I am a pastor at 
You may have heard the saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Well a simple search of the internet tubes you’ll find that there are many other versions of this.
For example, when the going gets tough…
- the tough get knitting!” (my wife would be included in this)
- slime molds start synthesizing” (bet you didnt know that. I didn’t.)
- the tough find alternatives to slashing prices to entice home buyers in slowing markets.”
- the tough outsource” (why not when you can get labor for half the cost!)
- the tough revive 90210” (oh yeah! there’s a sure fire winner!)
Despite these amazing examples, I’ve come the wonder if Christians need a new slogan.
Perhaps this one:
When the going gets rough, the Godly take that as a sign that the door is closed.
Okay, I’ll be up front here. I believe God does close and open doors. We see God do it in scripture. But I wonder if we take this “God closed the door” route too quickly. I wonder if we’ve become so influenced by our cultures need for comfort and security that we’ve taken this idea of God closing a door and we use it as an excuse to get out of situations that are hard.
I can think of many times in my past where I or my family was faced with challenges and difficulties. Each time we had to wonder, “is God closing this door?” I’ll be honest that there have been times that I believe we have given up on things that God probably would have wanted us to pursue.
The question that quickly arises from this thought is, “when do we know when he is closing a door and when he is not.”
So what is a better option? When the going gets rough, what do we do?
Well, this might sound simplistic but perhaps its things like…
- Fasting.
- Praying.
- Taking a silent retreat.
- Get in community.
“Storms do not mean that the journey is futile. Jesus is claiming his own and the powers of the world will do their best to resist.”
Wayne Park said...
1Hey Todd; great blogging – have been admiring from afar.
Writing a paper on this very thing now – when is it God’s will or are we supposed to just push thru closed doors. I think we’ll never get an answer. There are seasons that the door is slightly ajar and he tempts us to push harder. Other times even tho the door is shut he’ll have us push just to make our backs stronger. I don’t get it yet, but I think there’s a good comparison to the seasons of life to the bull and bear economies – and knowing when to go all in and when to chill and pray.
ciao – W
10/23/08 12:09 AM | Comment Link
Dorie Morgan said...
2We are always scared of difficulty. Difficulty sucks. By nature, we would much rather be safe, warm and comfortable.
When it seems like God is closing a door in my life, it usually means God is opening a window for me – sure, its going to take a little more creativity to safely pass through that window, but maybe its on the other side of the room. I still end up where I’m needed.
I’m also not sure that God ever just closes a door he doesn’t want us to pass through. I think he just gently guides us towards another door. When we get closer to God’s plan, that first door from our plan just isn’t appealing.
10/23/08 6:13 AM | Comment Link
Carm said...
3Todd-
thank you for this post. I appreciate those thoughts because I find this so much in myself as I face making difficult decisions… I get so tempted to think that when it is truly difficult, that must be evidence of God’s not approving of the situation. I could easily justify not growing and not being challenged to grow in the same ways I would be had I moved into those difficult situations.
I am dealing with some of those very things now as I decide what to pursue for my future… and I decided NOT to withdraw this time purely because I realized that if I am calling clients into choosing hard things and facing difficulties for the sake of the gospel and their own growth in it, then I can’t run away from challenges facing me.
10/23/08 10:22 AM | Comment Link
Keith said...
4Hey Todd,
great question. I was just talking about this very topic last night with a fellow. I wonder what exactly it looked like in Acts 16:6-7. We know that Paul wasn’t afraid of encountering difficulty or suffering. We also know that Paul felt these two doors were genuinely and completely closed. “forbidden by the Holy Spirit” and “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them”.
Two phrases that just don’t let us know how they knew. But they did know. And they went a different direction. Twice. and then Paul got the vision of the man from Macedonia. Just fascinating.
I love that Paul had a plan to go and was in fact going when he was prevented from going further. He wasn’t just sitting on his hands in Antioch waiting for God to show him what to do. He was out on the road with intention to go to a specific place when God intervened to take him a different direction. So Paul made a different plan and began to execute it when God intervened again.
Paul was action oriented but sensitive to and obedient to the leading of the Spirit. What a great model for us. We need to be working and making plans ever sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and willing to submit to the leading when and if it ever intervenes.
Certainly difficulty and/or hardship and/or suffering are not in and of themselves evidence of the Spirit’s intervention, but what is? that is the mystery of this passage.
Keith
10/23/08 10:09 PM | Comment Link
You Never Sausage Links! (10.24.08) « The Cruciform Life Blog said...
5[...] Does God Close Doors? (”…or are we just scared of difficulty?” I needed this one.) [...]
10/24/08 10:21 AM | Comment Link
Matt said...
6What does this even mean? Why do you beleive that god will make it mroe difficult for you to do something? Why would god prevent you from doing something, but permit another to do the exact same thing? I think that some things are just hard, and some things are just easy. I do not think that god places barriers in front of people just to make them struggle or give up, and likewise, i do not think that he removes all obstructions to make it easy to pass. Any thoughts?
11/12/09 5:36 PM | Comment Link