Flowers Fade Friday: Open Doors and Starting Again.

I’ve been reading over I and II Corinthians for the past few weeks and the Lord has been impressing upon my heart the wisdom behind Paul’s ministry. Paul is a man who worked for the Lord. He moved by the Spirit’s leading, but he also had to make plans as a missionary. He had to decide which town to visit next, how to get there, how long to stay, when to move on. He had to write letters, encourage, exhort and settle disputes. He was a busy man. Even though I am not a missionary {but I am involved in missions – everyone is called to be involved in missions!}, I am called to work for the Lord and share the Gospel. Because of this, I know I can gain insight from Paul’s letters. I think all of us can.

Open doors. Americans, and Christians especially, love to use door analogies… “God opened the door for this opportunity” or “God is clearly shutting the door on that plan.”  I wasn’t even sure if these metaphors were Biblical until I noticed Paul using the same language in I Corinthians 16:8-9:

“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

So it’s accurate to think of the Lord’s guidance as Him opening and closing doors of opportunity or beginning and ending specific seasons of work. However, notice what Paul says right after He says God has opened a wide door in his ministry… “and there are many adversaries.” Paul knew God had provided fruitful ground for ministry, and yet he saw many adversaries at the same time. But that did not hinder Paul. Neither should adversaries hinder us. Christians all too often use minor adversaries as an excuse not to purse a ministry or an opportunity from the Lord. If the first mentor meeting goes awkwardly, if a weekly meeting makes Wednesday’s schedule really chaotic, if something doesn’t seem financially feasible at first, if someone persecutes you or questions your work for the Lord, you want to quit. I want to quit. It’s easy to say God is now “closing” the door you thought He was opening. But no. There are wide doors for effective work and there will be adversaries. Don’t quit because it’s hard. Pray for God’s guidance and seek His truth through Scripture. If He really wants you to quit the work He first called you to, He will show you by His Spirit and His Word. But don’t quit because there are adversaries. Expect them.

Begin again. How many of you have started a project, set a goal, or pursued some kind of ministry and then let it fall by the wayside? If you read my post from a few weeks ago, you know that I used to be consistent about memorizing Scripture. Now I’m not, but I’m trying to pick it up again. Maybe you said you would meet a friend for prayer weekly and it only lasted for two months before life got too crazy. Maybe you said you would increase your tithing by 1% but only wrote one check for the extra amount. Maybe you were convicted to reach out to a neighbor to ask about his or her faith, but haven’t yet because of fear or busyness. You should start now. Right now. Whatever God called you to… weeks, months, or years ago… that thing, that project, that ministry that He laid on your heart, the one you forgot about or sinfully avoided… that thing… do it now. In I Corinthians Paul asks the believers of Corinth to start a collection of money that he will later take to the persecuted saints in Jerusalem. The Corinthians eagerly and joyfully start collecting money… for a little while… and then they get distracted by life, and arguments, and divisions in their church, and they stop collecting money as they had promised. So when Paul writes to them the following year {II Corinthians}, he says “Hey, remember that money you were going to collect? Remember how you neglected God’s calling? Well, you need to repent and start giving your offering again.” He doesn’t tell yell at them. He doesn’t tell them they owe back-tithes for all the months they missed. He just says, in a spirit of love, “So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have” {II Cor. 8:11}.

God speaks to us in the same way. “You know that project I called you to? Remember when you were eager to do My work, but then you sinned and fell away? Take up the task again, child. There is grace to cover your lapse, but start again and complete the work I have called you to…”

Not to turn this into a Taylor Swift song, but “begin again” is at the heart of the Gospel… 🙂 God’s mercies are new every morning and because of that we have the power to work for Him – in the face of adversaries and even if we have neglected His calling for a season. Work for Him. Share His Gospel. Spread His Fame. Start now.