WHEN GOD SHUTS ONE DOOR, HE OPENS ANOTHER

Sometimes our disappointments in life can become God’s appointments, so don’t let closed doors bother you. The things we think of as failures and problems can often end up being

blessings in disguise.

 It seems doors of opportunity open and close before us

in life. Is it God opening and closing these doors? For

many years I’ve heard the saying, “When God shuts

one door, He opens another!” Well, no, those exact

words are not found in the Bible anywhere. However,

of all the phrases we’ll examine in this series this statement is closer to the truth. I haven’t found the

original source of the saying, but it sounds similar to a

famous quote by Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor

of the telephone. He said: “When one door closes,

another opens; but we often look so long and so

regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

 The best example of open and closed doors is found in Acts 16:6-12. Paul and his friends launched

their second missionary journey from Antioch. Along the way, they encountered some closed doors

and then an open door. “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been KEPT

BY THE HOLY SPIRIT from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border

of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the SPIRIT OF JESUS WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO. So thy passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul

had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come

over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got

ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding [“knit together”] that

God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we put out

to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace and the next day to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city

of that district of Macedonia.” God called Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles and he was obeying

God. As he was traveling, he decided to try to go northeast into Asia

Minor, but Holy Spirit said “no.” God shut the door. Then he traveled

on and tried to go north into Bithynia toward Russia, and once again

God shut the door. It must have been a puzzling time for Paul. He was

on mission for God and the doors kept shutting in his face. But he didn’t go back, and he didn’t camp out, he kept moving west. When he

came to Troas, God opened the door for him to go over into Macedonia,

which is modern-day Greece. He had a vision of a man standing in

front of him saying, “Come help us!” Paul understood this to be God’s

directive, so he took the gospel into Greece instead of Asia Minor. That

was the first time the gospel penetrated the European continent, and many of us have a European heritage. We should be glad Paul paid

attention to God’s closed and opened doors. As we consider open and

closed doors, let’s learn four things about finding and following God’s

will. 

1. GOD WILL GUIDE YOU IF YOU’LL TRUST HIM 

You aren’t just placed on this earth to stumble around in the dark

trying to find out what you should do. The God of the Universe is

interested in you. He has a plan for you; He has a pathway for you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge

him, and he will direct your paths.” God wants to guide you, but there is a lot of confusion about finding

God’s will. As you seek to follow God, it will be helpful to understand

two very important guiding principles:

 (1) The wrong question: is God’s will for my life? You may be surprised and wonder what’s wrong with

that question. 

Here’s the right question: “What is

God’s will?” On the surface, the difference between

those two questions may seem minor–but they are as

different as a lightning bug and lightning. 

In the first question the focus is on me. What’s God’s will for ME? In the second question, the focus is on God and what

He is already doing in the world. God is already

active in this world and our job is to find out what God

is doing and to join Him in His work. In Acts 16, God was at work saving the Gentiles. God

was in the process of taking the gospel to the Roman

Empire, and Paul found closed doors until he got in on

God’s plan. So, stop asking God to show you His will

for your life and ask Him to show you what He is doing, and then join Him! (2) God often reveals His will in segments When God first called Paul to take the good news to the Gentiles, He didn’t tell him all the details.

God didn’t say, “Paul, go to Philippi, then to Athens, then to Corinth.” God just said, “Go!” And Paul

went. As Paul traveled, God revealed each step. That’s the same thing God told Abraham in the Old

Testament. He didn’t say, “Abraham, I have a land for you and your descendants.” God simply said, “Go.” And Abraham went. Many young people want God to show them the full picture of His plan

for them. Wouldn’t it be nice if God would say, “This is where I want

you to go to college, these are the classes I want you to take, this is

who I want you to marry, this is where I want you to live, this is the

job I want you to work at, and here’s where I want you to retire, and

here’s where I want you to die and be buried!” But it doesn’t work that way. Following God isn’t about the destination; it’s all about the

journey. 

2. DON’T BE DISAPPOINTED BY CLOSED DOORS 

As Paul followed God, he encountered a closed door into Asian Minor.

Then when he tried to head north toward the Black Sea, God shut the

door again. Sometimes a child of God can become frustrated because it

seems as if doors of service and opportunity are constantly being

closed. When you look in the Bible for references to opened and closed doors,

you’ll find there are six or seven times it speaks of God “opening a door

of opportunity.” However, there is only one verse that infers God

“closes doors.” In Revelation 3:7-8 Jesus is speaking to the church at

Philadelphia. He identifies Himself by saying, “These are the words of

him who is holy and true...what he opens, no one can shut; and what he shuts, no one can open. See, I have placed before you an open door

that no one can shut.” So, it is true that God shuts doors, but He isn’t

the only one who shuts doors. When you are trying to serve God and

you encounter a closed door you first question should be, “Did God

close this door?” Sometimes other people “close” the door, and

sometimes the devil and his demonic forces will try to place obstacles in the way of your service and devotion. So just because you encounter resistance or difficulty, it doesn’t necessarily

mean God has shut the door. If God has clearly sent

you in a certain direction and the devil tries to close

the door–then knock it down! 

When Satan, our adversary, tries to block out

way, knock through his resistance! But if you are certain that God closed a certain door,

don’t be discouraged, just start looking for the door

that He has open for you. 

“When you begin to follow God and circumstances seem to close doors of opportunity, go back to the Lord and clarify what God said. He most often is

not calling you to a TASK, but to a RELATIONSHIP. Through that relationship He is going to do

something through your life. 

 When God said, “no” to Paul it was because he was going to say “yes” to something better.

Sometimes our disappointments in life can become God’s appointments, so don’t let closed doors

bother you. The things we think of as failures and problems can often end up being blessings in

disguise.  When one door is shut, don’t

be disappointed! That leads to the next principle about doors and God’s

will.  

3. BE ACTIVE AS YOU LOOK FOR GOD’S OPEN DOOR 

When Paul encountered the closed doors at Galatia and Mysia, he didn’t

give up and return to Antioch. Nor did he sulk and complain. The worst

thing he could have done would have been to sit still and say, “Okay,

God I’m not moving until you show me which way to go.” Instead, he

kept on moving; he took another direction–West. And as he was

moving West, God directed him to take the gospel into Europe. Have you ever been excited about an opportunity and suddenly found

the door closed? The worst thing you can do is to camp out at that

closed door. Don’t quit–keep on moving, and God will direct your paths.

Do may object, “But what about ‘waiting on the Lord?’” Waiting is not

a passive experience. “Waiting on the Lord” is acting like the waiter or

server in a restaurant who takes your order and brings your food. Waiting on the Lord is asking God, “May I take Your order? Is there

anything else You need?” God doesn’t tip–but His retirement benefits

are out of this world! There is an important principle I call “spiritual momentum.” It’s easier for God to direct

a person if he or she is already in motion serving Him.

A boat sitting dead still in the water can’t be turned by

the rudder. That vessel is “dead in the water.” It has

to have forward motion in order for the rudder to be

effective. In the same way, if you are seeking God’s direction, don’t sit still–if you do, you’re “dead in the

water.” If you are active in serving God anywhere you

can, it’s easier for Him to direct you into different

paths of service. You can walk through God’s open door of opportunity,

and you’ll often be confronted by angry people who

oppose you. Paul had an open door in Ephesus, but He

also faced great opposition. He wrote: “But I will stay

on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a GREAT

DOOR FOR EFFECTIVE WORK has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.” (I Corinthians 16:9)

When you are actively looking for God’s open doors,

you may face opposition, and it may not feel right–but go through the door anyway. The most important consideration is not whether is seems right to

you–but will God be glorified if you proceed. When you find God’s direction, move immediately. Acts 16:10 says they “sailed immediately.” As

they headed west they made a “straight line” to the coast–in other words, they had a heavenly tail

wind. When you are going in the right direction, there may be human opposition, and it may not feel

right, but you’ll have a tailwind from heaven!

 4. DON’T DEPEND ON “DOORS” ALONE TO FIND GOD’S WILL 

Circumstances aren’t the best way to discern God’s direction. I

remember speaking with a couple in Rumphi who met when they

worked together at the post office. They were both already married,

but they became romantically involved. The result was two divorces

and two broken families–and when I spoke to them, their new

marriage was unraveling. Both of them claimed to be Christians. I’ll never forget a question the man asked me: “If God hadn’t wanted us

to be together, why did He open door for us to meet each other? And if

He didn’t want us to proceed into a romantic relationship, why didn’t

He close the door?” Whew! I politely suggested to him that perhaps it

wasn’t God who opened the door, and it doesn’t do any good to lock

your door after the thief is already inside! Using opened and closed doors to find God’s will can be risky business.

Circumstances can be deceiving when you look at them from the

wrong perspective. 

“Be very careful how you

interpret circumstances. Many times we jump to a conclusion too

quickly...A whole lot of wrong things can happen if you try to look at

God from the middle of circumstances. When you face difficult or confusing circumstances, the Spirit of God will take the Word of God

and help you understand your circumstances from God’s

perspective.” ( When it

comes to finding God’s will, I think there is a good way, a better way, and the best way. Let me give you three sources for finding God’s Will. Three sources for finding God’s Will: 

(1) Good: 

Circumstances Circumstances can often be God’s external guide for

us. This is often called God’s providential guidance.

Sometimes you can determine God’s will by looking at

circumstances that seem to reveal open and closed

doors. God has promised in Psalm 32:8-9: “I will

instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. (KJV: “I will

guide thee with mine eye’) Do not be like the horse or

the mule, which have no understanding but must be

controlled by bit and bridle, or they will not come to

you.” The key is to have such an intimate walk with the

Lord that He can guide you with His eye. When my

girls were little, if they misbehaved in a public setting,

all I had to do was give them the old “raised eyebrow” look, and they knew that I meant, “Settle down, or you’re going to get it!” It worked for them, but it

doesn’t work for other kids…see…because they aren’t as close to me as my kids. 

(2) Better:

 Holy Spirit God’s Spirit dwells inside His children, so this is His internal guide. It’s interesting in Acts 16 that

Luke writes the Holy Spirit prevented Paul from going into Asia Minor. Then he writes that Paul was

prevented by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Those are two and the same. The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of Jesus as well as the Spirit of the Living God. In John 14-16 Jesus

promised He would send the Holy Spirit who would “guide the

disciples.” As He spoke about the Holy Spirit in John 14:18, He said,

“You know Him for he lives WITH you (that was Jesus in the flesh);

and will be IN you (that’s the Spirit of Jesus). It means we need to be

listening for that still small voice. If we are seeking God’s guidance, He will speak to us. In Isaiah 30:21 God says, “Whether you turn to the

right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘this is

the way; walk in it.’” Have you ever heard God’s still small voice? When

God speaks to your heart, He usually doesn’t employ an audible voice:

It’s louder than that. The problem with many of us is that God IS

speaking, we just aren’t listening very carefully. 

In Bible times many flocks of sheep were placed in a central sheepfold.

When a shepherd entered the sheepfold, he could call out, and only

those sheep belonging to him would follow. They recognized his voice.

If you belong to Jesus, you will recognize his voice. Jesus said, “My

sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John

10:27)

 (3) Best: God’s 

Word Circumstantial guidance is good, the inner voice of God’s Spirit is

better, but the very best is to read and study the Bible. It is God’s

eternal guide.

The way you find God’s will in the Bible is not to flop

the Bible open and randomly point at a verse or two.

One man tried that and his finger pointed to, “and

Judas went out and hanged himself.” He didn’t like

that, so he tried again. This time his finger came to

rest on a verse that said, “Go thou, and do likewise.” But if you are a serious and consistent student of

God’s Word, you will find the Word of God will light

your pathway. Psalm 119:104-105 says, “I gain

understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate

every wrong path. Your Word is a lamp unto my feet;

and a light unto my path.” Reading God’s Word will teach you the wrong paths. You start walking on

wrong paths when you enter the wrong doors. God’s

Word teaches you what not to do as much as it

teaches how to live. As you regularly devour God’s

Word, you’ll find God will use a phrase, or verse, or

passage and apply it your current life situation. It’s as if the words literally jump off the page and grab you by the throat. 

God has provided three lights for us, and when you line up circumstances, the voice of the Holy Spirit, and His Word, you know you can proceed safely.