God's Appointed

I will place the key to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. 

Isaiah 22:22 

God told Isaiah that He was going to summon His servant Eliakim, and when He did, God would put the key to the put the Key of David around his shoulder.  And guess what kind of authority Eliakim was being given by God?  Whatever door he opened, NO ONE could close it.  Not only that, Whatever door he closed, NO ONE could open it!

You see, God's power is such that when God opens a door for us, there is no power that can close it! And when God closes a door to us, there is no power that can open it.  God opens the doors for us to fulfill His plan for us!  That is encouraging.  God also closes doors that lead us away from fulfilling His plan for us, no matter how much we beg, no matter how much we want it. And that is also encouraging. 

Thread The Needle With A Camel?

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

~Mark 10:25

 

A young man came to Jesus, knelt down before Him, and said "Good Teacher, what can I do to obtain eternal life?"  The young man, it turns out, was very good at trading, bartering, and making money.  So his question to Jesus was "what kind of deal can I offer to obtain eternal life?"  Now, some might gasp as they feign offense at this young man's gall trying to barter for eternal life.  But don't we do that same thing?  How many times have we said, "God, if You'll just get me out of this situation, I'll......"?  

  

People have, somehow, come to think God is in the wheeling and dealing business, and He's going to call us one day and say, "Let's Make A Deal!  You're My Next Contestant!"  Is that the kind of God you know?

 

The part of the story that truly struck home with me was the part about the camel fitting through the eye of the needle.  This, on the surface, sounds ridiculous! But if we do just a little digging, we discover that during Jesus' time, Jerusalem actually had a gate called the Eye of the Needle!  Not only that, but it was the only gate open on the Sabbath!  Not only that, it was used almost exclusively by merchants.  And here's the part that I found most impressive, the only way a merchant could get his camel through this gate was to unload all of its baggage and then the camel would have to crawl through the small opening.  It took a LOT of time, patience, and practice to coax these camels to crawl through this gate.

 

Lesson: Our baggage takes our focus off of God and His loving gifts. Unload our baggage and then we can look full in His Wonderful Face!    

Why Do We Push On The Pull Door?

I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.

Revelation 3:8 

People watching is a fantastic hobby.  One of the things I have witnessed several times are people trying to push on the PULL only doors. Once they realize they must actually pull the door, they tend to look around to see if anyone noticed their snafu.  

One of my favorite places to each is Nathan's at the corner of Hampton & Gregg Streets in Columbia.  It's one of those places that you will drive right past if you aren't looking for it.  Nathan's has one of those One-Way doors and more times than I care to admit, I'm the one going the wrong way.

But think about this for a moment...we like to think that WE are in charge of everything that happens to us.  While it is true that our decisions and choices impact our lives, it is God who ultimately determines what options are available to us.  AND if God chooses to close a door, that door will stay closed until God decides to open it.  AND if God opens a door for us, that door will stay open until God decides to close it.  

So if WE think we need to leave our job and become a missionary in some desolate location, God may choose to close that door until we have sufficient training and understanding.  There again, if we know someone needs to talk with us and needs to hear God's counsel through you (spoken in love), God can keep that person in your path (and on your heart) until you actually talk with them.

Rule To Remember:  God is the one in charge of the doors!  Ask Him to keep you from banging you face on the closed doors and keep you from wasting times trying to close the doors He wants open.