When God Closes a Door

Photo via Creative Commons

A while ago, my wife, Kim, and I started doing something dangerous. We started asking God to close doors.

It's unorthodox. As Christians, we usually ask God to open doors, not close them. We ask for confirmation, but usually, we prefer it in the positive variety.

Why?

Because it's a lot more fun when God puts an anonymous check in our mailbox for the exact amount of money we needed than it is to get an e-mail, informing you that the job you applied for isn't going to come through.

The thing is, a closed door is pretty definite. When a road closes, it almost always directs you towards the path you were supposed to be on.

But it's no fun. Even though you know it's for the best, dealing with rejection, in the moment, is never a good time.

I found out in late March that I was not being extended a teaching contract for next year. Since that point in time, I've applied for countless jobs and pursued a ton of different opportunities.

None of them have come to fruition.

During that stretch, most of those closed doors were not all that big a deal, but a couple of them really hurt. Mainly, because I thought they were good fits that really could have worked out for me.

But they didn't happen. None of them did.

Maybe I'm being overly "Polyanna" about things, but I can't help but think of all the things I asked God for that I didn't get, only to find out later that those things would have ultimately been harmful for me.

So, each time I get a job rejection, I need to be thankful. Every time someone gets picked over me, and I think they're less qualified than I am, I need to remember that God was protecting me.

Every time I accuse God of being unfair, I need to stop and think if I really want God to treat me fairly. (Spoiler: I don't.)




When was a time that God closed a door in your life that led to something better?