“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” : (Revelation 3:7 NKJV)
Recently I had a great conversation with Rev. H. Frank Centrallo, my father in the ministry. As usual, he shared a nugget of wisdom with me that helped me put things in the right perspective. He paraphrased Revelation 3:7 and said “God opens and closes the door of opportunity, not us. Our job is only to walk through the door. We can’t force it open when He’s decided to close it.”
As I accept the closed doors in my life and look to the future of my life, family, ministry, and business, his statement reminds me to allow God to be my guide. Here are some things we can learn from this verse.
God can be trusted.
God is holy and true. There is no one like him, full of wisdom and knowledge, who always wants what’s best for us. This why God can be trusted. He doesn’t have an alternative agenda that only benefits himself. In every situation, good or bad, God is working things out for our good.
God has the key.
The “key of David” is a figurative term that symbolizes royal authority. As a sovereign king, there are no areas of the kingdom where his influence isn’t permitted. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we can rest assure God has complete access to every area that concerns us. God can unlock any prison that binds us, open any opportunity to bless us, and lock the doors to our lives so the enemy can’t harm us.
God’s power is absolute.
There is a song that says “what God has for me, it is for me.” When we consider how he opens doors that no one shuts and closes doors no one may open, it should give us hope. The opportunities God will open for us cannot be taken by anyone, no matter how powerful they may seem. Conversely, closed opportunities cannot be opened to us no matter how hard we try. God uses opened and closed doors to guide us on a path to our future.
We must learn to trust his judgement at each door of opportunity whether open or closed. We must have confidence in his authority and power as he acts on our behalf. When we lean and depend on him, we will find we’re right where we’re supposed to be.