Just because an opportunity presents itself, and it looks appealing,
doesn’t necessarily mean it is from God. And likewise, just because an
open door looks a little uncertain, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t walk
through it.
The key is knowing how to discern if an opportunity is really an open door from God.
How to discern if an “open door” or opportunity is really from God:
The Door that God Opens Will Never Contradict His Word
Many
Christians see opportunities to make more money as an open door from
God, even though the opportunity means a job that will keep them from
regular fellowship or service in their church. However, God’s Word tells
us not to neglect meeting together for worship (Hebrews 10:25). Some
women have told me that they believe God opened a door to a dating
relationship for them, even though it meant being in a situation where
they were “unequally yoked” with an unbeliever, which Scripture also
warns against (2 Corinthians 6:14). God will not lead you toward an
opportunity that contradicts what he clearly says in his Word. Nor will
he open a door that would require personal compromise or disobedience in
order for you to enter.
mandate of God’s completely around and justifying it by our
circumstances, but that is not how God works. If there is a compromise
in any way, or we have to bend Scripture to justify our “open door” then
it is likely not a door that God is opening for us. I would call
anything that contradicts his Word a temptation, rather than an open
door from God. And God’s Word clearly says that God does not tempt us
(James 1:13-14).
The Door that God Opens Will be Accompanied by Confirmation
In
Matthew 18:15-16, Jesus laid out instructions for confronting sin among
believers saying “But if they will not listen, take one or two others
along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two
or three witnesses’.” I believe the same applies when it comes to God
confirming something in his Word. He will often confirm or establish a
matter by “two or three witnesses” whether they be verses from the Word
of God, advice from a pastor or well-respected person who is grounded in
Scripture, or a non-compromising circumstance that continues to present
itself.
able to tell if that “open door” and its confirmations are truly coming
from God.
The Door God Opens Will Require You to Depend on Him
God
is not going to give us something that will alienate us from him or
make us believe we no longer need him. He is a God of relationship, and a
God who insists upon being first in our lives (Matthew 6:33).
Therefore, if you find yourself saying “I can’t do this unless God goes
before me,” or “I can do this, but only with God’s help and leading” I
would say, in my personal experience, it’s likely something God is
calling you to do.
Hebrews 11:6 says: “And without faith it is impossible to please him,
for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a
rewarder of those who seek him.” Many times an “open door” from
God is one that allows our faith to be stretched and strengthened. That,
after all, is God’s objective for us: to grow in faith and
Christ-likeness.
Take your opportunity or “open door” to
God and ask for his confirmation – through his Word and godly counsel
from others – and his peace in the decision, and you can have the
assurance that you aren’t just choosing a door at random, but you’re
carefully walking through the ones he wants you to enter.
[written by Cindi McMenamin]
