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Open Doors From God
3 Ways to Know If God Opens Doors for You
How do you tell if God opens doors for you to go through?
Just because an opportunity presents itself, and it looks
appealing, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an open door from God.
And likewise, just because an open door looks a little
uncertain, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t walk through it.
The key is knowing
how to discern if an opportunity is really an open door from God. I don’t want
to miss those open doors because I was afraid to walk through them.
But I also don’t want to take every opportunity that comes
along, assuming it is from God’s hand and has his blessings attached.
In a recent
conversation with a friend, we talked about the faith and courage to walk
through a door that God is holding open for us, even if we’re not exactly sure
of what’s on the other side.
But then the question came up: How can you tell if God is the
one opening the door?
The Bible gives us
some principles to help us discern if an “open door” or opportunity is really
from God.
Here are ways God opens doors.
1. God Opens Doors That Will Never Contradict His Word.
Many Christians see
opportunities to make more money as an open door from God, even though the
opportunity means a job that will keep them from regular fellowship or service
in their church.
However, God’s Word tells us not to neglect meeting together for
worship (Hebrews 10:25).
Some women have told me that they believe God opened a door to a
dating relationship for them, even though it meant being in a situation where
they were “unequally yoked” with an
unbeliever, which Scripture also warns against (2 Corinthians 6:14).
God will not lead you toward an opportunity that contradicts
what He clearly says in his Word. Nor will he open a door that would require
personal compromise or disobedience in order for you to enter.
As humans prone to sin, we have an excellent way of turning a
clear mandate of God’s completely around and justifying it by our
circumstances, but that is not how God works.
If there is a compromise in any way, or we have to bend
Scripture to justify our “open door” then it is likely not a door that God is
opening for us.
I would call anything that contradicts his Word a temptation,
rather than an open door from God.
And God’s Word clearly says that God does not tempt us (James 1:13-14).
2. God Opens Doors That Will Be Accompanied by Confirmation.
In Matthew 18:15-16,
Jesus laid out instructions for confronting sin among believers saying “But if they will not listen, take one or
two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of
two or three witnesses’.”
I believe the same applies when it comes to God confirming
something in his Word.
He will often confirm or establish a
matter by “two or three witnesses”
whether they be verses from the Word of God, advice from a pastor or
well-respected person who is grounded in Scripture, or a non-compromising
circumstance that continues to present itself.
Through prayer, discernment and seeking godly counsel, you
should be able to tell if that “open door” and its confirmations are truly coming
from God.
3. God Opens Doors That Will Require You to Depend on
Him.
God is not going to
give us something that will alienate us from him or make us believe we no
longer need Him.
He is a God of relationship and a God who insists upon being
first in our lives (Matthew 6:33).
Therefore, if you find yourself saying “I can’t do this unless God goes before me,”
or “I can do this, but only with
God’s help and leading” I would say, in my personal experience, it’s likely
something God is calling you to do.
Hebrews 11:6 says: “And without faith it is impossible to
please him, for he who comes to God must believe that
he is and that he is a
rewarder of those who seek him.”
Many times an “open door” from God is one that allows our faith
to be stretched and strengthened. That, after all, is God’s objective for us:
to grow in faith and Christ-likeness.
Take your opportunity
or “open door” to God and ask for his confirmation – through His Word and godly
counsel from others – and His peace in the decision, and you can have the
assurance that you aren’t just choosing a door at random, but you’re carefully
walking through the one he wants you to enter.
Cindi McMenamin is a Bible teacher, national speaker
and author of several books, including When Women Walk Alone, When Couples Walk Together,
and God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heart. For
more on her books, ministry, or free resources to strengthen your soul or marriage,
see her website: StrengthForTheSoul.com.
