a closed door, I have four guidelines to share with you—guidelines that have helped me in my own process of dealing with the doors Christ has opened and closed.

1. Since God is sovereign, He is in full control. May I repeat that statement in Revelation 3? “What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open” (Revelation 3:7).
2. Being in full control, God takes full responsibility for the results. Don’t try to carry that burden. It’s not up to you to make the divine plan work; it’s up to God. Your job is to walk in His will, regardless; it’s God’s job to make His will work.
3. The closing of a good opportunity occurs in order to lead you to a better one. I’ve heard countless stories through my years of ministry. “I hit the closed door . . . I got to the end of my rope, I tied a knot and hung on . . . I trusted the Lord through this, and you can’t believe what happened as a result of my not pushing my way in the direction I thought I was supposed to go.” God took over and turned a jolt into joy.
4. Not until we walk through the open door will we realize the necessity of the previously closed one. As a result of obeying God, doing His will, accepting the closed doors, and walking through the open ones, God will honor you with a perspective you would never otherwise have.

It is easy to be disillusioned and discouraged and to think we have missed His will, when, in fact, we are in the very nucleus of that will. It is hard to have dreams dashed, to have hopes unfulfilled, to face a future that is unknown and unfamiliar and sometimes, if the truth were known, unwanted. But God has a way of guiding us unerringly into the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Isn’t it about time you stopped trying to figure it all out? Then let it be, my friend . . . let it be. You’ll exchange a lot of intensity and worry for tranquility and relief. That’s a pretty good trade, if you ask me.