The Door Is Still Open

Day 78

The Door Is Still Open

I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Revelation 3:8

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W

 e are weary. We have failed many times, feel self-condemnation, and seem endlessly stuck in a cycle of new resolutions followed closely by new failures. But we belong to the Lord. We are His, and He has heard our prayers. On days when we have no hope left in ourselves, we can place our hope in Him and be encouraged by the following Scripture-based truths:

1)        No one can close a door God has opened:  See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand—Deuteronomy 32:39.

2)        No human agent or spiritual force of evil can block blessings the Lord has promised: ...they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away—Isaiah 51:11.  

3)        God's blessings may be delayed, but they cannot be stopped. His purposes may not be understood, but they will stand. His love is perfect in power and wisdom, and He unfailingly takes care of His own:  Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one—John 18:9.

4)        God finishes what He starts:  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ—Philippians 1:6.

5)        He gave us Jesus so that nothing, not even our own sin, can separate us from Him:  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord—Romans 8:38-39.

In Christ Jesus these truths hold firm for those who do not deserve the blessings they bestow. They hold true for you and even for me. Let this rich comfort stir us to forgive those who do not deserve it even as we accept forgiveness we do not deserve. May the hope that is ours through the promises God has given encourage our hearts as we bear the trials He allows.

Pray:  I thank You Lord and I ask Your forgiveness. Please restore me to right standing with You through the shed blood of my Savior, Jesus Christ. As I bear the trials You have allowed, please keep my heart open to the blessings You give.  Enable me to obey and to glorify You in my physical body even as my heart turns to You in praise. I bless Your Holy Name.  

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For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

1 Peter 3:12