Opportunity is knocking and all you have to do is open the door. Right on the other side of that door is the biggest opportunity of your life but you won’t open the door. No it’s not Publisher’s Clearing house with a prize check. You would open the door for that. Actually it is much bigger than that. God is knocking. You hear the knock but you act like you’re not home. Why?
Of course I’m being figurative. God isn’t knocking on your front door but he is knocking on the door to your heart. You won’t answer it. Trying to act like you’re not home but God knows you are. He can see through the windows of your soul. You are too busy with the chores of life to stop and open the door but He keeps knocking.
God never knocks for no reason. On the other side of that closed door he holds a great gift meant just for you. Whether it’s the gift of forgiveness, the gift of a Spiritual calling, or the greatest gift of all Salvation and eternal life. Now while there are countless number of reasons God could be knocking on your heart, these are the three that I feel led to discuss here.
Forgiveness
Now while forgiveness IS part of Salvation that’s not the forgiveness I am talking about here. I will discuss that ultimate forgiveness later on. For now I want to talk about forgiveness of others and forgiveness of yourself.
Forgiveness of others – God might be knocking to let you know that you need to forgive someone in your life. You may not be opening the door because you are just too upset or mad at this person to forgive them. They may not have apologized yet and that’s all you are waiting on. Either way God is knocking to tell you that you MUST forgive them anyway.
I know this doesn’t seem like much of a “gift” right now but God teaches us that we should forgive others just as He forgave us.
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 NKJV
Being a Christian means that we know the gift of the ultimate forgiveness. If God can forgive us for the many bad things we have done, what reason could we possibly have for not forgiving someone for anything at all.
Forgiveness of yourself – God might be knocking to tell you that it is ok to forgive yourself. You might not be opening the door because your self-guilt is too loud or because you just don’t feel like you deserve to forgive yourself. While forgiving others may be hard sometimes, forgiving yourself is usually harder. But, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually you have to forgive yourself before you can begin to heal.
Now while all the verses in the Bible about forgiveness also apply to self-forgiveness Paul gives us some words in his letter to the church at Philippi that puts it in perspective.
“but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,”
Philippians 3:13 NKJV
Now, while Paul is not talking about forgiveness in this verse, it certainly does apply. Whatever you have done or think you have done in the past is just that. It’s behind you. If you are a Christian, God has already forgiven you for it so there is nothing left there to forgive. You are worrying about nothing and it is time to reach forward to the things that are ahead.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine there is also a health benefit to forgiveness. Chronic anger has been found to increase blood pressure, heart rate, and messes with your immune response. All of these symptoms can increase risk of heart disease, diabetes, and depression among other things. But when you forgive someone it calms stress and will lead to improved health. Maybe God does know what he is talking about after all.
Spiritual Calling
God might be knocking on the door with the gift of a job opportunity. No not down at the local grocery store. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and the pay is HUGE! He chose you specifically because you were the most qualified. Well ok not the most qualified but He will get you qualified. He sees potential in you that made you just the person for the job. And the pay. Have I mentioned the pay yet? Man oh man. Let’s just say it is out of this world huge! No wait slow down. Don’t go looking for new houses. It’s not paid in dollars. No. Even better. It’s paid in spiritual crowns! I know right! (Check out CROWNS IN HEAVEN for more about this)
So what is this amazing opportunity God is waiting just outside the door to give you? God is calling on you to further His Kingdom! That’s right. God is offering you the opportunity to do something great. Something only you can do. All you have to do is open the door and accept it. So why won’t you open the door?
Maybe you’re not opening the door because you feel you aren’t qualified. Trust me that’s ok. God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. Just read Exodus chapter 4 and you will see Moses (his actual name was Moshe) basically arguing with God about how unqualified he was. Yet God equipped him and led him and Moses accomplished great things for God’s people. Did he do it perfectly? No. He had a few stumbling blocks along the way but Moses was the only one who could have done what he did.
Maybe you’re not opening the door because it would mess up the “big” plans you have for your life. Trust me God’s plans are much bigger and far more rewarding. Maybe you’re thinking “let me finish what I have planned then I’ll answer my calling. I have plenty of time.” As another pastor once said “you only have until your last heartbeat”. None of us truly knows when that will be. Besides, God has a timetable that is different than yours. What if your calling leads to someone not committing suicide or an entire town or country realizing they need to return to God? How “big” do your plans seem now?
Maybe you just don’t want to admit to yourself that God would call someone like you. I can understand this because I was that person. I led a bad life in my younger days and the last thing I thought was that God could use someone like me to further His kingdom. When He called me I wrote off the signs. “Well if God wants me to go there then so and so will happen” and it would happen. “Ok whatever that’s just a coincidence. If God really wants me to go then this other thing will happen” and it would happen. My wife finally asked me if God had to slap me in the head to make me realize what He wanted me to do. Believe me when I tell you there are no coincidences. Everything is by design. Sometimes we just choose not to see it. Plus I have been slapped in the head by God (figuratively speaking) and it’s not fun.
Salvation
I saved this one till last because it is truly the greatest gift of all. Not only is it the greatest, it is unique because it makes all the other gifts possible in your life. Not only that…the first two gifts I have talked about could make this gift possible in someone else’s life. What is this gift? God could be knocking on the door of your heart to forgive you for anything and everything that you have ever done. He wants to lift that burden and set you free. Now why in the world wouldn’t you open the door for that?
Maybe you think you don’t deserve it or haven’t earned it. I’m here to tell you not a single person “deserves” salvation and no one could ever earn it. We could spend our entire life trying to “earn” salvation and not even come close. Yet despite all this, God still offers us forgiveness and salvation. He loves us so much and that love is unconditional. How much does God love us? Well let’s read John 3:16 to find out.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 NKJV
Now that’s ultimate love! There is nothing that you could do that God will not forgive you for. He knew that nothing we could ever do could repay for the bad we had done so He came down and became flesh in the form of His Son Jesus (His real name was and is Yeshua) to take that burden. Beaten and nailed to the cross to pay the price we could never pay.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Or maybe you are thinking “not right now. I’m having too much fun. I’ll worry about Jesus later”. Remember. You only have until your last heartbeat and then it is too late. No matter what your reason for not opening the door it isn’t good enough. There is no time like now to open the door to your heart and let God in. So won’t you unlock the door and let Him in? Just pray this prayer with me.
“God I open the door and invite you in. I come to you now with a humble heart and soul. I know that I have sinned and done wrong in my life but I ask Your forgiveness. I want to change my life and I know that I cannot do it on my own. Only Your love and Grace can bring me through. I graciously accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for me on the cross and accept him unconditionally as my Lord and Savior. God, I ask that you make me a new person as only You can do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.”
If you just prayed that prayer congratulations you are now born again and are a new person through Christ Jesus. Welcome to the family of God. Now go out and tell somebody. Heck tell everybody. Once you do that find a church that preaches the truth or you can join us every week on our YouTube channel (coming 02/25/2023). Next immerse yourself in the word of God and learn all you can.
I’m proud of you and would love to know about you giving your life to God. Feel free to email me at jroberts@oldtruthministries.org so that I can begin including you in my prays. Don’t worry. The only email you will ever get from this ministry is one congratulating you on your new journey.
In closing, no matter what God is knocking on the door for always remember that He knows you are home. He will keep knocking until you answer. And remember God loves you and so do I! May God bless you and keep you.