Joel Osteen - God Controls Your Doors
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I want to talk to you today аbout: God Controls Your Doors. We all have dreams we want to accomplish and things we’re believing for, but sometimes we wonder how it’s going to happen. Will I meet the right people? What if I don’t get the scholarship? What if the loan doesn’t go through? We end up striving and straining, trying to force doors to open, and feel frustrated because we didn’t get the promotion and upset because this person walked away. We think we have to do it all on our own. The good news is God is your doorkeeper; He’s in control of the doors in your life, what opens and what closes. You’re not at the mercy of fate and luck, or what this person thinks of you.
The scripture says God will open doors that no person can shut, and He will shut doors that no person can open. Every shut door is not the enemy. God will shut doors to protect you. He’ll move someone out of your life because He knows they’re not going to be good for you. He’ll let the boss overlook you for the promotion because He has something much better in store. Sometimes He closes doors because we’re believing too small. He can see the greatness in you; He knows what you’re capable of. He’s not going to let you settle for second best. He’ll shut a door that you wanted so badly.
«This person was so good, Joel; she was fine!» Or «he was tall, dark, handsome, and rich.» But where God is taking you, they cannot go. God is not punishing you; He’s protecting you. If He let us have our way all the time, we wouldn’t reach the fullness of our destiny. He loves you too much to not close doors. We love when He opens doors; we know that’s the hand of God. But closed doors are just as important. He’s keeping you on the best plan for your life. He can see things we can’t see, the big picture. He’s already written every day of our lives in His book. What may look good to us is really leading to a dead end; it would be a waste of time and energy. So, He’ll step in as your doorkeeper and close the door.
When you realize this, it takes the pressure off. You don’t live frustrated and striving; you can stay in peace knowing that the doors you need open, no person can shut. If God wanted you to have that promotion, the boss wouldn’t have overlooked you. Don’t blame your boss; it was the hand of God. If you wanted to marry that person who walked away, you would have married them. They didn’t walk away on their own; God shut the door. If you wanted to have that house that fell through, you would have it. It looks like a bad break, and sure, it’s normal to be disappointed. But you have to return to this truth: God is your doorkeeper. No person can shut what God wants open. No force of darkness can stop what God has purposed for your life.
The question is, will you trust Him with your doors? Will you believe that He has your best interests at heart? That He will open doors that no man can shut? That means He will favor you, bring the right people, and cause promotion to track you down. He’s not just a God who closes doors; He’s a God who opens doors that you couldn’t open—a God who surprises you with opportunity, with promotion, and with influence that you didn’t see coming.
Think about David. He was out in the shepherd’s fields at 17 years old, taking care of his father’s sheep. He had big dreams; he felt greatness on the inside, but there were no opportunities. He came from a family of shepherds, ordinary people who didn’t have much influence. But when God is ready to promote you, He doesn’t check your resume, what family you come from, or who you know. God looks at your heart. Do you have a heart to please Him? Can He trust you with greater influence, with promotion, and with favor?
One day, the prophet Samuel came from another city to Jesse’s house—David’s father—to anoint one of the sons as the next king of Israel. Samuel didn’t know Jesse, nor did he know David, but suddenly he showed up at their house. Jesse had eight sons and called seven of them to stand before Samuel, leaving David out in the fields. He thought, «It’s not David; he’s too young. He’ll never do anything great.» Jesse shut the door; he ruled David out. But God is your doorkeeper; He opens doors that no man can shut. Jesse didn’t believe in David, but Jesse didn’t have the final say. People are not your doorkeeper. They may try to discount you, leave you out, or push you down, but they don’t control your doors — the Most High God does.
Don’t get bitter; don’t try to get even. Prove to them who you are. You don’t need their approval. They may be over you, have more seniority, or more experience, but what God has for you, they cannot stop. They may try to shut the door, but don’t worry; the doorkeeper is coming — the God who opens doors that no person can shut. I can see Samuel trying to pour the oil on each of the sons, but the oil wouldn’t flow; it defied gravity and wouldn’t go to who Jesse wanted. So, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons. Jesse scratched his head, puzzled, and said, «Yes, I have a son named David. He’s the youngest, out in the fields.» Samuel said, «Bring him in.»
People may leave you out, but when it’s your time, God will bring you in. They may overlook you, try to close the door, or hold you back, but God sees you. He knows what you need for your destiny; He’s the one who put the dreams in you. People can’t stop it. Quit being upset because someone is not for you or because you are trying to win over that coworker who doesn’t believe in you. They are not your doorkeeper; they don’t control the opportunities, the good breaks, or the influence that comes from Almighty God.
If you don’t realize this, you may feel offended like Jesse: «Why did they leave me out?» or, «Man, why doesn’t my own family believe in me?» You’ll end up insecure, wondering, «I guess I’m just not good enough.» Well, tune all that out. You have one doorkeeper—not your boss, not your family, not the critics, not the enemy. The Most High God is your doorkeeper. When He’s ready to open doors, all the forces of darkness cannot stop Him; people can’t stop Him; the economy can’t stop Him; bad breaks can’t stop Him; your past won’t stop Him. He controls your doors. David came in from the fields, and Samuel poured the jar, and the oil began to flow freely. He was anointed the next king of Israel.
The oil God has for you is not going to flow to anyone else. Quit worrying that someone got your promotion, or that someone else got the boyfriend you wanted to date, or that man got your house, or that your contract didn’t go through. If you didn’t get it, they didn’t take it. God closed the door; they’re not your doorkeeper. They don’t control your breaks—who you meet or what you have access to. God does. Your oil can’t flow to another person; God ordained it for you. It has your name on it.
In the same way, quit wanting what someone else has. Don’t live enviously, wishing, «Man, I wish I had their talent, their resources, their looks, their life.» You’re not anointed to be them. If God gave you what they have, it wouldn’t be a blessing; it would be a burden. God has designed a specific path for you. He’s already lined up the right people, the right breaks, and the favor at the right time. He’ll open the doors. You don’t have to live worried, thinking, «Man, why am I still out here in the shepherd’s fields? Why are people passing me up?»
How you wait will determine how long you’re going to wait. When doors haven’t opened, you’re in a silent season, and everyone else is being promoted, getting married, moving into a new house, or having that baby, while you’re still in the shepherd’s fields. It feels unfair. It’s easy to get discouraged and try to force doors to open. No! Be still and know that He is God. He has not forgotten about you; He’s already lined up the right doors—doors that no person can shut. Now trust Him while you’re waiting. Keep a good attitude when the doors haven’t opened. Keep doing the right thing when the wrong thing has happened. Samuel is on the way; God has already scheduled you for open doors—doors that will thrust you into your destiny.
At one point, David went to take his brother’s lunch while they were in the army, on the battlefield, and he heard Goliath taunting the Israelites. Something rose up in him, a fire within. He told King Saul that he wanted to fight Goliath. Saul said, «David, you’re just a boy; you don’t have a chance.» Saul tried to close the door, saying, «You’re not qualified.» His brothers made fun of him, asking, «David, what did you do with those few sheep you were supposed to be taking care of back at home?»
They tried to belittle him and close the door. David felt the sting of rejection from his father not believing in him. He had plenty of opportunities to feel discouraged and inferior and to go back home. Despite all this opposition, the scripture says David ran toward Goliath. He was running to face a giant twice his size, which didn’t make sense. But when God opens a door, there’s a faith, a courage, and a power to do what He calls you to do. God won’t open a door without giving you everything you need to walk through it. You may have gone through some closed doors like David. You got passed over; people didn’t believe in you. You think where you are is where you’ll always be.
Can I encourage you? Doors are about to open that you never dreamed would open. It’s going to happen sooner than you think; it’s going to be better than you’ve imagined. You were faithful in the shepherd’s fields; God heard you praising when you could have been complaining, doing the right thing when you weren’t getting the credit. He’s about to surprise you. Samuel is about to show up, bringing something you didn’t see coming—the right person finding you, your business taking off, your child turning around, your health improving. This is a door that no person can shut, a door that will thrust you into your purpose.
Now, here’s a key: It’s easy to trust God with the door is open, when Samuel comes, when Goliath falls; we know that’s the favor and goodness of God. But will you trust Him with your closed doors when you didn’t get what you wanted? Samuel went to your cousin’s house. You hit Goliath with the rock, but he smacked you back. None of us like closed doors. We prayed, we believed, we did our best, but it didn’t work out. Just as God opens doors, He closes doors. You have to go through your closed doors before you get to your open doors. You’ll be tempted to get discouraged: «God, it’s not fair! Why didn’t I get that position? Why did that person walk away? Why didn’t that contract go through?»
We’re not going to understand it all at the time; it’s not going to make sense. But God knows things we don’t know; He can see detours, delays, and dead ends. You have to trust Him when the door closes, when you didn’t get what you wanted. If you hold on too tightly, you’ll become bitter. It’ll keep you from the new doors God wants to open. You have to release it; let it go. It’s fine to be honest: «God, I wanted this. I don’t understand it; it looks right to me. But God, I trust You. You know what’s best for my life.»
After I graduated from high school, I went off to college, and from my early teens, I always loved television production—cameras, lighting, editing—anything to do with that. I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. The church had cameras growing up, and I would come down as a teenager on Saturdays to play with the equipment. On Sundays, I’d run camera during the services. The college I attended had a big TV production program that was known as one of the best in the country.
When I first arrived, I called a man I had met a few years earlier; he was the production manager in charge of all the hiring. He was so friendly and knew my father, so he invited me to tour the facility. I walked around and saw all the studios, editing bays, and control rooms. I felt like a kid at an amusement park; it was so amazing. I dreamed of being in that environment. I gave him my phone number, a little resume, and told him what I’d done at the church running camera. I said, «But you know, it doesn’t matter. I’ll do anything. I’ll just start pulling cable. I just wanted to be there so badly.» He said, «No problem, Joel. We’d love to have you. I’ll call you in a week or so and give you the details.» I left that day so excited.
Well, a week went by, and I didn’t hear from him. I thought, well, he’s probably just busy, and after two weeks, still nothing. So, I called him, but he wouldn’t call me back. I went by the studio, but every time there was an excuse: he’s busy, he’s out to lunch, he can’t talk right now. It was very odd. After several months of trying, I finally got the message that it wasn’t going to happen. I was so disappointed; I couldn’t understand why this would have been perfect. Such good experience—I wanted that position more than anything.
I was tempted to be aggravated with him, thinking, «God, why did this jerk not call me back? Why wouldn’t this man respond?» But the same God who opens doors will close doors if you only trust Him. When you get your way, you’ll be frustrated because some doors will close that don’t make sense to us. That was my dream—to work there. I knew it was right for me, but God knows the best plan. He knows what’s leading to your purpose and what’s a distraction. Sometimes, what we think is best is really a detour that will waste time and energy. We can’t see it, but again, God has the advantage; He can see the end from the beginning.
I know you trust Him with your open doors, but will you trust Him with your closed doors? When you don’t get what you were praying for, when it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped? Looking back now, I can see what God was doing. If I had gotten that job, I would have been so excited and so caught up in it that I would have never come back to start the television ministry here at Lakewood. I know my personality; I would have been so satisfied that I wouldn’t have wanted to leave. At the time, I was upset that that man didn’t call me back and didn’t keep his word.
Now I realize it wasn’t him; it was God closing the doors. God closes doors that no person can open. That man loved me and loved my father; it didn’t make sense, but God is your doorkeeper. He’s going to close doors that will keep you from His best plan. If you don’t understand this, you’ll live offended at people, angry at your boss because he passed you over, and upset with God because that person you wanted to date won’t give you the time of day.
Have a new perspective: what God has for you, no person can stop. The doors He’s going to open, no man can close. If a door is closing, I know it’s disappointing, but you have to come back to this place of peace: «God, I don’t like it, but I trust You as my doorkeeper.» If I hadn’t come back from college, I wouldn’t have spent those 17 years behind the scenes editing my father’s sermons, hearing all the scriptures and stories that prepared me for what I’m doing now. I wouldn’t have been here when my father passed to step up and pastor the church. I would have never seen the Compaq Center, the books, the favors. I was disappointed then, but now I say, «Lord, thank You for closing those doors. You weren’t punishing me; You were protecting me. You were making sure I would be where I needed to be when You opened doors bigger than I could imagine.»
I had to go through the closed doors to get to my open doors. Sometimes we get sour over what didn’t work out and what seems unfair. Maturity is when you come to a point where you say, «God, my life is in your hands. I trust you to open the right doors, supernatural opportunities, and God, I trust you with my closed doors when I don’t understand it, when people walk away, or when I don’t get what I want. God, you know what’s best for me.» This is such a freeing way to live because it takes all the pressure off. It’s not up to us to strain and force this door to open or manipulate things to bring our dreams to pass. Sure, it’s good to work hard, stretch, and believe, but you can’t open a door if it’s not God’s will or if it’s not the right time; all you’re going to do is frustrate yourself.
The good news is if you keep honoring God and being your best each day, then Samuel is going to find you. God will open a door that no person can shut. That door is going to be bigger and more rewarding than anything you had in mind. I dreamed of being in television production; I never knew I could get up here and speak in front of people, be on the other side of the camera, or see gifts come out that I didn’t even know I had. Sometimes God closes a door because we’re thinking too small. If He gave us what we wanted, it would stun our growth and limit our potential. No, God has put greatness in you; He’s going to take you where you can’t go on your own.
We’re looking for doors that we can open, how we can be promoted, or how we can increase, and that’s all good. But what God has coming are doors that you could have never opened; you didn’t have the training, the experience, or the funds. I’m talking about supernatural doors that thrust you ahead, doors that surprise you, that exceed your expectations. If you look back over your life, I’m sure you too can see some closed doors—things you don’t understand that don’t make sense. You wanted it so badly, but it didn’t work out. That would be disappointing if life was just random happenstance. No, you have a doorkeeper; the Most High God is watching over your life.
He’s not only ordering your steps but also controlling your doors. He’s weeding out the wrong people and stopping opportunities that would be a distraction. He’s not letting you take that small promotion so He can give you a bigger one. He closed that one job you wanted so, like me, He can launch you into something better than you’ve ever imagined. I know we’re happy over the open doors, but I want you to be at peace with your closed doors. If what you’re believing for hasn’t happened yet, and you didn’t get what you wanted, what if you knew God was protecting you and that He has something far greater? So He had to shut that door, not because He’s holding you back, but so you’ll be in position for a door that no man can open—something supernatural, something better than you’ve imagined.
Acts Chapter 12: King Herod had Peter put in prison for sharing his faith. Herod had already had the disciple James killed when he saw that it pleased the people, so it looked like Peter was next in line. He was in the dungeon, chained between two guards, and he was going to be brought to trial the next day. This could be the last night of Peter’s life. While he was asleep in the middle of the night, an angel showed up. It’s significant that he was sleeping the night before he could lose his life; Peter had a trust, a faith that God was in control of his life. The angel had to wake him up, and the chains fell off his feet.
The scripture says the prison doors opened of their own accord. People didn’t open them; Peter’s friends didn’t sneak in and open it. No guard, no staff—this was the doorkeeper, God, doing what only He can do, opening doors that no person can shut. We have a gate outside our driveway at home, and sometimes when a friend is coming over, I stand at the back window with the remote control. When I see them pull up, I hit the button so they can drive in. They never see me, but I see them. They couldn’t get in this gate by themselves, but I’m the gatekeeper; I’m watching for them when they arrive. No big deal—a click, and it opens on its own accord.
Can I encourage you? God has the remote control to doors you can’t open. You come to a door where you don’t have the training; medical reports aren’t good; your boss doesn’t like you; the loan didn’t go through. The good news is your doorkeeper is there; He has the remote. Like Peter, you’re going to see some doors open of their own accord—things you couldn’t make happen. Not little doors; not ordinary—supernatural. The hand of God. Good breaks that you didn’t see coming; opportunities you’ve never imagined. How about a compact sinner? How about my mother healed from terminal cancer? Things that defy the odds.
This was so amazing that Peter thought he was dreaming. He was out of the prison and on the streets before he realized what had really happened. God has doors He’s going to open for you that will seem like a dream too good to be true. That’s what it means—a door no person can open. It’s out of your league, over your head, beyond what you’re qualified for. Here’s the beauty: it’s going to open of its own accord. It wasn’t all your striving, straining, living under pressure; no. Just keep God in first place, keep honoring Him, and He’s going to open doors you never imagined would open.
One reason is because you’ve been faithful with your closed doors. You didn’t get sour when you didn’t get your way. You kept a good attitude when you were overlooked for the promotion. You kept thanking God even though friends were passing you up. You passed the test; now God is going to do what only He can do. I’m asking you to trust Him with the doors in your life. No more frustration over closed doors and things you don’t understand. God knows what He’s doing. No more straining, trying to force things to happen; take the pressure off. God controls what opens and what closes—not people, not bad breaks, not the enemy. You may be waiting for a door to open.
I know thoughts can tell you, «Hey, it’s never going to happen.» No! Samuel is already on the schedule. At the right time, God will surprise you. It will be better than you’ve imagined. Trust Him as your doorkeeper. If you’ll do this, I believe and declare God is not only going to protect you by closing wrong doors, but like Peter, you’re going to see doors open of their own accord: promotion, breakthroughs, healing, divine connections, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen? Amen, I receive it as well!