{"id":376,"date":"2025-12-03T13:39:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T13:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/03\/when-god-closes-a-door-that-you-want-open\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T13:39:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T13:39:50","slug":"when-god-closes-a-door-that-you-want-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/03\/when-god-closes-a-door-that-you-want-open\/","title":{"rendered":"When God Closes a Door That You Want Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We spent four years pursuing an abandoned bowling alley in Hermosa Beach. Vandalized, massive, sitting on a hill overlooking the ocean\u2014we knew God wanted us to have it.<\/p>\n

We told people God reserved this place for our church. We prayed over it. We laid hands on the walls. We met with the owners. Nineteen times, we got excited about possibilities, only to have every door slam shut eighteen times. Each closed door eroded faith. We gave up and looked elsewhere. Those doors never opened either.<\/p>\n

Then came the auction. We’d arranged financing from the denomination. The prophetic word had come: “You will be planted on a hill overlooking the ocean.” The timing was perfect.<\/p>\n

The building sold for $25,000 more than we could offer\u2026to someone else.<\/p>\n

I watched a tall man in a blue suit walk past the security fence and survey his purchase. Sitting across an alley on a supermarket loading dock and I wept. I was a fool. A prophet who didn’t know what he was talking about. I’d led our congregation down a path to nowhere.<\/p>\n

During months of self-pity, I wouldn\u2019t look at that building. I’d drive miles out of the way to avoid it. When friends drove past it, I’d turn my head away. I dove into scripture about David as a hunted flea certain of his destruction. Those verses fed my anger toward God.<\/p>\n

The worst part? I’d grabbed the ring. I wanted that building to validate my perceptions\u2014to prove I was right all along. God wasn’t thrilled with my attitude.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened:<\/h2>\n

The new owner couldn’t build his racquetball courts. Zoning issues. Structural problems. He refused to sell to us anyway. Months passed with the building sitting empty. Us stuck in a community center and a string of rented buildings. Our finances were now strong, but we had nowhere to go.<\/p>\n

Then, at a prayer meeting, God gave us a different strategy. We wrote the owner: “This is the most unusual letter you’ll ever read. Tell us your lowest price. We’ll agree to pay it before you say the number.”<\/p>\n

We put ourselves at his mercy.<\/p>\n

Within weeks, he called excited to work out a deal. Eventually, he leased us the building with an option to buy. He lowered his price by $150,000. We moved in six months later and bought it shortly after that.<\/p>\n

The building we lost at auction became ours anyway\u2014on better terms than we could have arranged. But we had to let go first.<\/p>\n

Three lessons from closed doors:<\/h2>\n
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  1. Closed doors test your grip on the ring of control.<\/strong> God often makes us wait, makes us release control, makes us choose between trusting him and trusting our own understanding. The wait isn’t punishment. It’s character development.<\/li>\n
  2. God’s “no” often means “not yet.”<\/strong> The four-year delay matured our congregation. We learned to give sacrificially. We developed leaders. We grew in faith. We weren’t ready for the building when we first wanted it.<\/li>\n
  3. The refining matters more than the timing.<\/strong> Romans 5 tells us that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope that won’t disappoint. The struggle to get that building did more for our church than finally moving into it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Five Tips When Facing a Closed Door:<\/h2>\n
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    1. Grieve appropriately.<\/strong> Don’t spiritualize disappointment. I was legitimately sad. That’s okay. Jesus wept. So can you.<\/li>\n
    2. Examine your motives.<\/strong> Am I seeking God’s glory or my own validation? Do I want this for the kingdom or for my reputation?<\/li>\n
    3. Show up.<\/strong> We kept meeting. Kept serving. Kept making disciples. The work didn’t stop because the building didn’t come through.<\/li>\n
    4. Watch for a new door.<\/strong> God’s “no” to one thing often precedes his “yes” to something better. Stay alert. Stay faithful.<\/li>\n
    5. Trust the process.<\/strong> Looking back, I can see God’s hand in every delay. At the time, it felt like abandonment. Both were true.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The Hard Truth:<\/h2>\n

      Sometimes the thing you want most becomes the very thing God uses to break your grip on control. The building wasn’t the point. Surrender was.<\/p>\n

      Thirty years later, that building still houses a thriving church. The property is worth untold millions of dollars. But the real victory wasn’t getting the building. It was learning to trust God when every door slammed shut.<\/p>\n

      What door is God closing in your ministry right now? Maybe he’s not saying “no.” Maybe he’s saying “let go.”<\/p>\n

      Note: I dive deeper into these ideas in my book <\/em>“Let Go of the Ring”<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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      Ralph Moore<\/strong>\u00a0is the Founding Pastor of three churches which grew into the Hope Chapel ‘movement’ now numbering more than 2,300 churches, worldwide. These are the offspring of the 70+ congregations launched from Ralph’s hands-on disciplemaking efforts.<\/p>\n

      He travels the globe, teaching church multiplication to pastors in startup movements. He’s authored several books, including\u00a0Let Go Of the Ring: The Hope Chapel Story<\/em>,\u00a0Making Disciples<\/em>,\u00a0How to Multiply Your Church<\/em>,\u00a0Starting a New Church<\/em>, and\u00a0Defeating Anxiety<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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      The post When God Closes a Door That You Want Open<\/a> appeared first on Newbreed Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      We spent four years pursuing an abandoned bowling alley in Hermosa Beach. Vandalized, massive, sitting on a hill overlooking the ocean\u2014we knew God wanted us to have it. We told people God reserved t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}