by Emily Conrad
Imagine
I’m in prison. I’ve been beaten. I devote my time in my cell to God. I pray and sing through the pain of my injuries and through the injustices.
Suddenly, the whole place shakes, an act of God. The earthquake opens all the cell doors and breaks everything that holds me back.
I’m free to go.
I run out the open door . . . and I miss the mission for which I was freed.
The Open Door
You may have guessed by this point that I’m back in the same passage I wrote about last week, Acts 16. Paul and Silas have been beaten and imprisoned in Philippi. They pray and sing to God. And then, an earthquake opens the doors and loosens their bonds. They’re free to go.
But, amazingly, they don’t.
Their decision saves the jailer from suicide.
Not only that, but he and his entire family find eternal life in Christ.
Paul and Silas spend the rest of the night with him, because they’re still there in the morning, when the magistrates send word to let Paul and Silas go.
Once again, they have another open door. They are free to leave.
Once again, they refuse it until the magistrates come and apologize to them. With these officials as their escort, they finally leave the prison.
Though I can clearly see the importance of the first refusal to leave (the eternal destiny of the jailer and his family), I’m not sure why they chose to wait for an apology before leaving at the second opportunity. Perhaps they set a precedence with the magistrates that would make them slower to persecute the church in the future? Just a guess.
Whatever the reason, the text doesn’t seem to condemn the decision, and by this point, Paul and Silas have shown a dedication to doing things God’s way. We can learn a lot from their example.
In this case, they set an example of not walking through every open door available to them.
Having an open door doesn’t necessarily mean we should go through it.
Choosing the Wrong Open Door
I’ve made the mistake of walking through open doors I suspect now that I shouldn’t have. In the cases I’m thinking of, I felt stuck, and then a door opened. I saw some shadows in the room the open door led to, but those shadows didn’t look as dark and foreboding as the cell I’d been stuck in. Uneasy, I debated and prayed and eventually decided to take the open door because I didn’t know if another would open in the future.
Did you catch the fear there? The lack of trust?
Sure, I had other reasons for my decisions, too, but in at least one case I can think of, I knew fear was driving me. I think I even voiced my concern that this was the case, but in the end, I satisfied myself with my reasoning to pass through the open door.
When it comes to deciding which open doors to walk through, reason must not outweigh our trust in Jesus.
Sometimes, what He asks of us defies reason. Sometimes, we’re to stay in a prison cell.
Sometimes, we’re to decline our first and maybe even our second opportunity to flee a trial or end a time of waiting. (Anyone else thinking of Hagar right now?)
Praise God, He is merciful. He is the redeemer, and He will fulfill His purpose for my life, despite my poor choices. He doesn’t give up on His children. He pursues us through the doors we’ve chosen. He is in ultimate control of the outcomes. He knows the way out of every labyrinth, and the first step involves leading us to the one open door we should always take.
The Best Open Door
This door might be narrow, but it is open to us, and we should always pass through it.
It’s the door to God’s throne room, the door to a deeper relationship with Him.
This door involves humility, repentance, and trust, and it leads to a room of renewal and restoration.
This may mean resisting a different door we’ve longed to pass through, but I’d rather wait in a trial with Jesus than make a decision to keep company with fear and distrust.
Then, when Jesus opens a door and invites me through, I can proceed in His time and His way, as Paul and Silas did.
P.S. Posts will appear here more often during the month of September. In celebration of the paperback release of Justice (hooray!!!), I’ve invited a series of readers and fellow writers to share their thoughts on some of the themes and ideas from the novel. These aren’t book reports! They’re heartfelt and beautiful, personal testimonies of growing closer to a personal God.
If you’d like to join the email list to ensure you don’t miss a post, you can do so here!
Photo credits
Title image photo by Dil Assi on Unsplash, designed on Canva.com
Series of open doors photo by kilarov zaneit on Unsplash
Person outside open door photo by alexander milo on Unsplash
Blue door with red flowers photo, my own
I love this, Emily! I often look at an open door as a sign I should walk through, but in some cases it can actually be a distraction from the overall mission. I'm going to remember this next time I'm faced with a big decision. Thanks, friend!
Such a great post, Emily. This really isn't obvious is it–we tend to think any open door must mean we're suppposed to take it. At least I tend to think that way, thinking that always means God opened it for me, intending me to walk through. But you're so right–sometimes we rush through the wrong door out of fear or other reasons. I love your point from this illustration in Scripture. It's amazing they didn't take what seemed like such an obviously good open door! Wow. We need to be that in-tune with God and His purposes, too, or we'll miss the opportunities if we don't take those "easy out" open doors. Thanks for this challenge today!
It's a lesson I need, too. Resisting an open door can sometimes be so difficult! I'm glad the post was helpful. Thanks for reading 🙂
Thank you, Jerusha! In their place, I truly wonder if I would've thought twice before running out. May we all be in-tune with God, as you wrote, to the point where we recognize the opportunities that are ours–and those that aren't!
Thank you for this post. Some good wisdom to consider! Now if you could please write a post about what to do when there are two open doors that are both good options!
Sounds like a good problem to have 🙂 Allen Arnold's The Story of With includes a fantastic illustration about choosing the right door, even when many look good. The book helped lend me clarity on some decisions, and perhaps it would you, too? I'm pausing to pray for your decision, that you would sense which way God is leading!
Thanks for the post, Emily! Very encouraging – so many times we get pressure to go through an open door, but it's good to remind ourselves that it's okay to wait for the door God is calling us through then the one society thinks we should.
Yes! Amen! We have to wait for God's call, rather than society's–or even our own. Thanks for visiting the blog today!
GREAT post as usual Emily…very thought provoking.
Thanks for sharing
Good luck and God's blessings
PamT
So appreciate this visual. God does indeed use doors to guide our decisions, test our ultimate trust in Him. Behold, He stands at the door and knocks. But…I may not answer because I'm too busy deciding which other door to go through, asking 'what's in it for me?' And then missing His very best. Thankful for His mercy when I step through the wrong door and/or refuse in fear to go through the right one.
Fantastic post, Emily. I enjoyed the comments as well. I too often think an open door is a sign. It is–a sign to keep praying! LOL!
Thanks for reading, Pam!
So many good points, Mary! I do the same, and am thankful, too, for his mercy and patience!
Ha, yes! You're so right! Thanks for joining the conversation, Kelly!
Thanks for the post, Emily. It fits my week! Sometimes I think open doors can draw us away from the path God wants us to take. His ways can be difficult, but they are so worth it. Paul and Silas didn't run through the open door and God used them mightily.
I'm glad the post came at the right time. Sometimes an open door looks like an easy answer, but I agree that they sometimes tempt us away from what we're called to. Thanks for visiting the blog today!