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RHM Devotional: Doors from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about recognizing the doors that God opens for us in our life. Think of them as doors of opportunity. This has always His way, He opens a door for us, and then we have to walk through it. Paul prayed that doors would open in his life:

Colossians 4:2–3: "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word..."

2 Corinthians 2:12: "Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord..."

1 Corinthians 16:8–9: "But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." NKJV

God is the One that opens and closes doors for us. He said in Revelation 3:8

“I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.” He also shuts doors that no one can open, and both types are extremely important.

Closed doors may not be as pleasing as an open one, but they are just as important in your life. Once when out of work for a season, I accepted a job over the phone before I prayed about it. That was a Friday afternoon and they told me to start on Monday.

While driving there, I prayed “Lord if this is the job that You have for me, so be it. But if You want me somewhere else, then close this door.” When I arrived at the job site, they had already hired someone that they thought was me, and they didn’t need anymore help. That door was closed. It was a good thing because the job that He had for me appeared a week later.

It is clear that God uses doors of opportunity in our life to move us along His path, but I want to talk about recognizing them, for He thinks differently than us. Think on the birth of Jesus Christ for a moment. He was born in stable in Bethlehem and laid in a feeding trough.

I grew up on a farm and used to feed the animals. I can tell you that the fragrance of nature would have permeated the air around them so thick you could almost taste it. The parents were poor, there were no servants to wait on them. In fact, Mary was pregnant and not yet married, so that was another black mark. What I mean is that it was not the glorious entrance that you would have expected for an event like the Son of God coming to earth.

Jesus came in a humble package, as do so many of God’s greatest gifts to us. Peter wrote:

1 Peter 5:5-6 (NKJV) “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time”.

In short, humility opens doors for us to be exalted, while pride closes them and according to Proverbs 16:18, opens doors of destruction. Each time in my life, before the Lord began to use me in any way that mattered, I first went through an humbling season to prepare me for it. It was always voluntary, and each time I was just given the opportunity to humble myself, never forced to obey. The opportunity usually presented itself as a choice, where I could choose to humbly serve others in some way, or leave feeling like they didn’t know how important that I really was.

It was a choice, and I was free to do either. The times that I chose the humble path, it always ended up with me being promoted in some way later, or a golden opportunity suddenly appeared. I have literally gone from sweeping the floor, to becoming the manager.

God uses humble beginnings and I have learned from experience that the extravagant-looking door is not usually the one that He has in store for me. It is the plain looking door that appears to be nothing until you walk through it.

Peter said to humble ourselves so that God may exalt us in due time. He will provide the opportunity for us, but only we can humble ourselves. God does not make you humble, but He will provide an opportunity for you to serve in a lowly position with a positive attitude. You will become humble during the serving. The further the task is beneath you, the higher that He will take you later. The longer that the serving takes, the longer the season of promotion that comes.

I mentioned a time when He closed a door for me and kept me from taking a job, though I had already been hired. It was because the following week, the job that He had for me appeared. Here is a little backstory on that.

Once I had a great job, at least for me, as a supervisor for an international construction company. I had worked there for several years, though I had to work every Saturday and Sunday and I could not attend church as I used to. I began to hunger for more of God. I missed feeling His presence, so I decided to fast, pray, and listen to the Bible day and night for two weeks.

At the end of the two weeks, they called me to the office and laid me off. I was surprised, but I learned that as you radically seek Him, He will radically change your life and sometimes, you may not like the change.

I went on unemployment and looked everywhere for a job, but couldn’t find one. It was a time of solitude for me. I looked for work and often spent time on the Waccamaw river alone fishing, praying, and listening to an audio Bible. I took that job that I mentioned, but He closed the door before I could even start to work. I prayed for the Lord to open a door for me somewhere, and that I could continue to listen to the Bible all day. That was my only request.

Finally the last check of my unemployment came, and the same day, a temp service called and wanted me to come apply for a job. It was at a brass plant that polished plumbing faucets before they were chromed. I went to meet with the manager and was unsure. The job paid a third of what I previously made and was dirty, dangerous work in a dimly lit building. While I stood there, the manager said, “You can start in the morning if you like. Bring something to listen to because it can be pretty boring” and the Holy Spirit said “This is what you asked Me for.” I took the job.

During that year of polishing brass at minimum wage, He refined me. I listened to the Bible all day and prayed while polishing brass at a buffing machine. It was an incredible time in my life, and miracles began to happen all around me. Though I hardly said a word there, revival broke out in the building and everyone suddenly became on fire for the Lord. Soon the Bible played through the intercom all day, and we all attended church together.

After that, the plant merged with another and the Lord pushed me into my own computer business for the next twenty years. I networked hundreds of computers, and built a hundred websites. I had no idea that He was preparing me for online ministry and teaching me the skills that I use here today. It all began when a very humble-looking door opened for me.

When He gives you the chance to humbly serve in some way,  do it. It is quite possibly the greatest door that could ever open for you, disguised as something lowly. Jesus, the King of all Kings washed the feet of the disciples like He was their servant. No matter where He puts you, serve with a smile and work to be the best that the world has ever seen. Do all things as if you were doing them for the Lord and His promotion will pursue you.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please open the right doors in my life, and close the ones that I should stay out of. Help me see the big picture and look beyond my circumstances today. Please give me the grace to serve You wherever I am and to keep a positive attitude. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.