At some point in your life, you will face a slammed door. You probably already have. Perhaps you were excited about a relationship that flooded your heart with warmth, a chance to grow your business, an opportunity you greatly desired for your child or even the hope of adopting a child. But then the door you expected to walk right through slammed in your face, leaving you reeling and questioning everything you believe.
If anyone knows anything about slammed doors, it is Moses. If you have never read Exodus 5, I encourage you to pause and read this short passage of Scripture.
In this chapter, Moses and Aaron obey the Lord by going before Pharaoh to declare that the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh dismisses their request with a hard refusal and then inflicts harsh repercussions on the already severely burdened Jewish slaves. His ruthless treatment stirs deep resentment among God’s people toward Moses and Aaron, leaving Moses crying out before God, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all” (Exodus 5:22-23).
Moses could have given up and run back to Midian, discouraged and defeated, but I am grateful he chose to bring his heartbrokenness before the Lord. Moses stayed, and he stayed engaged with God. We are faced with the same kind of decision when we believe that we are doing the will of God, yet doors keep slamming right in front of us. Will we stay, or will we go? Will we cry out to God or turn our back to Him?
When we feel tempted to pull away from God, we need to bring Him our sorrow, not our silence.
Here are five things you can do when a door slams in your life:
1 – Feel it, don’t fake it.
As Christians, we do not have to pretend like we have it all together. It is okay for us to admit that we are hurting. This does not mean we sulk or wallow, but we do need to learn to grieve and sit with God in our sorrows.
2 – Dwell on truth.
Some of the enemy’s favorite tools to beat us down with are doubt and discouragement, and they live at the threshold of slammed doors. These are the exact times when the enemy will attack truth. Think about what was happening in the story of Moses. Had God abandoned Moses? No. Was God surprised that Pharaoh rejected him? No. Did God warn that there would be troubles? Yes. (See Exodus 3:18-20) Was God still sovereign and in control of all things? Absolutely. Is He still sovereign and good in our lives today? Always.
When doubt and discouragement show up, remind yourself of what you know to be true. When it doesn’t look like God is solving your problem, dwell on what He has already done.
3 – Be with godly people.
When a door slams, we may feel ashamed or embarrassed. We can wonder what we did wrong or start dwelling on everyone else’s open doors. We must not let shame or embarrassment cause us to push away from others. Instead of allowing the enemy to get us isolated, we need to purposefully be with godly people.
4 – Wait on the Lord, but do not stop looking for the next door.
God’s timing is not our timing. When a door slams, we can look to Him and wait on Him. We can trust that when He shuts one door, He will open another.
5 – Remember that hope lives in the Redeemer of your soul, not the resolution to your situation.
God doesn’t have to fix our problems; He has already taken care of our biggest one. He has rescued us from a slave master of sin and given us hope in His Son. He also does not promise us endless happiness, boundless opportunities, and unceasing success in this life. He doesn’t have to give birth to that dream or open up that opportunity. Knowing Jesus is far greater than walking through any open door we could ever dream of in our entire lives.
What slammed door have you faced recently in your life? Are you struggling with doubts and discouragement? You can trust God with your sorrow. He is big enough for you to praise Him on Sunday and then weep before Him on Monday.
Feel. Dwell. Be. Wait. Remember.
