God, in His benevolence, fulfills many roles in our Christian lives: He is a way-maker, a promise-keeper, a provider, a protector, and much more.
However, have you ever considered that God is also a divine doorkeeper?
Functionally, a door provides a passageway from one place to another. It offers privacy and protection and can be secured with a lock or an alarm system to prevent trespassers from entering.
Spiritually, a door can signify an outpouring of God's blessings, provision, and protection.
This transition of God’s glory to us can reveal itself in numerous ways: through the attainment of a new job, the beginning of a new relationship, the birth of a child, healing from an illness, or an outpouring of God’s favor and protection, ministry opportunities, and more.
John writes to the Church at Philadelphia in Revelations 3:7, “These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.”
Just as He opens a spiritual door to give us access to His blessings and favor, so too can God also close a door of opportunity, allowing a person in our lives to walk out on us or not granting us our heart’s desires.
In His divine might and power, God is the Only One who has the power and authority to open and shut doors. He is our divine doorkeeper.
So, how can we tell if God is closing a door? The following questions can help you discern if God is closing a spiritual door in your life.
Before we look at how we can tell if God is closing a spiritual door, let us first briefly look at why God closes spiritual doors in the first place.
In Isaiah 55:8, the prophet writes, ‘“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’” declares the Lord.” What we may consider good or opportune for us is limited by our humanely finite understanding.
There are additional reasons why God closes doors: it may be to deepen our walk with Him, protect our relationships, and preserve our peace. God may also install an alarm on a spiritual door so that we do a U-turn and return to the path that God intends for us to walk.
Let us look at seven ways in which God may be closing a door in your life.
1. Scripture commands it. As we established above, God wants only the best for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and His Word is a guidebook that helps us live the best possible life.
If we pursue something or someone that defies or contradicts Scripture, then God will start to close the door in that part of our life in order to protect us and ensure that His Word comes to pass.
2. You are robbed of peace. Have you ever made a decision, but deep down, you didn’t feel any peace over it?
The Holy Spirit gives us peace, which is taken from us when we hold on to the door handle of a spiritual door that God is trying to close.
As a result, anxiety is produced, which leads to procrastination, lack of sleep, physical ailments, and much more.
3. Red flags pop up. In Isaiah 59:19, it states that when we walk in God’s purpose, the enemy comes in like a flood in an attempt to disrupt and destroy His plans from being realized. However, not all interferences can be attributed to Satan.
For example, if you are driving to a job interview and you hit red lights the entire way and then, consequently, get a flat tire, then maybe — just maybe — God is trying to tell you that this job is not for you.
Red flags are God’s way of letting us know that we have come out of His alignment; therefore, don’t ignore them when they pop up.
4. You try and exert your will over God’s. In Matthew 7:7, God tells us to keep knocking reverently at the door, and He will open it. However, there is a difference between knocking on a door and trying to force it open.
If we have to force our will in order to realize a dream or goal, which includes a readiness to break rules, find loopholes, or do some generally dodgy things, then we cannot be surprised when our Father calls the “God Card” and exerts His will over us by closing that particular door.
5. Christian counsel confirms a door is being closed. Jesus formed the Church in order that we may have fellowship with one another and support and encourage each other in our faith walks.
This includes seeking and prayerfully considering counsel from our pastors, Christian mentors, and other mature Christians (Proverbs 19:20).
However, seeking Christian counsel means hearing advice that can challenge our current way of thinking.
At such times, instead of rejecting what you don’t want to hear, consider that God may be using these people to help you understand that He is closing a door on this particular issue and that He is opening a better door for you in the future.
6. You lose your energy and joy. When God puts good work in our hearts, He provides us with the means to fulfill it, which includes infusing us with energy and enthusiasm.
However, if you find your energy levels depleting and your joy waning, it may be that God is changing your heart and closing the door on this current project in order to re-direct your steps towards another purpose He has for you.
7. You’ve outgrown your current season. King Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
God brings people and situations to challenge and encourage us as part of our spiritual growth.
When your time of learning has come to an end, God may close the door of that particular season by allowing that relationship to run its course or your circumstances to change.
When we see God at work in our lives, we need to remember that He is always good — during the times when He opens doors as well as during the times when He closes them.
God wants the best for us, and it will always be something better than we can ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Therefore, for all the doors He does close in our lives, how many more does God open?
And when He does, God will keep His Word in Revelations 3:7 in that no one but Him can shut these doors.
Neither man, spirits, powers, time, height, depth, nor anything in all of Creation will be able to prevent the overflow of blessings, mercy, and grace that is intended for us.
For further reading:
Is it Biblical ‘Where God Guides, He Provides’?
What Does it Mean to Ask, Seek, and Knock in Prayer?
Is ‘When One Door Closes Another Opens’ Biblical?
Why Does Jesus Call Himself 'the Door'?
Can We Argue with God’s Promises?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/SasinParaksa
Madeline Kalu is an Australian Christian writer and the co-founder of Jacob’s Ladder Blog and The Proverbs 31 Home. She is also the co-author of the “My Year of Miracles 2024” journal, which encourages a daily reflection on the miracles that God performs in our lives throughout 2024. Madeline lives in Germany with her husband Solomon and the family’s two cats, who were rescued from the Ukrainian war zone.