Standing in Faith at the Closed Doors

Sunday, June 06, 2021

Standing in Faith at the Closed Doors

I know your deeds. 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)

All of us, at some point in our lives, have had the experience of waiting at a closed door. With so much hope and patience, while trusting God to open the door for us, we wait with much expectation. On the other side of the closed door, there will be thousands of joys to experience, needs to be attended to urgently, works to be completed soon, people to be met, diseases to be healed, marriages to be arranged, travels to be made possible, financial loads to be cleared, examinations to pass, professional ladders to climb and many more...

I learn two important and interesting things about standing in faith at a closed door. As we wait upon the Lord, the Bible verse from Revelations 3: 8 that we have taken for today's reflection reminds us to be vigilant about two things which I would like to share with you today. However, before I share those reminders with you, I want to realize with you that the verse which contains the reminders comes with a great promise from God - "See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut" (Revelation 3:8a). Amen! God has placed an open door before all of us, and sometimes it may not be the door that we are expecting to open; a different door that God has planned for us may open in an unexpected way.

We can be, first of all, confident that God has a door prepared to open for us when His right time arrives. God has seen our "deeds" (Revelation 3:8) and our Lord also knows that we have "little strength" (Revelation 3:8). But as we wait with confidence and faith in our Lord, let us be reminded that we have to be vigilant about two things.

We must remember to keep God's word in us.

In Revelation 3:8 we find that God appreciates us when we keep His word even in the midst of pauses and negativities in life. He loves us when we make it a necessity to live by His commands. God loves it when we choose to trust His words. Our Lord cares for us with compassion when we put our hopes in the promises of His words. And, let us be reminded, that even today as we are standing in front of a closed door and waiting for God's time and moment to arrive, we must continue to keep God's word in our hearts, minds, and our everyday activities of life.

We must remember not to deny God's name.

We are also reminded to be very vigilant about our opinions and our words as we wait upon the Lord for doors to open. After years of waiting, sometimes our hearts and minds begin to complain, and sometimes our words go to the extent of questioning God. At times, we tend to deny that God is able, He has a plan, His delays are for our good. Some of us even go to the extent of cursing and mentioning that this long wait was in vain. God's word today reminds us not to do so. As we wait upon the Lord for Him to open the closed door for us let us continue to exalt and glorify His name. Let our words and actions remind ourselves and the ones around us that we have put our trust in the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father!

As we continue to stand in front of closed doors, let us remember that it is the time to remain faithful, trustworthy to the Lord as we continue to praise and glorify His name. Surely the Lord's help is there for us, and just as the verse we have chosen for the day reminds us we can be assured that God will open doors for us that "door that no one can shut." May the power and blessing of God the Father, the love and grace of Christ Jesus the Son, and the fellowship and presence of the Holy Spirit be with us all as we continue to trust God and wait upon Him for the closed doors to open for us.

May God bless you.

Yours in Christ,