Jesus is the Door r | Ed Rodgers

Jesus is the Door, so why do we look for open doors elsewhere?
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

One of the most common ways Christians determine the will of God for their lives is by looking for the open doors. We look at our circumstances and try to match them with what we think God has for us. In the process, we head in the wrong direction by our misunderstanding of just what the door is. Jesus made it very clear that He is the door. He doesn’t promise to lead us to the door, show us the door, or open the door. He is the door. In the bigger picture, our circumstances are inconsequential. If we focus on them, we will often draw the wrong conclusion. We will find ourselves walking by sight instead of by faith.

When Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison, there were no “open doors,” but God was setting the stage for something much bigger than getting Joseph released. When Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, it looked like doors were closing, but God had other plans. When Paul and Silas found themselves in a Philippian prison, it appeared that God had closed to door to their plans to take the gospel to Greece, but once again, God had other plans-the formation of a church in Philippi.

Theater at Philippi

AS I SEE IT

We get ourselves in trouble when we substitute religious activity for an intimate and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. We think that our service for our God will please Him and bring us closer to Him. In doing so, we look to our circumstances to determine what to do next. In the previous examples, circumstances didn’t reflect what God was doing, and the same is true for us.

We need to return to the truth that Jesus is the door, and no one can shut the door that He opens (See Rev. 3:8). His “open door” is a door of opportunity for what He is about to do, and as we have power of His resurrection seen, it may run counter to what our present circumstances seem to indicate. When we truly learn to see Jesus as the door, we realize that He will apply His unlimited power to accomplish His Father’s will. It’s as good as done, regardless of how things look.

We must stop focusing on what appear to be interruptions, disturbances, and obstacles to what we think God wants us to do. His ways are not our ways, and neither are His plans. What God desires for us is that we trust Jesus as our doorway to our participation in the work that the Father is about to do or is already doing.

God keeps bringing us back to His central desire for us-an intimate relationship with Him through His Son. From that relationship will flow the right kind of service obedience performed with the right motive-delight in obeying our Heavenly Father with no hope of getting anything in return.

Click here for a related article, “Beware of the Open Door.”
Click here for a related article, “A Better Question.”

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