Our lives seem to be a journey of opening, closing, and walking through the doors in front of us. This is true for the ministry leader as well as the lost soul in need of Christ. It applies to the go-go Type A personality as well as the steady introvert. In the spiritual life, God sets doors of opportunity before us and calls us to walk through them obediently. This brings to mind the three doors in the early part of the book of Revelation.
Door #1 is found in Revelation 3:7-8:
Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus says the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens: I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power…
God speaks to this church, and thus to each of us, about His mighty power through the illustration of the door that He has opened and holds open in front of us. This is the door of faith held open for evangelism. Entering into that door is coming to Christ. First, we were called to walk through it personally, and next we are commissioned to lead others to the reality of that open door as we fulfill the Great Commission.
Door #2 is found in Revelation 3:20:
See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
God speaks to this wandering church about their need to commit fully to Him rather than their sinful behavior of self-reliance. He uses the picture of the door that He stands at and knocks as a reminder that our will can be stubborn and resistant to His work in our lives. As hurtful as our own stubbornness can be to our life, hope is found in His steadfast love. This is shown by His willingness to continue to stand and knock and to remain at the ready for us to enter into sweet fellowship with Him.
Door #3 is found in Revelation 4:1-2:
After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said,“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it.
This is the door we may enter once we have responded rightly to door #1 and/or door #2. We can now enter into a new place of fellowship with the King of our heart. By the Spirit of God, we see Him in a new way and, thus, see our own lives and purposes with more clarity. This empowers and equips us to holy living and fuels the mission of the Kingdom-minded Christ-follower.
What door has God set before you today? How can you respond to it in obedience?