On Windows and Doors

On Windows and Doors

See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name ( Revelation 3:8).
This year the Lord will open many opportunities for growth and service. The doors God opens in our lives lead to new beginnings, new blessings, and new opportunities to live a flourishing life. We do not have to go knocking on doors or forcing them open; God opens doors.
I mentioned in the message on January 1 that God’s operating system for our lives is not windows but doors. There is a world of difference between a window and a door. A window gives you a limited view of the larger world. When we look through a window we see only so far. Things above and below, and things to the right and the left are out of sight. Such is the window view of life.
We place ourselves in the little box of a building when we look through a window. While looking through a window, we are cut off from the larger world. The most we can do is look out on things removed. Windows are places from which we view life in a larger world while not being a part of that world. Windows make us spectators. It may be a comfortable thing to look at life through a window, but that is very limiting. The Lord has more in store for us.
A door offers us an opportunity to get out of the box and join the larger world. The presence of an open door means I can go out and come in. An open door is freedom and involvement.
Since God opens doors for us, we should be careful not to force them open in our own strength. This may lead to disaster. The doors that we open for ourselves may easily be closed by others. The people that open doors for us have the power to close them as well. Sometimes it is good to wait for certain things to come to us in their own time and way. Wait on the Lord.
When God opens a door for us we need not fear the outcome, no one can shut it. This may imply that when God shuts a door, no one can open it. God cannot be reversed. The gifts, graces, and blessing of God on our lives are ours, no one can take them away. Romans 11:29 remind us that God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Therefore, we live our lives believing that God’s will for us would be realized as we obediently follow him. God is the God of doors; some doors he opens and some doors he shuts, but no Man can counter what God has ordained. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown (Revelation 3:10).
Many doors will be opened to us this year, however, some open doors may not be right for us. Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.— Disraeli . In “Acts 16:6-9 we read: “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” We may expect the God who sets open doors before us to close other doors as he sees fit.
In the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves we are told that one day Ali Baba, while gathering firewood in the forest, overheard the conversation of forty thieves visiting their treasure store. The treasure is in a cave which is sealed by magical words. It opens on the words “Open Sesame”, and seals itself on the words “Close Sesame”. When the thieves were gone, Ali Baba used the magical words to open the cave. He went from one door to another and from one chamber to another finding more and more riches.
The open door that Christ sets before us leads to other doors and to higher chambers. We may enter the realm of God’s boundless blessings and unceasing grace. The words of our Lord in Revelation 3:20 speak to this: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. We enter his open door when we open the door of our lives to him.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.