Recently I read this article from Nehemiah Ministries titled 'Golden Opportunites and God's Will'. It so happened that I just finished reading another book about open doors. From these readings, I gained a much better understanding about open doors and their significance. I learnt something which I never learnt before, so I thought of sharing with you.
When God shows you an open door, He must have wanted you to walk through it right? If not, why did He show you that open door, especially after you desired and prayed for it? Well, I have learnt through experiences that it may not be always His will for you to walk through an open door. Even though God is the One who opened that door. If He doesn't want us to go through it, then what could be the purpose of that open door?
I had doors opened to me in years past which I didn't enter but I didn't regret it. Yet at times I wondered what was the significance of that open door. Or perhaps God opened a few doors for you and you weren't sure which was the correct door to choose. Sometimes we placed too much emphasis on those open doors, forgetting the One who has the power to open them. We sweat too much on whether which is the correct door and if we have missed a golden opportunity or our kairos moment.
One point in case was when I was seeking to leave a company, two doors were opened to me at the same time. I was weighing the pros and cons of each door wondering which was His will for me. Actually come to think about it, though my trajectory might be different in those years had I taken the other job offer, the end outcome should be the same. I would still come to a point that I decided to stay home. And yes, I believe God would still accomplish His restoration plan in whichever company I worked in. Maybe it really wouldn't have mattered after all.
But then there may be some doors opened to us ahead of time and if we entered it, it would not be to our benefit. Then you may ask, if that door wasn't good for us, why did God open it in the first place? Just like how God placed that tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden...if He hadn't given us choices, then where would our free will be used in? I believe God gives us choices to help us grow in the process of decision making as well. To gain wisdom, to seek His perspectives and to come to a decision. But eventually God will cause all things to work for our good and course correct us if we made mistakes in choosing.
So you may ask...is choosing the right doors to enter important? Of course it is still important. To me, I feel that it will short circuit our process of circling the same mountain year after year if we choose wisely. If we sought the Lord and walked through the door He intended us to go through, we might reach our destination sooner. In my experiences, there were certain incidents that God didn't state His preference for any particular door but left the choice solely to me. But in other circumstances, He resolutely closed that open door or prompted me to close that door in view of a better door opening.
We each face this dilemma from time to time. And while we welcome the problem on one level (it’s nice simply to have an open door), the agony of deciding can be extreme. The problem is great enough for anyone, regardless of their spiritual outlook. For the Christian, though, questions about God’s will can add to the confusion. “If Christ is in control of my life, shouldn’t I assume that a shining opportunity like this is from him? Isn’t he showing his intention through this open door? Aren’t I sinning if I turn away from it?"
There is one benefit of the open door that we seldom consider. When an opportunity to take a significant step with our life is actually present, we are able to interact with it, intellectually and emotionally, on a level not possible when we’re merely musing about it as a distant possibility. Having a real-life option to grapple with breaks us out of the realm of fantasy and focuses our thinking remarkably. We are able to gaze down the road, and grasp more realistically what it would be like to truly live out this role. Indeed I was able to see how my immediate future would be like if I had walked through a particular open door.
Even if we conclude that the opportunity isn’t right for us, we have still benefited greatly from its being present. This explains why God might open a door for us--even a wide one--yet not expect us to venture through it. This aspect of God’s guidance is immensely liberating, for it means we’re not obligated to any assumption about his will when a compelling option presents itself, but are free--indeed, expected--to weigh it along with other factors. While God gives us guidance through every open door we encounter, he means for us to accept the opportunity in one case, but to learn from it and turn away from it in another.
We need all the reinforcement we can get in striving to think clearly about open doors. We easily default to thinking God wants us to proceed through them. It can be excruciating to decline a great opportunity, and the decision can be complicated further by our view of God's guidance. Yet even the best prospect may be God’s means of educating us and sharpening our vision for taking a different direction.
We have, in short, an extraordinary basis for confidence and hope as we pursue our goals and dreams, and weigh various alternatives that we face. If Christ is Lord of my life, I may assume he’ll be providing me with important opportunities to employ my gifts and to realize the desires he has placed in my heart. This conviction should add a note of anticipation to each day--that on any given day, options may arise that will forever affect my destiny in a positive way. My default assumption should be that a good opportunity is Christ’s provision for my needs and his way of prodding me ahead.
Our need for his guidance is never greater than on those occasions when we face golden opportunities that don’t seem quite right for us. Yet we may approach these decisions with unspeakable confidence that Christ will give us exactly the insight we need to resolve them successfully--when we open ourselves to his help. To say it in the most positive possible way: His availability to guide us, and his willingness to do so, is unceasing. This is the best news. That door is always open.
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