Open and Closed Doors by Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. (Psalm 16:3, NIV)
Are you sometimes confused about the path God has for you? What I’ve learned, now more than ever, is to watch for open doors. We can pray, “Lord will you open the door that you want me to walk through, and close the doors that you want me to avoid?” Documentary work is a new field for me, but I have asked God if He wants me to do another project and a door opened for me to do a piece on the Holocaust. I was invited by a leading authority on the Holocaust to bring a camera to his institution’s Holocaust Conference in the Spring, and realized that not only did the Lord say yes, but it was an open door to where God was leading.
We might test a closed door to see if it is still sealed. I did that this week and realized the door was still locked. I was not upset about it. It was just a confirmation of what I was already thinking. While the Holy Spirit points us to open doors, He will also make it clear about the closed doors in our lives.
The apostle Paul looked for open doors and shared about one with the Corinthians concerning his work in Ephesus. “For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits. 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” (1 Corinthians 16: 7-9, NIV). Paul recognized the open door and remained there until the Lord led him to a different door.
That brings us to another point. Open doors do not come without opposition, as Paul found out. If God calls us to walk through an opening He creates, the enemy of God will try to throw up some roadblocks. I wonder sometimes if the Lord allows the opposition to see if we will listen to Him over the naysayers. The important thing to remember is that when we confirm God has opened or closed a door in our lives, we need to move forward and not look back.
What door has God opened in your life? What door has He closed?
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Join us for our annual Level-Up Women’s Conference coming up October 21st from 1:00-6 p.m. at Northview Baptist Church. Guest speakers are Best-selling Author Tracey Mitchell and Gateway Church Pastor Brittney Nelson. This year we will be “Leveling Up our Confidence,” “Leveling Up our Compassion,” and “Leveling Down Comparison.” Sign up on Eventbrite today! https://levelupdallas2023.eventbrite.com