The Lord is My Light

Some time ago we arrived at our home in Utah to find that the screen door at the front entrance to the house had been caught by the wind and twisted so much that it was lying in an almost horizontal position against the house while still being connected to the frame with one fastener. It is our practice to make sure that all doors are locked and the screen door tightly latched before we leave the home. But, apparently, we either failed to properly secure the door, or someone came to the house and left the screen door ajar. Whatever the reason, the damage was done – and it extended to the door frame. Since we don’t possess the necessary tools or knowledge, we couldn’t remove the door or fix the frame. All we could do was put an object on the porch in front of the door to prevent further damage and to let visitors know that entrance to the house was not available at that portal.

Since then we have used the two doors on either side of the house to go in and out. It has been a little inconvenient to not have access to the front door, but we’ve managed without it; though we have commented several times that it would be nice to open the door and have access to the light it would bring. We reluctantly confess that during this time the entry way on the inside of the house became a nice place to store toys and boxes. It became a conveniently inconvenient space.

Last weekend we finally had the front doors replaced. We were able to get a storm door with a deadbolt so that we can prevent a similar attack on the door in the future. We learned that we needed extra precautions in place against forces of nature that are capable of twisting and mangling metal – and we also needed to put barriers in place in case a human unintentionally leaves the door unlatched and exposes it to the harshness of the outside world.

Sometimes we forget to tightly secure our own defenses against adversarial winds. Prayer, scripture study, standing in holy places, worship services, etc., provide that extra lock against adversarial forces. Satan blows through, looking for people who haven’t secured their latches – allowing him to pick them up and twist and mangle them to the point that it’s beyond their ability to fix. And, instead of seeking out the Carpenter who can fix the problem, we are slow to seek repairs, often letting the clutter of doubts, insecurity, procrastination, and denial block the repairs that need to be made. Instead we work around the problem, making adjustments because of the inconvenience and obstacles that are preventing our spiritual progress.

It was wonderful to get the door replaced. We no longer have to work around the problem of having one inaccessible door. The new door can be opened wide to allow the sun to shine through.

In the case of the door, repairs were delayed because of opportunity, time, and money. When we decided that it was finally time to make the repair, we made the time, found the opportunity, and budgeted the money.

The repairs to our spiritual broken doors shouldn’t be so difficult, but they usually are. It’s not easy to admit that you were so easily caught up in the adversary’s storm and it s hard to believe that we can recover from the mangled mess that’s left. But the Son’s light can shine through us again if we are willing to acknowledge and move the clutter we have built to hide the problem.

That’s why Jesus suffered for us, so that He can be the light when all we feel is darkness. He opens and repairs doors that seem inaccessible. And we can be left brighter than we were before.