The Hinges on the Door

In my last post, I asked the question, "what is the most important feature of a door?"
My good buddy, Steven, answered the question with some meaningful insight.

The Hinges on the door are the most important feature. That's not to say the handle or lock or even eye hole aren't important, they are. But without the hinges the other features are useless.

In relating these natural features of a door in spiritual terms the question now becomes,
"what are the spiritual principles that can help us walk through the door of destiny?"

In the Natural
Hinges not only must be attached to the door but also the frame to the building.
Hinges are held to both structures by the use of screws.
(thank you, good night, you've been great...haha....hang with me.)

In the Spiritual
Your future will hinge on your current Faithfulness and Obedience to Jesus.
The three hinges that are connected to the door of destiny and the house are;
Dedication. Distinction. Dependability.

Doors are good. Hinges are necessary. But the hinge must not only be connected to the door, it must be connected to the frame work or STRUCTURE OF THE HOUSE. In the case of the church of Jesus Christ, that would be the PURPOSE/VISION of the HOUSE!

Biblical Truth: Relationships are the screws that connect the hinges to the house.

I have discovered in my life that as I continue to connect with the body of Christ all across the country, that it has led to deeper relationships with Pastors and church leaders in many churches. These relationships have opened doors that have allowed me to take this journey of destiny with great enjoyment and revelation.
Where is the destination? I'm not sure right now. But I do know as I stay dedicated, and dependable to the relationships that God has distinctly brought in my life that He is faithful to fulfill all He has opened the door to.

Doors of Destiny

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Revelation 3:7-8

We see here in scripture that God is the one who opens and closes doors.

In my prayers for the last few months, I have prayed for God to open doors that need to be open and close doors that need to be closed.

To be honest, I have not trusted my emotions to be able to make a good decision when it comes to stepping into a ministry position. I've fought the urge to take the first thing that comes available. That is why I've specifically asked God to close doors that we do not need to go through.

I find it comforting that in this scripture it shows just what a loving and caring God we have. He says, "I know that you have little strength..." In the times when we are weak or not able to make clear decisions, I believe God gives us direction with His very hand by opening and closing doors.

Starting with the last post and over the next few post I'll take you through the process of how we have come to find out what God is doing in our lives and how walking through this door of destiny has given me clear and insightful purpose.

I believe that within every human being, there are at least three God-given desires…

1. The desire to worship something bigger than you are.
2. The desire to help other people.
3. The desire to belong to something bigger than you are.

These deep longings inside of us is what begs for attention in the cry to know our destiny.
But before we can proceed through the door God opens for us, we must look at some key components on which to hang these Biblical truths. Here's the first one, I'll share another in the next post.

Biblical Truth: Destination is a place. Destiny is a process.

With that in mind, next post I'll talk about the actual door. Think of an actual door and ponder this question in the meantime; what is the most important feature of a door?

The Great Door

1 Corinthians 16:5-9
After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

These words have jumped off the page and have hit me square in the face.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth about coming to see them and staying a while. His destination is Corinth; however the Lord is clearly opening a "great door" in Ephesus for him now. He explains to them that if God permits he will be with them, but for now God has opened a great door to do effective work.

For years I have thought of "destiny" as the arrival part of life. I think we all have asked God, "what is my destiny in life", or "God show me my destiny you have for me." But I see in this scripture that Paul has learned something that we may not recognize; that there is a vast difference between "destiny" and "destination."

Here is the key insight: Destiny is the journey getting to your destination.

Think about yourself when you were a kid, or maybe even your own kids, on the way to grandma's house. Every 15 or 30 minutes that famous question pops up, "are we there yet?"
Why do they (we) do this? Because they (we're) so focused on the destination that they (we) forget how to enjoy the journey.

I'm looking forward to sharing some insights on this subject starting in 2009.
God has opened my eyes to a great door before me.
A door of destiny that He has opened for effective work.

God Bless and Happy New Year!