Closed Doors

How do we handle closed doors? I'm referring (of course) to doors of opportunity. Have you ever felt led of God to do something only to find closed doors? What we do next says more about our belief in God than our belief in ourselves.

One of the greatest lessons learned from "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby is: When it seems as though the doors are closed (or none are opening)- "Do the last thing God told you to do." As I type these words the thought of "Step by Step" keeps coming in my mind. If I'm to do the last thing God told me to do then it means that I have been trusting Him step by step. Go to the last step!

I'm curious how many people have stood in front of closed doors and though God had abandoned them? It makes it a lot easier to blame God than ourselves. But could it be the reason we stand in front of a closed door is that we didn't take the last step in faith? Is it possible that we took the next logical step rather than the next faith step? These are some of the questions I ask myself. I'm not saying that when we are following God that we won't experience closed doors. I mean...this is a life/walk of faith. What I am saying is that we should make/take every step according to His divine direction.

This lesson from "EG" has been on my mind since last Thursday. You see, last Thursday Jenn and I received a phone call about a closed door. We have been taking a faith journey together when all of a sudden the landscape changed. It's times like this that you wish it was a simple choice:
Paper or Plastic?
Pan or Hand Tossed?
Fries or Baked Potato?
Those are easy decisions. But how do we make decisions that involve our family and the will of God when we find that all the doors are closed?

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

"Do the last thing God told you to do!" What we have to do is get before God in prayer and the Word and allow our minds to be renewed. Sometimes when the doors close, we find ourselves with stinking thinking. We have to stop those thoughts immediately and get before God and say: "Lord, I'm going to keep on doing what you have told me to do." In Acts, we find that the Lord closed certain doors to the Apostles but we never see them stop doing what God had instructed them to do. Neither will we!

God has placed a person on our hearts - not a place. Our decision is about a child - not a country. We will keep doing the last thing He told us to do. In the end, we will go in the right direction. How do I know this? "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13) I know this because I can trust His heart!