OPEN DOORS

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from a lady whose husband had read God’s Promise for Families.  She asked me whether I would be willing to come and give my testimony to a group of 8 or 10 ladies one morning.  She was having a birthday tea and wanted to do something that would include God so thought she would invite me to share my testimony.  I immediately responded ‘of course I will’ and as I put the phone down I thought ‘God help!’
I had never been asked to give my testimony before.  When I speak before an audience I refer to parts of my testimony but only as it pertains to a certain subject e.g. unanswered prayer, prophetic words God speaks into our lives etc.
I always stood behind a lectern separated from the audience and now I was being asked to address a small group of strangers in a very personal way!

Our hostess embodied the verse “Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practise hospitality.”¹  We are all in need of hearing more about God and here was this amazing woman setting aside a morning so we could all hear more about God and I marveled at her kindness and genuiness as she invited each guest into her home and made them feel totally at ease.

I gave my testimony and in parts I stuttered and stumbled and yet each woman there was graceful and attentive.

At the end of my talk one of the ladies asked me if she could anoint my head with oil. As she anointed my head with oil she said that God was closing the door to my past – that door had to remain shut and He was opening other doors that I needed to start walking through.  She then anointed my lips with oil and said that God would be the One who released in me the ability to speak and bear witness of the power of His love and healing in our lives.  As she was anointing my lips with oil the following verses went through my mind “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips;  your guilt is taken away and sin atoned for”.  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I.  Send me!”²

There is a section in God’s promise for Families where I refer to exactly that.

“God asks, “Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?”³ My heart leaped in response to the question posed and I exclaimed, “I am ready!””⁴

If we are serious about serving God we need to spend some time thinking about what our answers will be to the questions God asks us:  “Whom shall I send?”  “Who will go for us?”  “Who is willing to consecrate himself to the Lord”.

If we are willing to volunteer we need to realize that once we have dealt with the past God will shut that door and will open new doors for us to walk through.
That very afternoon a friend wrote “I know God is opening doors for me.  I just need to find a new way of walking through them”.  That resonated with me. I too, need to find a new way of walking through the doors God is opening – a new attitude, a new faith, a new hope and a new trust in our Lord Jesus.

¹ Romans 12:13, NIV Bible

² Isaiah 6:6-8, NIV Bible

³ 1 Chronicles 29:5, NIV Bible

⁴ God’s Promise for Families, page 16