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.