Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The ‘More Doors’ Outlook



Jesus said to his disciples regarding God’s provision of a place in heaven: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places...” ~John 14:2a (NRSV).


As a follow-up to the article Open Door Policy, it bodes as well to consider the vast number of potential doors that could open to us.


Our belief is even further bolstered in knowing that—upon our patience—God opens the exact right door, closing many others, perhaps, that may seem equally appropriate and destined for us.


The truth is there are always more doors, and even more than we can count or consider. There is no reason for us to panic about the imminence of a door that’s closing that seems perfect for us.


God’s Voluminous Plan


The fact of the doors of life creates anxiety in all of us and the only way to not become anxious is to engage the trust of faith—the willingness to lose, potentially, what seems to be a win for the overall win, provident of the ‘more doors’ perspective.


Could it be possible that Jesus—whilst talking about heaven; the way to the Father—might also have been inviting us to a broader theology of ‘options’ in the initial verses of John 14?


Where there are many rooms there are many doors; many more doors and many more rooms than we mere humans could envisage.


We see one plan and two or three options, and perhaps one plan B, and that’s about the extent of our typical perspective. We don’t see the doors ajar and about to spring open up in our immediate futures.


The Lord’s plan is voluminous in that it provides for us, as evidenced by the very many blessings that we’ve enjoyed in the past. No matter what we suffered or missed out on, there are so many more things we have received. These gifts have been issued under a ‘more doors’ policy—our God is the Lord of surprises. We prayed for one thing and we often received something completely different, but it sufficed.


Transforming Outlooks


Our task is to transform our outlook from that of a static, single-dimension which features as a single door that we fixate on, to an outlook that holds open the possibility that more doors are available to us.


This more doors approach doesn’t fret at the imminent possibility of blessing.


Instead, it waits for the full revelation of God upon the opening of the right door at the right time. This involves much situational patient wisdom. But we can know there are many ways in any present situation that we can enjoy blessing.


When we see more doors open to us than those currently visible—via the spiritual vision of trust—we are less anxious, afraid and bereft of hope, and we are more content to wait. There are more doors opening to us than we realise. This is an eternal fact.


© 2011 S. J. Wickham.



Graphic Credit: Corinthian Doors.

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