Locked in a Room Full of Open Doors
Excerpt from Matthew 7:7-11
"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
Reflection by Ron Buford
I am told that alligators bred in a fenced area for many generations won't go beyond the fenced perimeter, even after the fence is removed. It is as if they are locked in a room full of open doors.
We are not all that different, believing we can't do . . . whatever. Fill in the blank. We become certain that a mistake, influence, or limitation will determine our destiny. But it need not. God is in the business of bending time, creating new possibility from disaster, and you and I have inherited the business. Release yourself.
As a kid I heard the old ones testify, speaking metaphorically, and with excitement, "I remember the day my dungeon shook and my chains fell off. Glory!"
Are you feeling stuck or limited today? Today's text invites us to search with confidence. In God's kitchen you can always find the ingredients you need to cook up a breakthrough—if not today, perhaps tomorrow, and sometimes it takes longer. But keep looking. Finding is often connected with a determined and persistent search.
And it may not show up exactly as you imagined. You may have asked for a type of fish that would be as dangerous as a poisonous snake for you. But God has heard your prayer.
In fact, you may already have your fish. Who has the seasoned cornmeal? Glory!
Prayer
Gracious God, help me never tire of looking for You, the One closer to me than I am to myself. Help me trust in and give witness to your uncontrollable, all-knowing, and perpetually transforming love. Amen.
Excerpt from Matthew 7:7-11
"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
Reflection by Ron Buford
I am told that alligators bred in a fenced area for many generations won't go beyond the fenced perimeter, even after the fence is removed. It is as if they are locked in a room full of open doors.
We are not all that different, believing we can't do . . . whatever. Fill in the blank. We become certain that a mistake, influence, or limitation will determine our destiny. But it need not. God is in the business of bending time, creating new possibility from disaster, and you and I have inherited the business. Release yourself.
As a kid I heard the old ones testify, speaking metaphorically, and with excitement, "I remember the day my dungeon shook and my chains fell off. Glory!"
Are you feeling stuck or limited today? Today's text invites us to search with confidence. In God's kitchen you can always find the ingredients you need to cook up a breakthrough—if not today, perhaps tomorrow, and sometimes it takes longer. But keep looking. Finding is often connected with a determined and persistent search.
And it may not show up exactly as you imagined. You may have asked for a type of fish that would be as dangerous as a poisonous snake for you. But God has heard your prayer.
In fact, you may already have your fish. Who has the seasoned cornmeal? Glory!
Prayer
Gracious God, help me never tire of looking for You, the One closer to me than I am to myself. Help me trust in and give witness to your uncontrollable, all-knowing, and perpetually transforming love. Amen.
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