A stressed mind will imagine what the eyes can’t see.”
–Nathan Wright (The Pursuit)
“Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”
–Proverbs 8:34 (NIV)
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Perhaps the most common question I received from youth when I was teaching was: how do I know God’s will? A very good and important question, one that we should be asking ourselves continually. Those who questioned were asking in regard to their future, their careers, college and other things. How does one know the will of God? Let’s take a brief look at Acts 16:6-10.
6 — Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
7 — After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.
8 — So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 — And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 — Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. (NKJV)
Paul was “forbidden” to preach in Asia, and the Spirit would not “permit” them to go into Bithynia. How was this done? By what means did the Spirit use? Paul knew for sure that the door was closed to Asia. Richard H. Longnecker reminds us that, “The missionary journeys of Paul reveal an extraordinary combination of strategic planning and sensitivity to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in working out the details of the main goals.” The problems come when man tries to do all the planning and doesn’t rely upon the Holy Spirit or he sits back waiting for the Spirit to move. We train, read, study, plan and move with the guidance of the Spirit. When Asia was closed, Paul did not sit around moaning and groaning. The Spirit said, “No,” so he looked for another opportunity–an open door.
“God communicates His will through needs, through circumstances, through relationships,, and through open doors.” (Bill Wilson) I would add that He also uses the inner conviction from the Holy Spirit, through a time of prayer, through the gifts of the Spirit, and most often through His Word. But what if the decision is not expressly written in the Bible, what then? We see in verse 9 that Paul had a vision. Wouldn’t it be nice if God would give us visions or write in the sky His will for our lives? Usually, and more often than not, He uses other means.
Yesterday I wrote about the “open door,” and going through it into tomorrow or whatever God has planned for you, but we must never forget the “closed door.” This is what happened to Paul. Twice, the door was closed. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states, “I am profoundly grateful to God that He did not grant me certain things for which I asked, and that He shut certain doors in my face.” Some of you may remember a song by Garth Brooks a few years back where he sang, “thank God for unanswered prayers.”
It has been my experience that the most common way that God shows us His will for answers that are not directly found in the Scripture is through open and closed doors. We cry, “Oh, I wish I knew what the Spirit is telling me to do.” Instead we need to look at our surroundings, get rid of “self” and our own personal desires, wishes, and wants. “Paul was a Spirit-sensitized man… He was prayer-saturated; all of life was communication with the Spirit. He took it as part of the Spirit-filled life that his thoughts and feelings were marshaled in service to his Lord.” (Lloyd Ogilvie) So much of the time we let our feelings decide for us. “This is what I want and the Lord should give it to me.”
Look at the circumstances to see if the door(s) are closed, then go on with the Spirit. Don’t try to knock down a door that the Lord has closed. And I would add this, be willing to accept a closed door and enter the one the Lord has opened. Let me give an example. When I was principal and organizing classes there was a student who was late in registering and most of the classes she wanted were full. I was speaking to the student when her mother began to pray claiming that these classes would open up for her child to be in them with her friends. (Get the picture? There was a lot of “self” going on). I broke into the prayer, reminding the mother and child that there was a reason that there was not an opening–poor scheduling of their priorities, and that perhaps (to keep it spiritual) God had other plans. “Oh, no,” the mother cried, “my child needs to be in those classes with her friends.”
Another situation, I was offered an early-out when I was in the Air Force. It seemed like a good opportunity so I put in the required paperwork on a Friday. The sergeant who was doing the processing said it would go right through. All weekend I felt a heaviness; it was as if the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I agonized over the weekend and as soon as the offices opened on Monday I called to ask if my request had gone through. The sergeant looked down on his desk, “Why no, I didn’t send it out. The orders are on my desk.” I told him to tear up the request and as soon as I said that the heaviness was gone.
I used those examples to remind us that we should prepare ourselves, then look at the doors. If they are closed it most likely is for a purpose, and we then should look for the open door. We should be like Paul and let the Holy Spirit guide our minds, feelings, emotions, and reactions to situations and then accept the decisions that are not ours and follow the Holy Spirit. If a door is closed, no matter how bad you want it to be open, accept it, but don’t wait around feeling glum, look for the open door. Let me also add, this is true in regard to relationships as well. Do not let a relationship keep you from doing what the Spirit is calling you to do.