You’ve been there, right? You just know that God has a specific plan for your life, yet all you seem to find is closed doors. I have sure been there. My tendency is to bang my head against the door until I can force it open. But, is that what God wants for you? The Apostle Paul dealt with this same issue, and in this podcast, Youth Pastor Jason Turner walks us through how to deal when God closes the door.
Life group Discussion Questions are after the jump!
If you’re the discussion leader, have everyone open this page on their mobile device, and take turns reading and discussing together. Remember, this is a GUIDE. Your group discussion may need to go in different directions.
Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
-Acts 9:15
Wow. Wouldn’t it be great to have that clear of a call on your life? Wouldn’t it be great if God would just spell out your specific purpose as succinctly as this? That would be a compelling call, wouldn’t it? What would you do if your life’s purpose was made just that clear by God himself?
You know the story, right? Saul, who was renamed Paul, headed out on mission trip. to do exactly what he was called to do. To bring the message of Jesus to the Gentiles.
Wanting to spread the Gospel into Asia, Paul was planning to go NORTH and EAST.
Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.
-Acts 16:6
What? God told him to spread the Gospel… But now God was prohibiting them from spreading the Gospel? Instead of going NORTH, they continued to head WEST. It wasn’t the direction they wanted to go, but it was the only way they could go.
Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.
-Acts 16:7-8
AGAIN?? They wanted to head NORTH through Bithynia, but God just wasn’t going to let them!
So they continued west. In fact… They made it all the way to Troas. They literally couldn’t go any farther west without swimming! What is going on here? Can you imagine how frustrating this must be? Have you gone through this in your own life? You wanted to go a direction that you felt God was calling you in, yet he kept shutting doors?
Jason talked about the Twitter hashtag, “#thissucks.” What a great example of how we respond to not getting what we want or expect. How do our expectations get in the way of chasing God’s will in our lives?
Do you see the disconnect between faithfulness and expectations?
Is this the way God works? Does he really allow us to wander in the wilderness for a while? Why?
Can you think of other Biblical examples?
What he opens, no one can close, and what he closes, no one can open. “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close.”
-Revelation 3:7-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
-Proverbs 3:5-6
So, How do we learn to trust God despite the closed doors? One of Jason’s points was to “talk to wise people.” Who speaks into your life? Who is shaping your character?
How do I let circumstances affect my character? Do I stay faithful or do I give up?