When the door closes

Dear friend,

Have you ever been certain something was right - prayed for it, worked for it, believed God had put it on your heart - and then watched it fall apart?

I’ve been sitting with Acts 16 this week, and I find it quietly remarkable. Paul and Silas are on mission, full of faith, ready to preach - and the Holy Spirit stops them. Not once. Twice. From the outside, it would have looked like failure. Indecision. Wasted effort.

But we know what happened next. That apparent dead-end led to the gospel reaching Europe for the very first time. What looked like a closed door was actually the most important turning point in Christian history.

I think about the times I’ve felt that same confusion. The thing I was so sure about that simply didn’t happen. The prayer that seemed to go unanswered. The effort that felt wasted.

Paul’s story doesn’t erase that sting. But it does reframe it.

What if the closed doors in your life aren’t signs that you’ve failed, but signs that God is redirecting you toward something you can’t yet see?

Heaven’s measure of success looks very different from the world’s. And the same God who was at work through Paul’s setbacks and prison cells and shipwrecks - he is at work in your life too.

I explore this in today’s devotional, along with five practical steps for keeping your faith when plans fall apart.

Keep trusting him. He’s not finished with your story yet.

Rob

Read this week’s devotionals here - https://open.substack.com/pub/battledrilldevotional/p/what-to-do-when-life-squeezes-you?r=643q6o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true