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 can learn from closed doors.
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 I can’t see it. God always reserves the right to say no because he knows what will lead to better outcomes than I do.
My 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 me.
Doors Close Because I Need to Grow
Paul came to God and asked him 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.
