Shekinah Pettaway | 18
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.”
(Revelation 3:20)
The development of a relationship is like that of an opening door. As you become closer to someone, it is necessary that you gradually open your door to that person. Little by little you share information with one another to allow for stronger connections. Jesus desires to have a relationship with you. In fact, He’s waiting at your door so that you can experience His love for you at it’s greatest potential. He wants to come, as an invited guest, into a door that is fully open. Are you willing to open your door fully to Him?
Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20) In this chapter of the Revelation, we see John, on the island of Patmos in the Aegean, addressing a letter to the Seven churches of Asia. Jesus sent an angel to give this revelation to John, and now it is his responsibility to relay these important messages to these seven churches. John continues to relay the words of the Lord when he says in the following verse, “Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne” (3:21). With these particular verses, John is speaking to the church in Laodicea because the Lord wants them to know that if they open their doors to Him, they will then be victorious and (figuratively speaking) will sit with Him on His throne. This seems like an easy way to receive favor from The Lord, yet many of us have trouble fully opening our door to Christ. That is, we may not allow Christ to fully intervene in our lives and lead us in our decisions and His special plan for each of us.
Your door or your life can be opened to Him in many forms. For some their door is wide open, indicative of their strong faith in God and His direction. He is fully involved in their lives because there is always an opportunity for Him to come in. For others, this door is half way open, indicative of some sin that is preventing the door from being fully opened. Jesus is allowed to come in sometimes or whenever the door is open wide enough for Him to fit. Or He may just come during times of convenience when we need something or when we do not have to look cool or fit in with what is happening around us. Then there are some who have their door fully closed. Their door could be old and rusty, displaying how long Jesus has been knocking.
My door was the halfway open door. From a young age, I made it a habit to spend time with the Lord and God’s Word regularly. I prayed and called out to the Lord for the needs of others and myself. The time I set aside with Jesus each day was consistent, yet I lacked full trust in His promises for my life. Somehow I trusted Him with my prayers for others, but I did not trust Him fully for the prayers I prayed for myself. I worried about everything that I could not see the outcome of or control. I worried about what people would think. I worried I would fail. I worried about whether people would be proud of me or not. During my time abroad studying in Bordeaux, France, however, the Lord made it real to me that when I trust Him without worrying about what I can do, all will be done according to His will, not mine. I speak French, but my first month there I was incredibly fearful and worried. In another country, knowing no one, taking all of my classes in French, living with a host family speaking only French, and trying to make French friends, I could not take control of my life in the ways that I tried to in America. I realized, if I wanted to come back with a higher level of fluency, good grades, friends and most importantly peace, it was absolutely necessary to give God everything. During one of my daily devotional times, I was studying about how worry holds many Christians back from the great plans that God has for their lives. My worrying allows The Lord to see my lack of trust in Him and His heart breaks over this. This hit me. The Lord made that so real to me through this passage:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27)
I cannot take on everything and try to determine the steps of my life. I must have faith in His promises and live based on His truth, not my worries. Ever since that devotional, I have by His grace, left my door fully open to His plan for my life. My time in Bordeaux was still challenging and very difficult, but by His grace and strength, I left France with all A’s, more friends than I could even imagine, and a greater understanding for the people, language, and culture.
When you open your door completely to Him and allow Him to dine with you regularly, you will see the Lord work in the most amazing ways in your life. Giving Jesus the opportunity to dine or eat with you is a reference to the time you spend with Him daily. It is crucial to plan out time with Him each day, so that He can help you rid sins like worry, for example, that block the door from being fully open. When you take time to read His promises to you found in our book of instruction, the Holy Bible, you are in fact opening your door to Him. You then will see how sweet it is to just rest in His presence, sitting with Him on His throne. You will begin to delight in having Him share a meal with you as it says in Psalm 1:2, “But those who delight in the law of the Lord, meditate on his law day and night.” In developing a relationship, we speak with the person who we are close to about everything. That’s what Jesus desires from us. Think about this: if Jesus took time to spend with His Father how much more important is it for us to spend time with The Lord daily? Jesus gives us the great invitation, an opportunity to share intimate time with Him regularly. However, this only happens when we respond to His knock, opening our door fully to Him. Not just on Sundays when we go to church, not just when all has gone wrong, not just when we need something, but at all times. Keep your door open and watch how the sovereign omnipotent Lord will work to change your heart and your life, as He did for me.
Shekinah Pettway, Bowdoin Class of 2018. French. Long Island NY.
Shekinah’s preparations for the end of the world include wearing her hair in a bun and getting things done.
