Romans 5:1, The Message - We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
How do I know which door to walk through in life? Great question, I’m glad you asked. First I’m going to give the answer you don’t want to here... The truth is sometimes you’re not going to really know. Remember Abe? (Not the 16th president, Abe but the Patriarch of the Jewish faith, Abe) The Book tells us that he “went out not knowing where he was going.” This great main of faith didn’t know where he was going but He went anyhow! Of course you should seek God for direction (as I outline a bit below) but sometimes you’re just not going to know for sure. If that’s the case don’t get caught in “chair-land” forever waiting for God to miraculously give you a “door” to walk through. Sometimes the door doesn’t materialize until you start moving. Faith isn’t knowing all the doors to walk through. Faith is moving precisely when you don’t know all the doors to walk through.
I like this quote that says, “The most important things in life are things we cannot see. I trust a book, whose original I have never seen, to help me learn about a man I have never met, to save me through an event I have never seen, and take me to a place I have never visited. Nevertheless, I believe.” (sorry I don’t have a source for this)
The Apostle Paul said it more simply this way, “We live by faith not sight.” (2Cor 5:7)
But, I’ve gotten ahead of myself a little bit. Let’s back up. Ask yourself these questions when trying to discern and ‘unlock doors’.
A. Is there anything between me and God? Is there any unconfessed sin? Is there something that I’m hiding? If there is you can be assured that it will keep you from unlocking the door.
B. Have I put in an appropriate time of waiting and seeking God on this matter? We cannot assume that a prayer here and a prayer there (while at the stop light… while waiting for our hair cut… whatever) will really help us connect with God’s Spirit. Or that one a glance at the Bible every other week is going to yield the most productive results. I’m not suggesting these things are bad I’m just asking, if there is truly a discipline in your life to want to hear from Him…? Are you hungry for Him…? Or… are you just throwing out a life line here and there for something like ‘good luck’?
C. Have I received feedback about it with wise, mature and righteous people? (that is people who have some common sense, who are willing to look at the big picture and who are righteous not in the sense of ‘surfer-language-righteous’ but in the sense of ‘pursuing-God-with-all-their-heart-righteous’.)
In summary, "people of the door"... Open their entire life to God (motives, agendas, future, bank account, past, present and future). Then they seek Him with all their heart (this is reflected in how much time you spend praying and reading His word as well as a million other things). Next they bounce the idea off of their most trusted friends. Finally, they take in all the feedback and see which dots get connected. (If they don't connect wait some more and/or move past 'go' collect $200 or as much as you can and go directly to my first thought above.)
Have fun. Walk through some doors.
J
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