Words from the Wise Guy
Open and Closed Doors

Are you having trouble finding and understanding the Will of God in your job search? Often times Christians talk of God opening and closing doors in their life …and I am certainly hearing more of this in our current economic situation. ‘Open doors’ sound like this …“God is giving me this great opportunity” and ‘Closed doors’ sound like this …“things don’t seem to be going my way in my job search or I keep hearing ‘No’ you didn’t get the job.” Unfortunately, it seems like I am hearing a lot more people tell me that they are coming up against ‘closed doors’ these days.

For example, I am hearing things like, “I put my resume on Monster.com last week and no one has contacted me” or “I’ve applied for jobs online and no one has bothered to call me back.”

First let me ask a couple of questions …Is the door really closed or are you using the lack of an open door as an excuse for laziness? And if all doors seem to be closing, what should you do to find an open door?

No doubt, these kinds of things can be frustrating, and you might be asking God to somehow, push your resume that’s in some stack to the top of the pile...

...But, what are you doing about it?

Perhaps you should start by making a phone call to introduce yourself, knock on some doors and visit every potential employer in town, while at the same time praying that God directs your steps. You see, the Bible teaches that God is Sovereign and He can do all things, but it also teaches that Man has a Responsibility.

Furthermore, we have a tendency to always think that the convenient ways are always God’s will for us and the hard roads are not. The trials in our lives are just as much God’s will of direction for us as the times of blessing. God’s will for your life is to be more like his son Jesus Christ, and God tends to use discomfort and trials more than comfort and ease to bring some to salvation and to make his children Holy.

So what are some solutions to overcoming ‘Closed doors?’

1. Prayer (to make it through the trial and learn something)
2. Read the Bible
3. Network and get good council
4. Make Phone Calls to recruiters and get to know them (Make them your agent)
5. Put on your suit and hit the streets
6. Put on a smile and have a good attitude! (this will help in your interview)
7. Have a realistic outlook and timeline
8. Tailor your resume for each job you apply for (Remember, it takes a few ‘No’s’ to finally get a ‘Yes’)
9. Build your online brand in your spare time
10. Prayer (that His will be done and thank God that he is in control of your situation)

Excerpts of this blog taken from Kevin DeYoung’s book, “Just Do Something” chapter 7

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