Closed Doors
Sometimes a phrase from a hymn grabs us. We can’t get it out
of our minds. It’s pointing us to Scripture where our souls can be fed. We need
to pay attention!
That’s what happened to me one Sunday morning.
We were singing the third verse of an old hymn which begins,
Fear not, little flock, whatever your lot;
He enters all rooms, “the doors being shut.”
I couldn’t sing any more. I was struck by the phrase, “He enters all rooms, ‘the doors being shut.’”
Instantly I thought of the resurrection narratives in the Gospel of John. The disciples—fearful, confused, grieving—are huddled together behind locked doors. Their Lord has been executed. His body is now missing from the tomb. They have no idea what to do next. Are their lives in imminent danger? Are all their hopes dead?
Then Jesus enters the room, the doors being shut.
Here’s how an eye witness describes it: That
Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were
afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly Jesus was standing there among them!
“Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his
hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he
said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John
20:19-21 NLT).
Everything changes when Jesus enters the room. In place of fear, the blessing of peace. In place of grief, a growing joy. In place of confusion, a sense of purpose and mission.
I have found myself in “closed door” situations in my life. Haven’t you?
Times of deep financial need in ministry or at home. Health crises with no way out. Family dilemmas that defy solution.
I recall praying with colleagues behind closed classroom doors at a Christian college thirty years ago. Finances were dire; we had all been put on half-salary. We didn’t know whether the college would survive. But Jesus showed up at those daily prayer gatherings—dispensing peace and courage and motivation. The college survived and continues to flourish.
Sometimes we may feel like Thomas, listening to others tell how Jesus appeared in their closed-door situation. We’re glad for their experience, but it hasn’t been OUR experience. We long to see Jesus for ourselves.
It heartens me that the risen
Lord showed up a second time, for Thomas’ sake:
And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst…Then He said to Thomas….”Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (John 20:26 NKJV and NLT).
The Lord who enters all rooms knows each of us individually. He is well acquainted with the closed-door dilemmas that we face in old age. He knows exactly when to appear.
As the old hymn says, we can “count on his presence in darkness and dawn.”
©MarionSpeicherBrown
That’s what happened to me one Sunday morning. We were singing the third verse of an old hymn which begins,
Fear not, little flock, whatever your lot;
He enters all rooms, “the doors being shut.”
I couldn’t sing any more. I was struck by the phrase, “He enters all rooms, ‘the doors being shut.’”
Instantly I thought of the resurrection narratives in the Gospel of John. The disciples—fearful, confused, grieving—are huddled together behind locked doors. Their Lord has been executed. His body is now missing from the tomb. They have no idea what to do next. Are their lives in imminent danger? Are all their hopes dead?
Then Jesus enters the room, the doors being shut.
Everything changes when Jesus enters the room. In place of fear, the blessing of peace. In place of grief, a growing joy. In place of confusion, a sense of purpose and mission.
I have found myself in “closed door” situations in my life. Haven’t you?
Times of deep financial need in ministry or at home. Health crises with no way out. Family dilemmas that defy solution.
I recall praying with colleagues behind closed classroom doors at a Christian college thirty years ago. Finances were dire; we had all been put on half-salary. We didn’t know whether the college would survive. But Jesus showed up at those daily prayer gatherings—dispensing peace and courage and motivation. The college survived and continues to flourish.
Sometimes we may feel like Thomas, listening to others tell how Jesus appeared in their closed-door situation. We’re glad for their experience, but it hasn’t been OUR experience. We long to see Jesus for ourselves.
And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst…Then He said to Thomas….”Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (John 20:26 NKJV and NLT).
The Lord who enters all rooms knows each of us individually. He is well acquainted with the closed-door dilemmas that we face in old age. He knows exactly when to appear.
As the old hymn says, we can “count on his presence in darkness and dawn.”
Fear not, little flock, whatever your lot;
He enters all rooms, "the doors being shut."
He never forsakes, He never is gone--
So count on His presence in darkness and dawn.
©1921
Paul Rader, “Only Believe.”
©MarionSpeicherBrown
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