The Language of Open and Closed Doors
The Language of Open and Closed Doors
By Eric Allen
With thoughts from “Whisper – How to Hear the Voice of God”
By Mark Batterson
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were wondering if it was time for a change? Not because you’re unhappy where you are but because you’re seeing signs around you that one door may be closing and another opening. That’s exactly where I found myself at the end of 2007. I was a student pastor at a church in Wagoner, OK and had been serving there for 8 years. I absolutely loved everything about it. We witnessed God change hundreds of student’s lives, had lots of ministry opportunities inside the school system, were actively serving in the community, and doing missions trips across the US. It was a great season. Truthfully, it was one of my favorites in all my years in ministry, but I began to notice a shift inside me. Though I loved what I was doing I was beginning to have thoughts about what the next season of my ministry would look like. I hadn’t sought anything out, sent out any resumes or even talked with anyone about what I was feeling, with my wife being the exception. I wasn’t looking to make any changes but couldn’t deny that something was stirring inside me. In early fall we had a weekend off and decided to go camping with friends and visit another church near our campground. We arrived at the service and made our way to our seats. Along the front of the stage spelled out in four-foot letters was the word “Leadership”. Evidently, they had been in a message series on church leadership and that particular morning the pastor was teaching on “Pastoral Leadership.” We had never been to this church, I knew of the pastor but didn’t know him personally, but everything he spoke on that morning addressed all I was feeling. When we left, the only thing I could think was that God wanted me to step into the role of lead pastor, but I had no idea what to do about that feeling. When we got home from that trip there was a message on our answering machine from a church who wanted to meet with us about becoming their pastor. After several meetings and much prayer, we took the position, and I began pastoring January of the following year. Crazy right?
I’m sure lots of questions come to mind after hearing that story. When do you know it’s time to make a change? Is it always that clear? What if I’m in a bad work environment, is it ok to look for something else? Where does career ambition fit into all of this? Though I can’t answer every question about this very broad subject I can share some tools to use that will hopefully help you recognize when God is closing a door and opening another. I’ll also share several thoughts from Mark’s book “Whisper” that will be helpful as well. Here we go.
Mark uses “Five tests” in the book that we are going to use as our guide. Let me stress first the importance of knowing God in a personal and intimate way. We’re discussing being able to hear when God speaks and the best way for that to happen is to be so close to Him that you can hear His whisper. As with any relationship, that takes time, communication, sacrifice, and much more. Now, on to the test.
1.) The Goose-Bump Test – The Celtic Christians had an intriguing name for the Holy Spirit. They called Him An Geadh-Glas, which means “the Wild Goose.” The idea here is that there is an element of unpredictability when it comes to living a Spirit led life. Following His promptings will lead you on some crazy adventures, but they will not lack in excitement. The will of God is not drudgery. Remember, if you are delighting yourself in the Lord, then God will give you the desires of your heart. Like a game of hot and cold, those desires will get hotter the closer you get to God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.
2.) The Peace Test – The apostle Paul said, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” This doesn’t mean you won’t feel scared but once you quiet all the thoughts and voices going on in your mind there’s a still, small voice speaking that brings peace. Quieting the noise can be difficult and usually requires lots of prayer, sitting quietly, and listening. For me once identified peace comes and you know in your heart it’s what you’re supposed to do.
3.) The Wise Counsel Test – This test is huge! Many times, we can’t discern the will of God by ourselves. We need other people to talk things out with, pray with, and certainly listen to. Surround yourself with people who have been there and done that. Surround yourself with people who bring the best out in you. Surround yourself with trusted people to speak the truth in love. Simply put, seek wise counsel. This will save you some trials and get you out of others. And because of our infinite ability to deceive ourselves (yes, it’s true), it’s an important check and balance. I would also recommend a book that I refer to before any major decision. It’s Andy Stanley’s book “Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets”. It gives five questions to ask when making life changing decisions. I wish I had known these questions years ago and now that I do, I will not make a major decision without referring to them.
4.) The “This is Crazy” Test – By definition, a God-sized dream is always beyond our abilities, beyond our logic, and beyond our resources. In other words, we can’t do it without God. One way to put it is to ask yourself, “will this decision require me to step out on faith?” Many times, these decisions will require us to leave a position we’re very comfortable in, move to a different city away from family, or step into a position that will require us to grow and learn new things. It won’t always make sense but if we find ourselves saying, “this is crazy” we may very well be on the right track.
5.) The Released from and Called-to Test – In most cases we are in our current position because we felt like we were led there. A door opened for a new position, and it felt like the right move, so we stepped into it. My question is why are you considering a move now? Has something changed inside of you? Has something changed at your company? Are you being pulled in another direction because of a passion or desire that is growing inside you? When any or all of these things happen many times you will feel a release from your current position around the time a new door opens up. It’s not always that seamless but you’ll recognize a subtle shift inside you away from where you are toward something new.
* WARNING – Allow me to give a word of caution to you if your feeling is stemming from a difficult situation. Maybe your work environment isn’t good, your spouse isn’t all you’d like them to be, or you’re just in a season of trials that seems like it will never end. God is always working to grow us in the areas we need to trust Him more and many times that comes from pressure. My advice is to not be so anxious to be removed from the situation that you miss what God is trying to accomplish in your life. Pressure is never fun, but it will always result in needed change that will help us to become more like Jesus.
I’d like to finish by speaking to those of us who are somewhere in the middle. Pastor Craig Groeschel did a brief teaching on this recently. We’re not where we were but we’re also not where we want to be. This could be spiritually, professionally, or relationally. That is exactly where the children of Israel found themselves in Numbers 6. God had brought them out of a life of bondage in Egypt, so they were no longer slaves, but they hadn’t made it to the promised land yet. They were in the wilderness somewhere in the middle. While there, God instructs Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites. Here’s the blessing he gives, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Dear reader can I remind you that God knows exactly where you are, what your needs are, and is at work on your behalf. He will not only bring you through the situation you’re in, but you will be better on the other side. All you need to do is to trust Him in this time of waiting. I know it’s difficult, but we have a heavenly Father who loves us and desires the best for us. Be patient my friend, breakthrough is coming!