It’s a mystery why God opens some doors while keeping others closed. And this adds to our frustration and anxiety because we want to be faithful, but things don’t always make sense. Living by faith is trusting that he’s opening and closing the right doors at the right time.
Sometimes we can clearly see what God is up to as he opens doors in our favor and closes other ones that would bring us harm. And perhaps we prayed for these very things and so it’s not surprising when things turn out the way they do.
What’s more difficult is when we pray for something good and reasonable but this door remains closed for the time being. Meanwhile, other doors open. But these doors don’t seem to move us closer to the deep concerns of our heart.
Our natural response is to keep banging on the doors we want to open. And there is a sense in which we do need to keep asking, seeking, and knocking – trusting God to open doors and provide us with everything we need.
But as we do this we must also not neglect the other doors he has opened. These doors might not make sense and it’s tempting to just dismiss them as we focus on the ones we want. But just as God has closed some doors to us in his wisdom he has also opened others in his infinite wisdom as well.
To be sure, we’re not living by faith when we try to arrange or make doors open apart from him. Nor are we being faithful when we fail to walk through the doors he has clearly opened on our behalf, even when we don’t fully understand.
In the end, remember God knows how to open and close the doors you need at just the right time. Continue to live by faith even when you don’t always understand his ways.
Photo by Jan Tinneberg on Unsplash
