I love it when people place doors as art in outdoor spaces. Last year, my father and I visited one such display in North Carolina and it delighted my heart to pass through each door from one beautiful, green space into yet another! It’s a prophetic act mirroring our life and journey with Him. Embracing intimacy and closeness with the Heavenly Father and Creator of all, we journey from one life-giving season to the next with zoe life, eternal and abundant, on both sides of the door. Jesus made a mind-blowing statement in John 5:24, that “he who hears and believes has already passed from death into life.” (Forgive my slight paraphrase there, the point remains the same as far as I can see.) It’s not that there won’t be darkness and difficulty in any of those seasons, but our oneness with Him brings life and goodness into each season. After all, He is life! We may not see it until we pass through that door into the next, but it is a sure promise. Many who are now listening are hearing God say that this is a time of open doors. Passing through an open door sometimes means one closes on a former season of our lives.

In our frailty, we may frustrate and potentially delay the transition by clinging to the past for fear of the unknown or even a love of what was good and fruitful in the last season. We may harbor anger or unforgiveness about how that door closed. These and other obstacles can both hinder and rob us of the joy and delight and beauty that stands through the door. I am learning to invite God in to this messy transitional place and work with Him to clean up the mess in my heart! The mystery, beauty, and power of what Jesus did on that cross all those years ago is how it supernaturally cleanses us from the inside out and makes us new, as often as we choose to apply it. We then find ourselves free to fully embrace and enjoy the new place we are in. We more easily surmount the obstacles of the current season once we’ve dropped the baggage of the last. Even the most seasoned warriors face fear. Even the most seasoned warriors face opportunities for unforgiveness. There is no condemnation in His heart if you’ve been there, only an invitation into His arms where He makes those things new! I hear God’s voice asking, “Will you walk through this door? You are needed on the other side. I am with you, and I have all you need, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, to do what you’re called to do in this new place. There is work to be done, there are people to be loved, places to be transformed, and I desire you to be fully present to co-labor with Me in this here and now. Come up here, My beloved!”