Day 171, Year 1

What is Blocking the Entrance of Your Heart’s Door?

Jesus said, “… If anyone hears My voice and opens the door….” (Revelation 3:20b NASB)

As mentioned previously, if the “doorkeeper” of your heart is guided by righteousness and wisdom, it is easy for you to open your door of heart for Jesus. But for some people, though they recognize that Jesus is good and want to open the door for Him, they still fail to do so. The reason might be as follows.

First, fear of opening the door and letting the Lord in. When people know that Jesus wants to enter into their lives, they naturally feel a sense of unfamiliarity and even fear inside. This is because many people are accustomed to making decisions independently or letting other people make decisions for them. When Jesus enters into their lives, He will prompt a change in their decision-making habits. But they are simply afraid of this kind of inner change.

Second, reluctance to open the door due to disappointment in Jesus. Some people would blame Jesus for some, if not all, misfortunes in their lives and the world, e.g., the misconduct of certain subpar Christians, or their own unanswered prayers. This is akin to placing all the blame for a prodigal child on their parents, which is very unfair. There is no reason for Jesus to be accountable for the evil actions of sinners, too. In reality, it is Jesus who is knocking on the door of people’s hearts, not the misfortunes of the world or the subpar believers. Why are some people unwilling to open their hearts for Jesus? It is because they have confused different individuals or cases with Jesus Himself.

Third, some may merely want to leave the door ajar. Some people want to receive Jesus’ help but do not want Him to come in and be their Lord. In fact, they only open a small door gap for His voice. Sometimes they want to communicate with Jesus and pray to Him in times of difficulty. Jesus may also answer their prayers and help them. However, they are not ready to welcome Him as their Lord and King. (We are going to discuss more on this tomorrow.)

In fact, whether to open the door and how to open it could involve various other possibilities. The “door” has been a symbol of authority since the book of Genesis, whereas a person’s “door of the heart” represents their sovereignty over their lives. When we welcome Jesus coming into us, we are welcoming Him to be our Lord and King. I encourage each of us to continually open our hearts wide to Jesus, allowing Him to work freely in us, enjoy deep fellowship with Him, and thus receive blessings from Him.

Reflection questions:

1) Are you willing to open your heart’s door wide for the Lord Jesus? Why?

2) How would you pray for those who refuse to open the door wide for the Lord Jesus?