Have you ever been in an isolation period, especially one where God deemed was necessary, and maybe you just didn’t understand it but you welcomed it anyhow, knowing that while you were sitting still in it, you were gaining Godly strength, developing spiritual growth, more wisdom and knowledge, better insight and clarity, and you’re hearing from God more clearer than ever before? I have. And it just happened so for me back in December of last year. Every day throughout that whole month, I kept hearing God say, “Close the Door.” It didn’t matter what I was doing in my awoke hours, my getting ready for bed hours, or my downtime hours, God was not letting up. He was even waking me up at all times of the night, three am in the morning, four-fifteen am in the morning, sometimes I may have just dozed off at nine o’clock and like an alarm, there He was, “daughter, “Close the Door,” and it’s only just 11 o’clock. I knew that I needed to start listening to what God was trying to tell me. He wanted my attention. God does pursue those He loves. The Bible gives us many different depictions of this. This divine chase is a consistent theme, such as the father waiting for the prodigal son, the woman looking for a lost coin, and the shepherd seeking the one lost sheep.
As Christians, we don’t dot every (i) or cross every (t), we falter in our walk with Christ, we stumble and we fall short of His Glory every day, but the strive is to get back up daily, confess and repent of our sins, and to try and do better in the Lord on each day that He gives us, apart from the day before. The fact that God was telling me to “Close the Door,” was because I had reopened it to sin. I had allowed it back into my home, back into my life, my thoughts, my daily activities, and my family and children started taking notice. It had started more so affecting my adult children, because for them, they got fed up with seeing me straddling the fence, which means having one foot in church and the other one still in the world, while pretending to be only the 1 thing, and that’s a Christian. God was not pleased. The Bible says in Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV), “I know your deed, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” That sure enough got my attention. God had been too good to me. Too amazing. Still is. And here I was, just after going through a divorce, being blessed abundantly with a new place of dwelling, a new vehicle, very much needed furniture, and the one thing He asked of me was not to open the door back to sin, faltering. But I became bigheaded and cocky, and I did just that. I let my flesh have its way. I gave over to my own free will, because God does give us this right?
I also knew, and I felt it, I felt it so deeply to my core before I gave in to it that it was wrong, so wrong, yet I persisted, my flesh and my spirit were at war (spiritually). God allowed it to all just come crashing down upon me by showing me the errors of my ways. I had to be held accountable. I had to see what the consequences of my actions had borne. There was no peace and quiet in my home, I no longer had peace of mind, I couldn’t hear from God any longer, I found that I couldn’t pray, being in my word went lacking, I was starting to lose all sense of self, my identity in and of the Lord was at stake, especially when I knew He had brought me too far to get turned around. My children were fine with this version of me because it meant they got to do what they wanted without rules, without limitations, without scorn or Godly guidance and direction. God said to me, “Why would your children follow you, listen to you, or anyone for that matter, concerning me and my son Jesus Christ, when you yourself aren’t even setting great examples, the right examples?” This stung. “Ouch,” was all I could say. I knew I had to close the door folks. I don’t know what anyone might be going through or dealing with but know that you can “Close the Door” on it. No, we aren’t made to walk in perfection, only Jesus was, does, and is, we’re just supposed to strive for perfection in the Lord each day, to walk upright, think righteously, talk righteously, try and do no wrong, forgive so that we can be forgiven, and to love unconditionally as Jesus loves us.
Give nothing, or no one, any power over you. Take back your power today and close the door. Satan only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Do not let him. Stay in your word, stay praying, meditating, fasting, going to church, connected to the right vines, and remove who and what’s no longer for you. If it isn’t growing you, it’s not for you. If it isn’t benefiting you, it’s not for you. If it’s holding you back, let it go. Only open your door for the positive and for what God has for you. Closing my door to sin (gossiping, passing judgment, cursing, drinking, lying, drama, arguing, sexual immorality) and being obedient to God almost broke me and my children because they wanted what they wanted, but still living under my roof, and my choosing to fully relinquish to God, I was okay with the harsh treatment because sin was coming to a halt. I gave them and their disliking my decisions to close the door over to God. And this is what you must do, you must give people over to God (no matter who they are in your life) who will try and make you feel bad for choosing God over them. God is supposed to come first. He should come first. If it’s an addiction you’re battling, abuse, rape, molestation, depression, stress, anxiety, divorce, separation, adultery, unruly children, struggling with paying your bills, homelessness, or starvation, “Close the Door” to it. God will supply all your needs. You are not alone.
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