An Open Door

 How many doors have you walked through today? I just did a count and I came up with 20 and counting. We take doors for granted. They can be used for three things. First, they shut things out. One of the last things we do in our family before going to bed is to make sure the front door is locked. I bet many of you do the same thing. We do this to keep intruders out. We also shut doors to keep pets or visitors out of certain areas. We have to do this with our son's dog Buster or he will go in the bathroom and drink from the toilet or destroy things in bedrooms. 

A second reason for doors is to enter a building or a room. Doors transition us from one place to another. Like today, I transitioned from outside the church facilities and into my office. We walk through doors at work, restaurants, doctor offices, schools, businesses, and even churches. We take it for granted when doors are unlocked and accessible. A few times people have shown up early for a meeting or worship service and someone forgot to unlock the door here at the church. People are not happy when that happens. 

A third reason for a door is to exit. When a student concludes the school day, they are excited to exit the door to go home. Workers look forward to when they are off the clock and exit the doors to go home. In case of a fire we look for the nearest exit to escape from danger. Once again the door serves as a transition from one point to another. 

Sometimes God puts open doors in front of His people that are not literal doors. They are opportunities. God can open doors no man can shut and can shut doors no man can open. Revelation 3:7 Has God put an open door before you? An opportunity to pursue? Or maybe you are asking God to open a door like a man I talked to recently who asked for prayer about a new job. God holds the keys to opportunities. He can open whatever doors He wants. He can also shut whatever doors He wants. 

When I was a young preacher in my first pastorate, I received a letter from a church two hours from where I served. They were looking for a new pastor and somehow got my name and address. This was before emails. Truth is things had really gotten bad where I served. I took multiple voluntary cuts in pay because the finances were not good. I still remember the name of that church, Mount Carmel Baptist Church. I wrote them declining. In hindsight, was that an open door God put before me, but I chose to shut it. 

Fast forward two decades. Brenda and I resided in Seminole, TX and had recently come off an extraordinary revival there. For months I kept receiving the same message of, "Follow Me," from the Lord. I did not know what it meant. Through a set of circumstances I became convinced we were supposed to leave Seminole to start a church in Paradise. Just weeks before I was to move, I got contacted by a church in Levelland. I don't know how they got my name. The guy who called me was an elder in the church. He wanted to talk to me about becoming their pastor. I again declined because I thought we were supposed to go to Paradise. Was that an open door God set before me? I will never know. 

We have to be open to God's leadership in our lives. We never know when He might put an open door before us. We also must understand that some doors we try to force open He may keep shut because it is not what He desires for us. Many frustrated people spend a lot of energy trying to force a door open that God is keeping closed for their protection. 

Sometimes open doors don't look appealing. They look challenging. They would require faith to step through and more faith to walk on the other side. Just because it looks challenging does not mean God did not open the door. Elijah's open door to face down 850 false prophets looked risky. God came through in the showdown and the false prophets were defeated. I Kings 18:20-40. God put an open door before Jonah to preach in Nineveh. Jonah refused to go through it and went in the opposite direction. God gave Jonah a second chance and opened the door again. Jonah obeyed and revival came to Nineveh. Paul kept getting doors shut on him to go and preach in Asia. One night he received a vision from the Lord to go into Macedonia. That was the open door God put before him. Acts 16:9-10 

In King David's kingdom, there was one man who had the keys to every door in the palace. Like that man God has the keys to every door in life. He can open any door He chooses for you. He can also shut any door He chooses. I've learned to be thankful for open and shut doors. I've also learned that it takes faith to walk through some open doors, but bountiful blessings await on the other side. May we all keep our eyes open for God's open doors. 

Seeking God's Will

I often hear people say they are searching God's will for their lives. A better option is to seek God's will. His will is bigger than our lives. We are not the focal point of His will. God has purposes and He chooses to include us in those purposes. It is not all about us. It is about what He wants done. Admittedly, some people don't concern themselves with the will of God. They do what they want and when they want. Such living usually ends in a lot of sin and a lot of pain. 

How does a person seek the will of God? The will of God is what God desires. Here are the things I make a habit of doing. First, I ask Him in prayer. I ask Him to reveal His heart and mind to me. I ask and wait for His response. He speaks in various ways. I try to live with my spirit attentive most of the time so that I can receive any communication He wants to give. At times, God has spoken through another person. He has used circumstances to communicate. The Holy Spirit has impressed things on my mind.

 The second thing I do, is read the Bible. I choose the method of reading through the Bible at my own pace starting in Genesis and going through to Revelation. I have done this for decades. When I finish, I start over and do it again. There are many other methods and Bible apps on your phone to help you. The important thing is that you are getting into the Bible trusting God to speak to you. This is the primary way God leads me. Each time He wanted to reveal His will to me, it came with a Bible passage. There are certain verses that have sentimental meaning to me because God used them to reveal His will. Sometimes He gave those verses years before I fully understood their meaning related to His will. 

Thirdly, I talk to trusted counselors. Those include my wife and three trusted brothers. I seek their counsel about important decisions. My nature is to live life with my foot on the accelerator. I'm thankful some of these counselors are the brake pedals in my life to slow me down. They have saved me from many mistakes. I talked to each of them recently about a matter for which I needed their wisdom. One just texted me a prayer a few moments ago. They are valued relationships. I am sure you have some people like this in your life also. 

The last piece of advice I would give is to let the peace of God be your guide. What I mean by that is that when having to make a decision, you may feel peace and calm assurance in one direction. At other times, you may feel uneasy and not have peace. I've learned to listen to this internal radar system. When God's will leads down one path and His peace will guide us. When we are straying out of His will, we may feel uneasy which is an internal warning that we're not doing what God wills. 

People think God's will is a sentimental feeling. Sometimes it is a direct command that will lead to unpleasant paths. God's will for Jesus meant going to the cross. God's will for Paul meant a lot of suffering and martyrdom. There are also certainly times when the will of God will lead down paths of blessing and good fortune. Like it did for me when God opened the door for me to get a football scholarship to Howard Payne University. What I did not know was that God was working His will to bring Brenda to that same campus a couple of years later. When I met her and we had our study date, I had such peace that she was the woman who would one day be my wife. 35 years later I'm still madly in love with her. 

His will is always best. It is not always easy. It is not always the safest. It will not always make us comfortable. He knows how to connect us with His purpose and to get us from where we are to where He wants us to be. If we submit ourselves to Him, ask Him repeatedly to reveal His will, consistently read His word, seek the counsel of Godly people, and wait for His peace to guide us, I am confident we will discover His will.