“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:
Revelation 3:7
Sometimes it is a frustrating thing indeed to try to discern God’s will. We spy what appears to be an open door and eagerly attempt to walk through it, only to have it close in our faces. We arrive at closed doors and stand in front of them, waiting for them to open or trying to open them ourselves, to no avail – yet it appears that God led us there. What was the point of that? Why is His leading sometimes confusing?
Not All Closed Doors Stay that Way
Not all closed doors are going to remain closed. The Israelites faced a firmly closed door with the Red Sea in front and the Egyptian army behind them. God specializes in closed doors and He revealed His power in a spectacular rescue. Esther and her people faced a tightly closed door that opened when God delivered them in a remarkable way. Peter was set free through multiple prison doors by an angel. Joseph must have thought that life in prison was as good as it was going to get after he had been there for years, yet his rags-to-riches story revealed God’s power to tear down closed doors and lift up His faithful servant. 
These stories from the Bible show us that closed doors are nothing for God. Situations that look impossible to us are simply part of His plan for revealing Himself to us in an unmistakable way. We need to be careful that we don’t assume that a closed door is impossible to open.
What Will We Do?
God arranges the details of our lives and leads us down paths He wants us to take. Even though we may be frustrated by standing in front of a closed door or confused because we don’t know what to do next, we need not worry that we will not get to where He wants us to go. He will get us there if we are willing to allow Him to direct us as He sees fit. Sometimes He will lead us to closed doors and leave us standing in front of them. We can’t see His plan, so we begin to worry that we are in the wrong place or that this door is impossible to open. Meanwhile, He is watching us to see if we will trust Him or if we will become doubtful or discouraged, or try to work things out on our own.
It’s All in the Timing
God will open the closed doors He brings us to if it’s in His plan and His timing. Sometimes we see open doors of opportunity and we eagerly hurry towards them, only to have them close in our faces. This might mean that the opportunity is not what God wants us to pursue. At other times it is the right path, but it is not the right time. When this happens, we often find that this door, or one like it, opens at the right time and we are able to look back and see that God worked it out for the best and that His timing was just right.
God Often Speaks in the Language of Doorways 
We often wish that God would just tell us which way to go and save us the frustration and difficulty of banging on closed doors. But sometimes, we have to start moving before we will hear any direction from Him. We must approach the doors we face before we know whether they are meant for us or not. God often speaks in the language of doorways; He guides us through the circumstances that place doorways in front of us. We have to step out in faith that He will guide us before we know the exact path we should take.
As frustrating as it can be to stand in front of a closed door or wish you had more direction, there is also comfort in knowing that no one can close a door that God intends for you. And you can’t force open a door that is not meant for you. You can’t accidentally stray away from God’s will when your heart’s desire is to be in it. And no one can take it from you. God is bigger than all circumstances, opponents, and problems, and He will get you where He wants you to be. You can trust Him with that.