OPEN DOORS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

2 Corinthians 2:12-13

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You may have heard the saying, “When God closes one door, He’s ready to open up another.”

This is grounded in the thought that life is a progression as we make different transitions and that this movement from one thing to another is orchestrated by a master Planner God, the One who is our Maker and Master.

Indeed, our God is a door opener and if anyone questions that, they haven’t read the Bible. Consider these words from our Savior Jesus as He delivered His renowned Sermon on the Mount:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

This door is one God opens to allow us access to Him. Those who seek Him will find Him and He does not shut out those who place their faith and hope in Him. Rather, He opens the door so we can make contact. There is never a sign that says, “No Solicitors”, when we come to the door of our Lord.

And then there was this event as the apostles sought to carry out the Gospel work Jesus called them to while in Jerusalem.

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” He said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. Acts 5:17-21a

Here we find doors physically being opened by the Lord as the Sadducees tried to stymie the work of Jesus’ apostles who were finding great success as they began to share the good news and bring people to salvation through Christ. While the apostles were in their cell, God sent an angel to open the door and set the captives free so they could go and continue their Gospel work.

Here we find that our God opens doors to opportunities, opportunities to carry out His will and way. Paul would later experience this first hand as the Lord led him from one place to another to establish Christian churches. One such time is within his testimony found in our two verses from 2 Corinthians, chapter 2.

We read where God had opened the door for Paul to bring the Gospel to Troas but note here that the apostle wasn’t exactly in a good head space. By his own admission, Paul “had no peace of mind” because he didn’t find his brother Titus there. Perhaps this is one of the few times we see Paul’s human nature start to come out. Rather, than being focused on why God had opened the door for him to go to Troas, certainly for Gospel purposes, Paul was instead centered on Titus. In fact, he ended up saying goodbye to the people of Troas and moved on to Macedonia as if he lacked any interest in where he had been because he didn’t find what he wanted.

This can be a big problem for us when God opens a door because often times, we aren’t attentive to His reasons for opening the door. We are too self centered on our purposes and desires, and unfortunately, this can cause us to miss God’s plan altogether.

So how do we avoid making the same error as Paul did?

We simply must always have our eyes open to see when God is bringing us into opportunities, to see when He is opening doors for us to carry out His purposes. This requires complete intent on our part. We must always be asking ourselves as we are in each situation in life as to whether God is opening a door for us to walk through and make a kingdom difference in the lives of others.

One thing’s for sure. God is always opening doors for us. The question is, “Are we recognizing them and walking through to carry out His plan?”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com