Doors
Paul and Silas traveled
through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented
them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders
of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit
of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead,
they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a
vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading
with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we
decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling
us to preach the Good News there. (Acts 16: 6-10)
Many years ago,
I came home to a house of blocked doors. Not just shut doors, closed doors, or even
locked doors, but blocked doors. Blame them on Shelby, our German
Shepherd/Samoyed mix, who, on most accounts, was a terrific dog. When it came to
kids and company, Shelby set a tail-wagging standard. But when it came to
doors, Shelby just didn’t get it. Other dogs bark when they want out of the
house; Shelby scratched the door. She was the canine version of Freddy Krueger. Thanks to her, each of the
doors in our house had Shelby marks. We tried to teach her to bark, whine, even
whistle; no luck. Shelby thought doors were meant to be clawed. So we came up
with a solution: a doggy door.
We installed a
Shelby-sized opening in the wall of the family room leading out to the back
patio, and to teach Shelby to use the new convenience we blocked every other
exit. We stacked furniture five feet deep and twice as wide. Eventually, Shelby
got the message. She wasn't going out those doors. But I could tell that her
feelings had been hurt. I came home once to find her with drooping ears and a limp
tail. She looked at the blocked door, and then at me. "How could you do
this to me?" her eyes pleaded. She walked from stack to stack. She didn't
understand what was going on. And maybe you don't either.
You try one door
after another, yet no one responds to your resume. No university accepts your
application. No doctor has a solution for your illness. No buyers look at your
house. Obstacles pack your path. Road, barricaded. Doorway, padlocked. You,
like Shelby, walk from one blocked door to another. Have you ever been
frustrated by a blocked door? If so, you have a friend in the apostle Paul. He,
Silas and Timothy were on their second missionary journey. On his first, Paul had
enjoyed success at every stop. "They began to report all things that God
had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles."
(Acts 14:27) God opened doors into Cyprus, Antioch and Iconium. He opened the
door of grace at the Jerusalem council and spurred spiritual growth in every
city. "The churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were
increasing in number daily." (Acts 16:5) Then, the missionaries felt the spiritual
gusts at their backs. But now, all of a sudden, they faced a headwind.
“Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia,
because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the
province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the
borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the
Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there.” (Acts 16:6-7) In other words, Paul had set his sights on Asia. Yet
no doors opened. So the three turned north to Bithynia but encountered more
blocked doors. They jiggled the knobs and pressed against the entrances but no
access. We aren't told how or why God blocked the door. Just that he did. And he
still does.
God owns the keys
to every door. “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can
open.” (Revelation 3:7) Once God closes a door, no one can open it. Once God
shut the door of Noah's ark, only he could open it until on dry land. Once he
directed the soldiers to seal the tomb of Jesus, only he could open it. Once he
blocks a door, we can’t open it. During a season of blocked doors, we, like Shelby,
can get frustrated. It’s a classic God's story/our story contrast. From our
perspective we see setbacks. God, however, sees opportunities. God will close
the wrong doors so he can lead us through the right one. And as we mature in
Christ, closed doors take on a new meaning. We no longer see them as
interruptions of our plan, but as indications of God's plan. That’s what Paul
learned.
God blocked his
missionary team from going north, south and east. Only west remained, so they
ended up at Asia's westernmost point. They stood with their toes in the sand
and looked out over the Aegean sea. And as they slept that evening, "Paul
had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to
Macedonia and help us.'" (Acts 16:9) The closed doors in Asia led to an
open-armed invitation to Europe. "Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a
straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from
there to Philippi." (Acts 16:11-12) They ran a "straight
course." The wind was at their backs again. Blocked passages became full
sails.
After several
days in Philippi, Paul and his team decided to attend a riverside prayer
service organized by some of the local Jews. While there, they met Lydia.
"One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia,
a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart
to respond to Paul's message." (Acts 16:14) Now if you read that verse too
quickly you'll miss the account of the first convert in the West. Christianity
was born in the East, but the seeds of grace rode the winds of sovereignty over
the Aegean Sea, fell on Grecian soil, and bore fruit in Philippi. Christ had
his first European disciple . . . and she was a she. Is Lydia the reason the
Holy Spirit blocked Paul's path? Was God ready to highlight the value of his
daughters? Perhaps. In a culture that enslaved and degraded women, God elevated
them as co-heirs of salvation with men. Need proof? The first person in the
Western world to receive the Christian promise, or host a missionary was a woman.
With Lydia’s support
Paul and his team got to work. In fact, their efforts in Philippi were so successful
that the pagan religious leaders panicked; people were turning away from the
temples and the idol makers were losing their incomes. So they made up a story
against Paul and Silas. “Then the multitude rose up together against them; and
the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with
rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison,
commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he
put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.” (Acts
16:22-24) Ah, the old, familiar sound of keys turning and locks clicking. But this
time, the doors swung closed on the hinges of a prison.
Paul and Silas
could have groaned, "Oh no, not again. Not another locked door." But
they didn't complain. From the depths of the prison emerged the most unexpected
of sounds: praise and prayer. "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them."
(Acts 16:25) Their feet were in stocks, yet their minds were in heaven. How
could they sing at a time like that? The doors were slammed shut. Their feet
were in stocks. Backs ribboned with wounds. Where’d their song come from? There’s
only one answer: they trusted God.
“The ways of the
Lord are right; the righteous walk in them.” (Hosea 14:9) "God will always
give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not
be slow to answer them." (Luke 18:7) When God locks a door, it needs to be
locked. When he blocks a path, it needs to be blocked. When he stuck Paul and
Silas in prison, God had a plan for the jailer. As Paul and Silas sang, God
shook the prison. "At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's
chains came loose." (Acts 16:26) There God goes again, blasting open the
most secure doors in town. When the jailer realized what had happened, he
assumed all the prisoners had escaped and drew his sword to take his life. But
when Paul told him otherwise, the jailer brought the two missionaries out and
asked, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30) Paul told him to
believe. He did, and he and all his family were baptized. The jailer washed
their wounds, and Jesus washed his sins.
God shut the
door of the jail cell so that he could open the heart of the jailer. God uses
closed doors to advance his cause. He closed the womb of a young Sarah so he
could display his power to the elderly one. He shut the palace door on Moses-the-prince
so he could open shackles through Moses-the-liberator. He marched Daniel out of
Jerusalem captivity so he could use Daniel in Babylon. And Jesus. Yes, even
Jesus knew the challenge of a blocked door. When he requested a path that
bypassed the cross, God said “No.” But he said “No” to Jesus in the garden of
Gethsemane so he could say “Yes” to us at the gates of heaven.
God's goal is
people. He'll stir up a storm to display his power. He'll keep you out of Asia
so you'll speak to Lydia. He'll place you in prison so you'll talk to the
jailer. It's not that our plans are bad. It’s just that God's plans are better.
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord.
"And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my
thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Back then, that’s
what we were trying to teach Shelby. We blocked the doors so she could have a better
one. And that’s what God is trying to teach us today. Your blocked door doesn't
mean God doesn't love you. It’s actually quite the opposite. It's proof that he
does. So, until God opens the next door, praise him in the hallway.
Grace,
Randy
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