Open and Shut

Did you know the phrase, ‘when God closes a door, he opens a window’ is not in the bible?  Instead there are passages which contribute to the idea such as in Deuteronomy 31:6, reminding you God is with you always, looking out for your best interests and Acts 5:17-25 when the Apostles are put in jail, but during the night an Angel comes to unlock the doors.

Actually, Alexander Graham Bell is credited for saying, “when one door closes, another one opens” which is primarily the same thing.  He said it to help others see there is always an opportunity out there, you just have to look for it.  Though, his phrase doesn’t mention God, Alexander Graham Bell said these words to get people to change their way of thinking, to see things from a different perspective.  Isn’t that a lot like God trying to get people to see his ways instead of the ways of the world? 

It is not unusual to miss the open door.  It’s a natural reaction to become hyper focused on the closed door in front of you.  A closed door can be devastating.  There is a story shared by therapists which says it’s common for people to feel trapped, as though behind bars.  The key is to, instead of screaming at the guard to release you, pause to breathe and look around to see the space behind you and to the right and left are completely open; without bars.

This happens with people who experience the loss of a job or go through a break-up.  They can immediately begin to spiral with negative thoughts and start building a smear campaign.  When they do this, they are consumed by what is in front of them and can miss new opportunities.

I think God places great opportunities your path all the time and a door doesn’t need to close in order for you jump through it.  I’m not saying you jump on every opportunity offered or that you see.  What I’m suggesting is that just because you are committed to one project, doesn’t mean you’re committed to that for life.

For example, you might volunteer every Tuesday serving dinner at a shelter.  This is without a doubt a great thing, but lately you haven’t been enjoying it the way you did back when you started ten years ago.  You feel you aren’t engaging with the clients and other volunteers; you are simply going through the motions.  It might be time for a change, but you feel stuck in your commitment because over the year’s you’ve become friends with everyone, and you don’t want to let them down. 

Since this has been something you do every week, it’s kept you from saying yes to an invite from a co-worker who volunteers with another organization.  You don’t know if this new volunteer opportunity is better or worse, but it would definitely bring you and the co-worker closer, even though a one-time experience.  You also might meet someone at the new place that tells you about another opportunity that sounds even better or your relationship with the co-worker leads to meeting a spouse or a new career.

I believe God gives everyone opportunities daily to choose to walk through the door or not.  If you choose not to walk through the door, the specific door that leads to your specific path to complete the mission for which God called you to, it never closes.  Instead, God opens doors for you to step through to take baby steps to get there.

Think about the stories of Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz.  These stories, though true fantasy, reveal it is through experiences that everyone learns to see what is important in life.  Like Alice and Dorothy, the doors open to you contain adventure beyond your wildest dreams, because what God has planned for your life is bigger and better than you can imagine.