Scripture Reference:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
The Story:
A man had prayed for years for God to change his circumstances.
Every morning before work, he sat at the same kitchen table with his Bible open and prayed:
“Lord, I know You have something better for me. Show me the way, and I will follow.”
One afternoon, an opportunity appeared that seemed to be everything he had prayed for.
The pay was better. The location was better. The timing seemed perfect. He applied immediately.
For weeks, he prayed about it.
“Lord, please open this door.”
Then the answer came.
“No.”
The position had been given to someone else.
The man was crushed.
That evening, he sat at his kitchen table staring at the email on his phone.
“God, I don’t understand. I prayed. I trusted You. I thought this was the door You were opening.”
But heaven seemed silent.
Months passed.
Then something unexpected happened.
The company he had desperately wanted to work for suddenly announced major layoffs. They were struggling to pay thoer employees. Even the department he had applied to was eliminated entirely.
Had he received the position, he would have left his stable job, moved his family, spent much of their savings relocating—and found himself unemployed only months later.
That night, the man returned to the same kitchen table.
But his prayer was different.
“Lord, I thought You weren’t answering me.
Now I understand.
You were protecting me.”
And in his heart came a simple realization:
Sometimes the closed door is the answer to the prayer.
Reflection:
We often celebrate God’s goodness when He grants our requests. We feel grateful when the job comes through, a relationship blossoms, money arrives just in time, or opportunities appear like bright beacons on our path.
But what happens when God closes a door? That’s when faith can feel like a heavy burden. We may pray earnestly, only to hear silence in return. We knock on doors that never seem to open and watch as perfect opportunities slip away. It’s easy to feel lost and ask, “Why, God?”
Here’s something we often forget: God sees what’s on the other side of the door; we don’t. We focus on the opportunity, while God sees the potential consequences. We live in the moment, but God has a view of the future. We know what we want, but He knows what we truly need.
This doesn’t mean that every disappointment comes with a tidy explanation. Some things may remain a mystery until we reach eternity. Faith doesn’t require us to understand everything God is doing. Instead, it’s about trusting His character even when His plan seems unclear.
Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Notice that it doesn’t promise we’ll always understand the path ahead; it assures us that God will guide it.
Sometimes that guidance is through an open door, other times through a closed one. And occasionally, we may find ourselves standing in a hallway, wondering what comes next.
Example:
Imagine a child reaching for a hot stove. A loving parent quickly pulls the child’s hand away. The child may cry, feeling that something they wanted was taken away. But the parent sees the danger that the child doesn’t.
In our relationship with God, we may askbthe same questions.
“Lord, why did You take this away?”
“Why didn’t You let this happen?”
“Why didn’t You answer my prayer?”
Perhaps God’s response is simply:
“Because I love you too much to give you everything you ask for.”
A closed door isn’t always a rejection; it can be a form of protection. A delay doesn’t necessarily mean God is absent; it might be a time of preparation. And God’s silence doesn’t mean He has stopped working.
You might be standing in front of a closed door right now. Don’t spend so much time fixating on what didn’t open that you miss where God is leading you next.
Keep praying.
Keep trusting.
Keep walking.
Because the God who sees what you cannot see is already standing in your tomorrow. One day, whether in this life or the next, you may look back at the prayers that seemed unanswered and quietly whisper:
“Thank You, Lord, for closing that door.”
“Sometimes God’s greatest answer isn’t the door He opens, but the one He lovingly keeps closed. Faith is trusting that He can see what lies beyond it when we cannot.”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for seeing what I cannot see and knowing what I cannot know. Forgive me for the times I have mistaken Your protection for rejection or Your delays for abandonment.
When doors close that I desperately wanted to open, help me trust You. When my prayers seem unanswered, remind me that You are still listening. When I cannot understand the path before me, give me enough faith to take the next step.
Lord, quiet my anxious heart when I begin to question Your goodness. Strengthen me when waiting feels heavy and uncertain. Help me to rest in the truth that Your timing is perfect, even when it does not match my own.
Protect me from opportunities that would pull me away from Your purpose. Close the doors that need to be closed, even when I don’t understand why. Open the doors that align with Your will, and give me wisdom to recognize them.
Teach me to trust Your heart even when I cannot see Your hand.
I surrender my plans, my expectations, my timing, and my future to You. Shape my desires so they align with Yours, and give me peace in every season of waiting.
Lead me where You want me to go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Most Important Door:
Maybe you have spent your life searching for the right door—one that leads to peace, forgiveness, hope, and a new beginning.
Jesus is that door.
He said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” (John 10:9)
You don’t have to have everything figured out before coming to Him.
You don’t have to clean up your life first or somehow make yourself worthy.
Jesus is inviting you to come just as you are, place your faith in Him, receive His forgiveness, and begin a new life with Him.
Of all the doors you will encounter in this life, this is the one that leads to eternity.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, today can be the day you open your heart to Him.
Click here to learn how you can accept Jesus into your heart and begin your journey of faith!
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Rob Lavallee
Scriptural Seeds Ministries
