It's been said when God closes one door, He opens another. It's also been said when God closes a door, He opens a window. I get it; these are hope-giving declarations that encourage us to continue moving forward when it looks like things aren't in our favor. Though these statements are worldly; not scriptural, I can still appreciate the positive perspective.
Often times as believers in Christ, we ask God to close doors that He doesn't want us to go through; potentially saving us from useless pain and unnecessary suffering. Or we ask Him to open doors that He does want us to go through; putting us on the quickest path to success and victory. We actually base whether a choice is right or wrong on those doors; justifying, "This opportunity was given to me, so it must be what God wants for me." I understand it brings a degree of comfort in believing He made our choices for us.
Now, let me preface all of this by saying there is absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever with asking God to open and close doors; we want peace in knowing we're going in the right direction. However; God is not responsible for our decisions. He lays before us life and death and He wants us to choose life. He will encourage us, teach us, guide us, and grow us in the faith, so that we are able to choose life; but at the end of the day, it is our decision to make.
WHY THEN WILL GOD NOT OPEN OR CLOSE DOORS?
Let me share a personal example from my own life. I've been in multiple relationships that I knew beforehand weren't wise. I wanted to be equally yoked; but more-so I desired to get what I wanted "right now". I would pray to the Lord and ask Him repeatedly to confirm whether or not I should be in these relationships; there were a few where I asked him for 60 days straight. Meanwhile, I had already moved in with them, I wasn't married to them, and we were living in sin. After the relationships ended, I would ask God, "Why didn't you close that door? Why didn't you tell me no?"
Fast forward to three years ago; the Lord showed me that the reason He didn't "close the door" is because I was already equipped to not walk through it. The reason He didn't tell me no, was because I already knew the answer. There was a lot of deliverance and growth that needed to happen in my life, but even where I was back then; He had already instilled in me the wisdom and power to "choose life". I had just justified my decisions by saying, "God didn't close this door, so it must be what He wants for me."
Therein lies the danger in using open and closed doors as our gauge for right and wrong decisions. Our Father who loves us, knows what's best for us, and wants what's best for us. He never chooses for us; rather, He raises us up in the faith, hoping we also will take our own hearts seriously, and make the choices that we are wise enough and strong enough to make. For some of you, you already know in your spirit whether or not the door is open or closed; I encourage you to trust Him to be bold and walk that way. He wants us to trust Him and trust ourselves with Him; so that we can walk in victory whether the doors are open or closed.
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