Revelations 3:7 - “…These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
The Uber driver seemed to be driving extremely slow as she made her way down Central Ave. “Hurry up, Lady!”, I thought. I really had to use the bathroom and her current rate of speed seemed torturous. I leaned forward and politely said to her, “I really have to use the bathroom. Any way you can go a little faster?” The Uber driver smiled, gave a confirming nod and thankfully increased her speed. Before I knew it, I was home. I jumped out of the car, bolted up the stairs and tore through my purse to find my keys. The keys weren’t there. Desperately, I emptied out the contents of my purse onto the door mat. I looked through every pocket and zipper possible, but still… nothing! This was about to end very badly. I abandoned by my purse and its scattered contents and ran downstairs to my neighbor’s apartment. She graciously allowed me to use her bathroom, right in the nick of time. My goodness… that was close!
I made my way back up the stairs to my apartment door. I grabbed my phone to make a call, but my front door opened and I was met my son! “What in the world? Where you here the whole time?” I asked. “What whole time?” he answered, “I’ve been here since I got home from school. I was off today, remember?” I had not remembered. The desperate situation I was in prevented me from thinking clearly. I felt so silly. The entire time I thought I was locked out, I had a means to get in. What make matters worse, the door wasn’t even locked. I could have simply turned the door knob and gone in. But because I was accustomed to my normal routine, I didn’t even try it or think it was a possibility. .
The trap of becoming comfortable in how things have always been is something the enemy has used to keep us captive for ages. Many times, we feel like we are locked out, when in reality, we have access to the Promises we are desperately trying to get to, but we accept defeat without even trying to gain access. Because our family has always struggled financially, we accept the defeat of poverty. Because everyone in our family has divorced, we accept the defeat of a hopeless marriage. Because our family doesn’t have any college graduates, we accept the defeat of, maybe, a high school education. We accept defeat in so many areas of our lives, without even trying to unlock something greater.
So many times in life, we will find ourselves in desperate situations, running desperately for some form of relief. Right before we get to the promises of God, we come face to face with obstacles that seems to block us. In that moment, we have a choice. We can run away, abandoning the contents of character and beliefs, seeking help and relief elsewhere. Or we can stand firm and believe in the possibility that door is already open for us. We are already free from sin. Free from generational poverty. Free from broken relationships. Free from abandonment. Free from anything that separates us from God. We just have to believe that it’s a possibility. No matter how many times we’ve approached the door and it’s been locked, know that God is on the other side of the very thing that’s blocking you, waiting to let you in. So go ahead, allow your faith to turn the knob.
Heavenly Father, I’m desperately chasing after you, but sometimes I let what has always been keep me from knowing who You will always be. God continue to increase my faith that I may trust in you to open doors in my life that have always been shut, so that I may no longer accept defeat. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
By: Min April Carter
