I heard a sermon recently that talked about doors of opportunity. The common phrase that immediately comes to mind is “If God closes a door, He opens another.” Or I’ve heard “If God closes a door, He opens a window.” Both phrases emphasize the fact that God has a plan and He knows which path is best to take.

But closed doors can be brutal. There have been times I’ve found myself very excited about an opportunity that felt absolutely perfect for me. I had been praying and thought for sure this was God’s answer. There was no way it wouldn’t work out. Then,

SLAM. 

Now what? I had two choices:

I could take a deep breath, dust off my feet, and move on to other opportunities knowing God’s in control,

OR

I could stand there for a very long time staring at a closed door.

Sometimes, time and circumstance can force us to move on after receiving disappointing news. This can, in some ways, be a good thing. We don’t have time to wallow or replay the situation in our heads wondering what went wrong. But other times, disappointment stops us in our tracks. We hope if we stand there long enough staring at that closed door, that it might open again. Maybe if we hope and pray really hard, we’ll see it crack open just long enough to stick our foot in. 

Or maybe not.

We must put our faith in God’s plan. He is the only one who knows which doors need to be closed (and stay closed) and which doors He’s happy to open. And we, as believers, have the benefit of knowing that whether our next door is open or closed, it’s right! God doesn’t make mistakes. He knows exactly where we should be and when. What a comfort to know we don’t have to face the future alone!

Next time you find yourself with a door in your face, don’t hang around and stare. You might miss the next door that God’s swinging wide open.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.