Revelation 3:7-8(NLT)
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: 8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.”
“I hope God isn’t punishing me for something I don’t know about – I feel like there are no open doors to me meeting my husband.” This is what a woman recently shared with me. I understood exactly where she was coming from because I had similar thoughts at one point myself. God’s truth is the most powerful reality that exists, and the truth is that our Heavenly Father doesn’t punish us and withhold blessings. Psalm 84:11(NLT) tells us, “For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” And not only this, 1John 4:18 declares that God’s perfect love expels all fear, and when His love runs the show, punishment is never a worry. So, when our thoughts are not lining up with who God is and how His love operates, meeting a husband shouldn’t be our first concern. Our priority should be to obtain a greater understanding of God’s love.
With every situation we encounter, we should pay attention to what the situation is telling us. It will reveal where we are in life, where we are in our faith and believing, and what we need to learn to move forward. This requires blatant honesty, because in truth, often we’re so distracted by our desire for marriage and companionship that we don’t make space and time for God. Our Heavenly Father must be number one in our hearts and minds. Everything in our lives will work together for our good when we’ve made honoring the Father our first priority.
Most people think they are being punished when something they greatly desire doesn’t materialize. It may be difficult to hear, but when we blame God in that way, we’re taking the easy way out. We don’t want to look at our level of believing honestly, and we don’t want to expend the time and energy to learn more about God through His Word, so we can go higher in our level of believing. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that we’ve been comfortable with the effort we’ve put forth for God’s Kingdom, and we don’t want to confront the truth that more is required of us to go higher.
God has opened many doors for us in the past. All the blessings we enjoy today is because He opened the opportunity, we recognized it and reached out and grabbed it. God is continuing to do this. He is continuing to open doors of opportunities; we’re just not seeing the one that leads to the spouse we’ve been praying about. He’s not keeping it from us. He’s encouraging us to take the steps to spiritually grow so we are lifted higher and can see what life holds for us on the top shelf.
We should never feel indifferent or have condemnation for wanting to have a wonderful partner to walk with us through life. God gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sin. He sent him to the earth to make a more than abundant life available to everyone. This lets us know that we can ask God for what we want and need, but James 1:6 (NLT) tells us, “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. God’s children today are struggling with prioritizing their relationship with God, and it’s leading born-again believers to have divided loyalty, because they are not fully seeking God and therefore are not fully persuaded in His willingness to bless them.
God is not slack with His Word or His Will. He’s unmovable, and He changes not. He’s looking at our pattern of consistency, and He’s looking at what we’re persistent about. His requirement is that we keep His Word in our hearts. Are we doing this? Are we prioritizing our relationship with Him? The answers to these questions are staring us in the face. God may be telling us that it’s time for a spiritual growth spurt, and we need to make some changes. No one is closing the door on our blessings except us. When we see this clearly, our eyes will be opened, and we can see the door of opportunity that God has held opened all along. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“What God Opens, No One Can Close”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.