Max Lucado - When Gods Story Becomes Your Story

When Gods Story Becomes Yours

I CAME HOME THE OTHER DAY TO A HOUSE of blocked doors. Not just shut doors, closed doors, or locked doors. Blocked doors.

Blame them on Molly, our nine-year-old, ninety-pound golden retriever, who, on most fronts, is a great dog. When it comes to kids and company, Molly sets a tail-wagging standard. But when it comes to doors, Molly just doesnt get it. Other dogs bark when they want out of the house; Molly scratches the door. She is the canine version of Freddy Krueger. Thanks to her, each of our doors has Molly marks.

We tried to teach her to bark, whine, or whistle; no luck. Molly thinks doors are meant to be clawed. So Denalyn came up with a solution: doggy doors. She installed Molly-sized openings on two of our doors, and to teach Molly to use them, Denalyn blocked every other exit. She stacked furniture five feet deep and twice as wide. Molly got the message. She wasnt going out those doors.

And her feelings were hurt. I came home to find her with drooping ears and limp tail. She looked at the blocked door, then at us. How could you do this to me? her eyes pleaded. She walked from stack to stack. She didnt understand what was going on.

Maybe you dont either. You try one door after another, yet no one responds to your rsum. No university accepts your application. No doctor has a solution for your illness. No buyers look at your house.

Obstacles pack your path. Road, barricaded. Doorway, padlocked. You, like Molly, walk from one blocked door to another. Do you know the frustration of a blocked door? If so, you have a friend in the apostle Paul.

He, Silas, and Timothy were on their second missionary journey. On his first one Paul enjoyed success at every stop. They began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14:27 NASB). God opened doors into Cyprus, Antioch, and Iconium. He opened the door of grace at the Jerusalem council and spurred spiritual growth in every city. The churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily(Acts 16:5 NASB).

The missionaries felt the gusts at their backs, and then, all of a sudden, headwinds.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

ACTS 16:67

Paul set his sights on Asia. Yet no doors opened. So the three turned north into Bithynia but encountered more blocked doors. They jiggled the knobs and pressed against the entrances but no access. We arent told how or why God blocked the door. Just that he did.

He still does.

God owns the key to every door. He is opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open (Revelation 3:7 MSG). Once God closes a door, no one can open it. Once God shut the door of Noahs ark, only he could open it. Once he directed the soldiers to seal the tomb of Jesus, only he could open it. Once he blocks a door, we cannot open it. During a season of blocked doors, we, like Molly, can grow frustrated.

A few years ago, many of us at Oak Hills were convinced that our church needed a new sanctuary. We were bursting at the seams. Wouldnt God want us to build a larger auditorium? We thought so. We prayed for forty days and sought counsel from other churches. We weighed our options and designed a new facility. Sensing no divine reservation, we began the campaign.

All of a sudden the wind turned. In less than six months, construction costs increased 70 percent! Gulp. Still, we continued. We reduced the scope of the project and challenged the congregation to ante up more money. Even with their astounding generosity, we didnt raise enough money to build the sanctuary. I will never forget the weight I felt when I announced our decision not to build.

Didnt we pray? Didnt we seek Gods will?

Why would God close the door? Might it have something to do with this the worst recession since the Great Depression looming less than a year away? God was protecting us. Moreover, within three months I would be diagnosed with a heart condition. God was protecting us.

It was a classic Gods story/our story contrast. From our perspective we saw setbacks. God, however, saw an opportunity, an opportunity to keep us out of dangerous debt and bolster our leadership team with a new senior minister, Randy Frazee. A plan to protect us from a budget-busting mortgage and to grant us fresh leadership. God closed the wrong doors so he could lead us through the right one.

As Gods story becomes yours, closed doors take on a new meaning. You no longer see them as interruptions of your plan but as indications of Gods plan.

This is what Paul learned. God blocked his missionary team from going north, south, or east. Only west remained, so they ended up at Asias westernmost point. They stood with their toes in the sand and looked out over the sea. As they slept, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, Come over to Macedonia and help us(Acts 16:9).

The closed doors in Asia led to an open-armed invitation to Europe. Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi (Acts 16:11 12 NKJV). They ran a straight course. The wind was at their back. Blocked passages became full sails.

After several days Paul and his team went out of the city of Philippi to the riverside to attend a Jewish prayer service. While there, they met Lydia. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Pauls message (Acts 16:14).