Open Door, Closed Door

When I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel . . . a door was opened to me by the Lord.

2 Corinthians 2:12

The largest bank vault door in the world is in the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. It weighs more than ninety thousand pounds. It incorporates the largest door hinge ever built. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, four vault doors in the Teikoku Bank, less than a hundred yards from the epicenter of the blast, survived, along with the contents of their vaults.

It may be possible to build doors to withstand man’s most powerful assault, but Christ told the church in Philadelphia that God has doors no man can shut and doors that no man can open (Revelation 3:7-8). That means no one is able to delay or obstruct the plans and purposes of God. When God opens a door of service or opportunity, no one can shut it. And when He shuts a door, it is a waste of time to try to open it. Christians pray often for God to “open a door.” When that door opens, there is only one way to go through it: by faith! God not only controls the door; He also controls what is on the other side.

If you have prayed for an open door, be ready to walk through when God opens it. And when an open door closes, be patient until it opens again.

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

CHARLES SWINDOLL