Is That Door Locked?

There is no mistaking that we are an impatient people... and I fall into that category as much as the next person.  In a world of instant oatmeal (waiting 5 minutes for it to cook is just far too stressful), instant messaging (because we simply cannot be bothered to pick up the phone or sit down to write a letter), even instant winners on the lottery ticket (but, please, don't get me started on my feelings about playing the lottery), waiting patiently for things to happen just is not acceptable to us.  And yet, in the midst of our impatience, God reigns ever so patiently over us, guiding and directing every step we take... if, of course, we allow Him to do that.

I have often asked the Lord to "open a door" for me so that I might know what to do in a given situation.  This morning it occurred to me that perhaps it is meant for me to at least try to open that door myself.  The mere fact that some door appears closed before us does not make it impenetrable.  In some cases, just approaching a door will cause it to open.  Years ago, that concept appeared only in the futuristic tales of Star Trek, as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock would pass effortlessly through the automatic doors of their starship.  Now, we all expect the doors of the grocery store to instantly yield to us, welcoming us through with no effort on our part.  In other cases, we may need to grasp the doorknob and give it a turn before we are allowed entry.  In still other situations, our entrance through a door may require that we try using the keys we have available to us.  One of them might indeed unlock that door and make our entry possible.

On occasion, I have seen an opportunity ( a door, if you would view it that way) before my path, but it didn't appear easily accessible to me.  As I approached it, the door didn't simply yield to my presence and automatically grant me entrance to what lay beyond.  Too often I have been content to assume that my entrance into that possibility was blocked, and I have walked away accepting that blockage without question.  How many times, I wonder, if I had simply stepped forward and tried to turn the knob would that door have opened for me?  I have been given the keys to the kingdom through faith, but if I fail to use them as I seek God's will and direction for my life, many doors will remain closed and locked, and the promises that lie beyond them will never be realized in this life.  I have a certain responsibility to at least try to open a door before I proclaim it as inaccessible and "closed" to me.

God is sovereign (supreme, absolute, and unlimited in power), completely capable of correcting our path if we choose the wrong one.  He is able to secure a door tightly to prevent our entering through it into something wherein He has not called us.  Those keys I referred to?  They are the keys of faith:  the faith that God will always reveal His plan for my life at the perfect moment and in the perfect way.  As long as I am walking in obedience to Scripture and am sincerely seeking the Lord's will, I do not need to see any closed door as an impossibility.  Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of effort on my part to open it.

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as having said:   "God helps those who help themselves."  (As a note here, this saying is NOT found in Scripture.)  While the Bible is clear in warning us of our prideful attempts to take care of everything in our lives... "He who trust in himself is a fool..." (Proverbs 28:26), there is some merit in understanding that God also expects us to be an active participant in what He wills for our lives.  On the website gotquestions.org there appears an excellent explanation of this:

   "Apart from salvation, there is perhaps a way that the concept "God helps those who help themselves" is correct. As an example, if you asked me to help you move a piece of furniture, but then just watched me as I moved the furniture for you, I was not actually helping you. I would be doing the work for you. Many Christians fall into the trap of inactivity. Many Christians ask God for help, but then expect God to do everything Himself. They excuse this by pointing to the fact that God will provide according to His will and in His timing. However, this is not a reason for inactivity. As a specific example, if you are in need of a job, ask the Lord to help you find a job - but then be active in actually looking for a job. While it is in His power to do so, it is highly unlikely that God will cause employers to come looking for you!"

When I recently needed tuition money to continue my seminary studies, I asked God to give me insight into ways that I might open the door to His blessings in that area for my life.  As a result, I participated in a church sponsored yard sale and was able to generate the funds I needed almost to the dollar.  I was willing to do what I was able to do, and then I rested in God's ability to do for me what I could not do for myself.  He made the yard sale opportunity known to me, He brought the customers, He had even provided those items which I could sell. 

I have come to believe that not every closed door I approach is forever closed to me.  Sometimes, I just need to be willing to attempt some access.  If I am walking in faith and obedience, God will help me open those doors through which He would have me pass.  Those that remain closed and locked are there for my protection.  In John 15:7 Jesus said, "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask  whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (NIV)  The point to be made here is this:  I must be in the Word daily if I am to know the fulfillment of God's promises for my life.  Apart from Christ, I "...can do nothing" (John 15:5b).

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

(John 16:33)