From the archives:

I have an old dog who is losing his hearing and vision. A screen door, which has not yet been rehung, leans against my house a few feet from the entrance. My dog has been confused lately. He stands at the screen door and barks to be let in. I stand at the open door calling him over. He doesn’t hear me, doesn’t see me; he only sees a door and wants to go through it.

Have you ever found yourself knocking on a door that won’t open for you while Jesus is calling you to the door he is holding open? It occurred to me that many of us are like my old dog. We come to a door that seems to lead to the comfortable place we want to be and we stand outside that door, begging to be let in. We are so focused on that particular door, that leads nowhere, that we cannot see or hear Jesus as He whispers, “You’re knocking on the wrong door. Over here beloved, I am leading you to the comfortable place you long to be.” We can’t see that we are begging the Lord to open a door that only reveals a wall.

But if we use our thick necks to turn our heads we will see our Shepherd waiting and calling us. “He has me lie down in grassy pastures, he leads me by quiet water, he restores my inner person. He guides me in the right paths.” “Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life.” (Psalm 23)

You can choose to stand at the door to the wall, demanding to go your own way, or follow the Lord, where you will “live in the house of ADONAI [the Lord] for years and years to come.” How long will you knock on the wrong door before desperation causes you to turn and see Jesus holding the door for you?