The Open Door

BY: Deana Bell, Director, Restored Marriage

Have you ever had a conversation with God that went something like this?
 
God: "I'm asking you to do this one thing. Would you do it for Me?"
 
You: "Really, God? This seems way too hard. I'm not sure I can do it. Won't you reconsider? Can you ask someone else instead?"
 
God:.........(silence)
 
You: "I think there must be someone here on earth that would be better suited for this job other than me. Don't you think so, God?"
 
God:……..(silence)
 
You: "Okay, God. I will reconsider, but can you give me a few days to pray about it?"
 
 
JUST THIS SIMPLY AND EASILY…….YOU HAVE OPENED THE DOOR.
 
 
I don't know about you, but I have had way too many conversations like this with the Lord. Way too many for my liking. And it wasn't until recently that I realized that I was doing more than just being disobedient. I was opening a door.
 
You see, the devil is sneaky. He usually isn't very blunt or in your face.
 
The Word says that he sneaks around like a prowling lion, looking or someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
 
He sneaks. He prowls. He lingers. Then he lunges…when it's too late when you've already taken your eyes off the One who matters most.
 
The devil is looking for an open door. All he needs is a tiny little crack to be available, and he will, faster than you know it, come crashing right through, full force until you are left wondering what just happened to you.
 
The devil isn't looking for you to just sin so that he can open the door; he is waiting for that sin to fester and bubble and pus and turn into an infection of the soul.
 
So let's go back to our conversation with God…
 
This is my favorite phrase that my kids can't stand, "Immediate is obedient!" I am learning that that plays into our relationship with the Lord as well. He wants us to act immediately when He asks us to do something. We all know that we shouldn't bargain with the Lord or convince Him of something we think we know better. But yet, we do.
 
Well, let me say, I do.
 
I realized recently that I am opening up the door for the enemy when I do this.
 
What I should do is repent immediately. Ask for forgiveness and turn from my ways. (Romans 10:9)
 
Then I should do precisely what the Lord has asked me to do, whether I understand it or not.
 
Doesn't the Word say that the Lord has our best interests in mind? That He knows better than we do? And that He will not let us fall? (Psalm 37:24; Matthew 10:30; Ephesians 3:20)
 
So, why then, would we bargain with the Lord?
 
Once I have opened the door for the enemy, I have allowed my sight to be tainted by "rose-colored glasses," the enemy's way of getting me to see my sin as "okay."
 
Once I see it as "okay," I am in agreement with the enemy. It's subtle, and I probably don't even realize it at this point, but it is there.
 
It is then much easier for me to agree with other things that are not from the Lord. This may be, in part, why the Lord stayed silent in my earlier example.
 
You see, the enemy knows that if he can get us to sin just once and not repent and turn from our ways, we will then be wearing his rose-colored glasses and will be blind to further sin: the more sin, the more agreement with the enemy. For the enemy, the goal is long term, unrepentant sin that we have accepted as normal and customary in our daily lives.
 
Then the door is WIDE OPEN.
 
Good becomes bad, and bad becomes good. Craig Hill, from Family Foundations International, calls it "Societal Values Exchange." Unfortunately, most of our world has taken on these beliefs and has strayed so far from the biblical values that we can no longer see what is right from what is wrong.
 
We, as Christians and CKs, must be STEEPED in the WORD.
 
We must strive to look more like Jesus every day.
 
We must know His Word intimately so that we can live it out in our everyday lives.
We must spend time in prayer and listening for God to show us what to do next.
 
We must be DESPERATE FOR HIM AND HIM ALONE.
 
We have all fallen short. We have all sinned.
 
However, we always have another option, but it's one that we usually don't like.
 
We can repent and turn from our ways.
 
Repenting gets us back into alignment with what God wants us to do.
 
Repenting SHUTS THE DOOR ON THE DEVIL.
 
Repenting says, "And devil, you stay out and never come back!"
 
Let us do what that Word says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
 
Let's PRAY…
 
A PRAYER FOR REPENTANCE AND REALIGNMENT WITH GOD:
Lord, I have sinned. I have fallen short, and yet I know that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins. Lord, I repent for my sins, and I thank you for sending Jesus so that I do not have to take the fall for what I have done. I lay my sins at the foot of Your Cross. Lord, I want to realign myself with You and Your Word. Lord, I will turn from my ways. I will make the changes that You have asked me to make. I will be obedient to Your asking. Please forgive me and show me the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for the opportunity to be forgiven and not receive the punishment that I deserve. I know that You love me, and I trust You. Let me walk in Your ways. Let me see the path of Your righteousness. I want to know You more. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.