God wants to send you to the world on a mission of preaching and exhortation, but the world will not believe you.
I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. (Rev 3:8)
I believe there are many people who are looking at a ‘closed door’ right now in their life or ministry and wondering what God is doing. You may be feeling disempowered. You may be tempted to feel discouraged. But Heaven’s reality is that you are empowered to do everything God requires of you at this moment in time.
An ‘open door’ is a metaphor for an opportunity and access—whereas a ‘closed door’ means that access to something is currently being denied or blocked.
When doors and gates are closed, a person will be prevented from entering the rightful place to access ones inheritance.
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.”
Psalm 24:7-9.
In the moment of closed doors, a child of God will be caged. If doors are shut, a believer will be behind doors without getting to his/her right destinations. That child of God will not be able to manifest. Such fellow shall be in oblivion. He or she will be incapacitated. Every struggle will amount to nothing. Efforts will be meaningless. Labours will be in futility. Even sweating will be futile. There will be no result to show for efforts expended. The person’s voice will not be heard.
I have to constantly remind myself that happiness is not a destination, it’s a journey. We will all have our times of confusion, sorrow, despair, rejection, let-downs. We don’t become happy when we stop having these moments. We become happy when we STOP letting these instances take over our lives.
We take back our power. We refuse to let any other person or circumstance run our life for us. We choose in this very moment to change what we don’t accept and accept what we cannot change.When one is experiencing closed doors or gates, freedom will be far-fetched. Freedom will be denied. A case in hand was Paul and Silas in prison.
“After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped”. Acts. 16:23-27. NIV
Closed doors makes life miserable. It could be likened to someone walking in the wilderness without road or without direction. Closed doors at times manifest the spirit of stagnancy. The believer or minister of the gospel will be going round and round without progress. Closed doors make one to travel in dry land without water.
Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”May you enjoy the opportunities and life that God paves for you without hindrance and access His Rivers in your desert in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Closed door is better imagined than experienced. It will be as when someone is digging the rock. Whereas, open doors will make things be as when one is digging the wet miry clay. It will be so easy and convenient. May this be our experience henceforth in Jesus name.
Imagine when someone is rowing against river tide or river flow. Such person will cover very small gap with great efforts and lost of precious time. Any reader of this BOOK (OPEN DOORS) that is experiencing this in his/her life or ministry, the Almighty God will terminate it today in Jesus name.
1. Unconfessed Sin:
Sin in our lives that we have refused to confess before God can close our doors of breakthrough and success.
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18), says the Psalmist.
Before we conclude that God has simply not heard our prayers or that it is not His will to give us what we ask, we need to examine our hearts to see if unconfessed sin stands as a barrier between ourselves and God.
While we need to continually examine our hearts, we need also to ask God to reveal our sin to us. We should ask those closest to us what they have observed in our lives. While God most often reveals sin through the reading of and meditating upon His Word, we should realize that if we do not learn our lesson from Scripture, He may have to resort to harsher tactics where our sin is revealed before others, even publicly. While this may be difficult and humiliating, He does so because He loves us and does not wish for this sin to continue to corrupt us and to stand as a barrier between Himself and us.
2. Unforgiveness
If you do not understand forgiveness enough to forgive others, then your faith is so small that it is tantamount to unbelief. In that case, don’t expect any prayers to be answered except prayers of confession.
“This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, let your name be kept holy. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Give us our daily bread today. Forgive us as we forgive others. Don’t allow us to be tempted. Instead, rescue us from the evil one. “If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures. (Matthew 6:12-15 GWT)
And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any: that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:25-26)
3. Disobedience and Rebellion
These are powerful keys of closed doors. Disobedience made the door of hearing from God closed against Saul and rebellion banishes people into dry land.
“God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land”. Psalms 68:6. NIV
Once we know the will of God on any subject, it is disobedience and rebellion to continue to pray for a different answer on that subject. If we aren’t doers of what we know we should do, it will hinder our prayers. We need to obey God and please him for our prayers to be answered.
What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desire of the righteous will be granted. (Proverbs 10:24)
Dear friends, if our conscience doesn’t condemn us, we can boldly look to God and receive from him anything we ask. We receive it because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
4. Fear.
Maybe it is not the fear of losing our life instead we fear failing at what we do. That we will strike out, or make the wrong call, or that the boss will not like the report we turn in. That the husband will not like the way you have cleaned house.
Perhaps we fear that some one we really do not know will not like us. Or if so and so really knew what I was like they would have nothing to do with me. We are constantly worrying about what people are thinking about us. So fear causes us to put on our little masks and seek refuge behind the locked door of our heart.
5. Doubt.
God wants us to have confidence in His ability and willingness to provide what is necessary for us to attain to godliness. He wants us to believe that He can and will do what He says.
Our prayers cannot be separated from our faith. If we are to ask God, we must ask with expectancy, believing in our heart of hearts that God can and will give what we desire, provided that what our desire is really what we need and what will bring glory to Him! We are to ask with confidence and expectancy, praying out of the faith He has given us.
When we doubt ourselves and our own abilities. So instead of living life in faith we lock the door of doubt and hide.
6. Guilt.
Perhaps guilt has caused more locked doors than anything else. Guilt over sin sometimes makes us feel as if we are shut off from God.
Do you remember the story of Adam and Eve? God told Adam and Eve that they could take of any fruit in the garden of Eden except from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But Adam and Eve did it anyway. What happened next? When God came in the afternoon to spend some time with Adam and Eve, they were so consumed by guilt and shame that they ran and hid from God.
Guilt of sin seemed to lock a door between God and his creation. Are you experiencing guilt over sin you have committed? Perhaps you have been living a life consumed by guilt over something that happened years ago. I have good news for you. That door can be unlocked right now. Confess that sin to God and put it behind you.
7. Grudge
Perhaps we are suffering from guilt about our relationship with someone else. Perhaps unforgiveness with a mate, or family member, or someone else has caused a locked door in your life. Remember the story of Jacob and Esau? Jacob was quite a con-man. He took advantage of hunger and the youthful inexperience of his brother to take his brothers birth right. When Jacob tricks his father into giving him Esau’s blessing Jacob runs for his life. Jacob feels guilt because he knows he needs the forgiveness of his brother. It is not until years latter that these two brothers are reconciled. Is there a locked door in our life because we know we have done something wrong to another person? Is there someone we have been holding a grudge against? Is there someone we need to forgive?
8. Hurt.
Along these same lines of thought, another cause of locked doors is hurt. Perhaps someone has done something to us that makes us withdraw into ourselves and lock the door. We do not want to allow anyone in and we do not want to go out. These could be child hood experiences or memories. Perhaps linked to some form of abuse, verbal or otherwise. Maybe it is linked to your experience as a parent when you found yourself cut to the quick of your heart. Death can deliver a mighty hurt. The lose of a mate, a parent, a child, all of these loses can cause us to lock doors.
Marriage, even a good one can have its hurts. Words. Cutting remarks. No words at all. Lack of understanding. All of the these can lock doors in our relationships.
9. Ancestral curses.
“Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength,excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it”. Gen 49:1-4.NIV
It affected their breakthrough. Ten negative things that would not let the tribe of Reuben excel occurred to them in the wilderness. Eventually, they could not cross to their inheritance- Canaan land. May this never be our portion in Jesus name.
10. Ancestral covenant.
Hebrew 7:9 says ” And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.”
The evil covenant our forefathers made can, to a large extent, mortgage ones progress and cause a closed door. May every covenant of our ancestors that closed doors against us be shattered by fire in Jesus name
Open doors in life mean opportunity, progress and promotion. But unexpectedly certain open door closes. It leaves you desperate. Then you cry out, “O my God, where are you? Is it all over for me? Open one door for me. Give me a sign of your goodness.”
This cry comes from desperation. But you as God’s child need to be better informed about closed doors. They do not mean that it is the end of the road for you. They do not mean that God has stopped caring for you. But it means quite the opposite. You need to understand the loving care with which God closes doors in your life.
Do not be surprised; you should know for sure that it is God who opens and closes doors in your life. As long as you think it is some human being or institution that does it you are going to be sadly mistaken. If you trust in Jesus; He is the one who opens and closes doors in your life: “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Revelation 2:7b NIV).
Therefore, be sure and fully convinced that the closed doors in your life are His doing. You need not blame anyone for that. You need not curse your circumstances. The best thing to do is to thank God for closing those doors in your life. Is that easy to do? Not at all. But that is the best thing you can do!
Now, if you are convinced that it is God who closes doors, you are ready to think of why He does so:
1. God closes doors so that you can change directions.
Many times you keep on doing what you do all your life. But God might certainly have better things in store for you. Since you are comfortable doing what you are now doing and good at it; you will never think about changing directions at all. You will never even give it a passing thought. So to get your attention, God will close doors in your face. He will not allow them to be opened again for you however hard you try.It is only then that you will listen to what God has to say to you. He might whisper to you to try something new, to take up a new job, apply for a promotion etc. Now you are ready to hear and obey. Earlier, when the sailing was smooth, you were happy cruising along. Now that you are without a ship to sail; you will start looking for the next ship, maybe a small boat for the time being, that God has kept ready for you.For example, in the life of Elijah, God provided him with bread and meat through ravens. And He provided him with water from the brook. But then some time later the brook dried up. That was a door that closed on him. Now God had his attention. A new command then came to him to go at once to Zarephath where God had commanded a widow to provide for him. [That was a new direction in his life.] But he was made ready to listen and obey because of a closed door in his life (Ref. I Kings 17:2–9). Again, the most important thing was that God had closed a door and opened another door for him. So closed doors in your life are God’s attention-grabbers. Thank God for them. He is pointing you to a new direction in life. It’s going to be exciting.
2. God closes doors so that you can learn to pray more.
Isn’t it true that doors that are open never inspire you to pray much? That is simply because you take them for granted. You do not give it a second thought. You may be thankful for it; but not consciously giving thanks to God for it. But when the door closes, you suddenly become aware of how much it had meant to you. You feel with awesome helplessness the immovable strength of a closed door shut in your face. Then, in sheer helplessness, you hit the dust on your knees. And you cry out, “O God, help me!” The cry echoes in emptiness. You will feel the pain of rejection. You cry out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?2” Still no answer. All is darkness. You feel despair. You feel gnawing emptiness. But you have no other way. You continue to pray until there comes an assurance in your heart that God has heard. His peace settles in your heart. Now you can eagerly expect God to open some door for you.But the moments just before the door opens are the toughest for it is said that the darkest hour is just before dawn. That means, that the time before you receive the answer to prayer is the darkest. It is then that you need to pray more.In the Bible we find Daniel in the land of Babylon. He was taken there with the Israelites as captive in war. They were there seventy years. As those years were coming to a close, Daniel understood from the Book of Jeremiah3 that their captivity was coming to an end (Ref. Daniel 9:2). He did not dance about when he understood that. But he prayed with all his heart. He confessed his sins and the sins of his fathers (Ref. Daniel 9:4–19); for if there is sin in one’s heart God would not hear prayer4. And there came a King named Cyrus who ordered the survivors of the captives to go back to Jerusalem5.
Thus Daniel prayed intensely in the darkest hour just before the dawn of their freedom. And they got it. And Daniel lived to see the doors of freedom open!
So closed doors teach you to pray more. They grip your heart with such force that you pray like you’ve never prayed before. And when doors open; you will thankfully realize that you have moved up another level in the prayer ladder. Therefore pray with all your might when doors close on you.
3. God closes doors so that you will stop trusting in man.
It is only when you have knocked at closed doors that you understand that the help of man cannot be trusted. It is during such times you come to know the true character of those whom you expected would help. You might have been given hope day after day by their soothing words of promise. Until one day you found them telling you not to trouble them anymore. Then you felt the pain of being let down; the pain of having been deceived into believing those words which gave you false hopes.And now you are alone! But Someone stands alongside, waiting for you to realize that He is standing by. Closed doors do help you to see Him stand by your side. Many times He knocked at your heart to tell you that He is willing to help. But then your eyes and hopes were set on those men who had promised to help. So you never heard His knocking. You never opened the doors for Him.Now that you find every door closed; you are ready to listen to Him. It is now you are ready to say along with the Psalmist: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm” (Psalm 20:7,8 NIV). Now you are ready to get rid of those chariots and horses in which you trusted. And now you are ready to see God open doors for you. So closed doors compels you to stop trusting in man. It helps you see that God alone can open doors for you.
4. God closes doors so that you will wait for His time.
In the wisdom of this world any time is right. In the eyes of this world there is no concept like waiting for God’s specific time. But when God deals with you, His child, He often closes doors so that you will wait for His right time.You have to know that there are many reasons why God would do this. He does it to prepare circumstances. He prepares them in such a fashion that it will be to your best advantage when His time comes. If you act before His time it will be like plucking an unripe fruit. He knows when it is going to be ripe and ready to be eaten. He closes doors so that you will not pluck the unripe fruit. He will open them only when it is ripe. Then it will be to your best advantage.In the Bible we see this in the life of Joseph. He was put in prison. There he interpreted the dreams of two men. He told one of them, the chief cupbearer of the king, to remember him when all goes well with him. Joseph also asked him to mention him to Pharaoh and to get his release from prison. Even though the chief cupbearer was restored to his position, the Bible says that he did not remember Joseph but forgot him.Two full years passed by. Joseph might have lost hope that the cupbearer would get him out of prison. But then God’s time came. Pharaoh had dreams. Nobody could interpret them. Then the chief cupbearer remembered Joseph. Immediately, Joseph was brought out of prison. And he became Governor of the land.
It all happened quickly. So also it can happen to you if you wait for God’s time. Joseph tried to make his release come in his own time. But God closed the door then. He opened it after two years. This was because God had now prepared the circumstances. Now Joseph became the governor of the land.
Have you ever thought what would have happened if Joseph got his release two years ago? He would have got his freedom only to become somebody’s slave again!
Have you ever thought what would have happened if Joseph got his release two years ago? He would have got his freedom only to become somebody’s slave again!
So closed doors teach you to wait for God’s time.
5. God is preparing you for the task ahead while you wait behind closed doors.
This is a more important process that happens to you while you wait for God’s time–God is preparing you for the task ahead. God knows what qualities and strength of character you need to be able to handle the honor that you will be given when He opens doors. For that He allows you to pass through difficulties behind closed doors. All the waiting, all the hardships and all the misunderstanding and ridicule that you are facing now is building muscles of steely-faith in your mind. You are being molded and shaped by God to meet your glorious destiny. The more tough your closed door; the greater the exaltation God has planned for you. You can know this lesson from Joseph’s life itself: “And he sent a man before them–Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles; his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom” (Psalm 105:17–22 NIV).The dream of greatness was God’s promise to Joseph. And He prepared him behind closed doors to give him the exaltation that was promised earlier.
So closed doors guard God’s preparation ground to make you ready for the greatness that He has kept in store for you!