Monday Morning Manna – Doors: Opened and Closed

I like doors. I’ve got several framed pictures in my office, from the “Doors of . . .” series, depicting the diversity of doors in various parts of the world. I also like open doors. I’ve had about as many open doors in my life as I have had closed doors. Along the way, I’ve learned several things about doors. I’ve made it a policy to never close a door that I didn’t open. In other words, if God, or someone acting on God’s behalf, opens a door for me, I ought to at least check it out before it closes. I’ve also learned not to force open a closed door. This can lead to a lot of misery. Mostly, I look for doors that God opens, and no one can shut! To the church in Philadelphia, John wrote, “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it” (Revelation 3:8). I like to look for doors of opportunity, like the ones Paul wrote about in Colossians 4:3, asking for prayer, “that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.” I try not to spend much time looking at closed doors. Helen Keller wrote, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” Look around this week, and check the doors in your life. Some may need to be entered; others ignored.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.