The Door

     In “A Friendly Shade” I have no doors closing me off from nature.  I may sit in my shade swinging underneath a breezy tree, labor intently in my small garden, or just take a walk in the woods.  However, when I have enjoyed nature for a time and wish to enter another more cooler or warmer climate all I have to do is return inside.  To do this, I must enter a door. 
     What do we do when the door doesn’t open?  Don’t we expect it to open easily when we turn the knob?  If it does not open as expected, do we kick it, bang on it, or shove the mighty force of our shoulder against it?  Do we give up and walk away, or do we find another door?  Thank about it! 
     In Matthew 7:7-8 it says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."  Doesn’t this scripture make us expect the door to open?  Yet, there are times we are left disappointed, and in our disappointment we have several options when the door does not open.  In Mark Batterson’s book “The Circle Maker,” he asks, “How long and loud will you knock on the door?  Until you knock the door down?”  Sometimes, we need to pray harder and become as Mark Batterson writes, “We need to become desperate in our prayers.”   
     When we don’t get answers or the answers we expect, we need to aways keep praying and keep knocking.  Maybe God is saying, “No, not now,”  or is He saying, “There is something better. Look for another door.”  Whatever the case, we must keep praying. 
     Maybe we slammed the door so hard it won’t open.  What happened?  Did we take our request away from God in our effort to do it ourselves and to do it our way?  Is it time to release our stubbornness in order to finally let God back under the steering wheel and allow Him to open a door?      
     Often times, we may need to listen harder.  Some would complain, "Why can't I hear Him? Why is He not answering?"   Could it be that we have sin in our lives that we have not been willing to get rid of ?  Can we really expect a door to open when we are not willing to obey?
     If we are truly willing to obey, there is hope.  God knows how to correctly dot every “i” and cross every “t”,  and He will open the door that is right for us at just the right time.   So, if we find a door that will not open, we need to keep knocking- there are surprise blessings behind that door in due time.