Do What He Says; Follow Him
I was awakened, but not startled by the knock on the door. I knew the angel of the Lord was at the door. I got up and went into the Lord’s presence to see what He was saying; why had He come?
As the Lord ministered to me, He reminded me of the angel that came to free Peter from prison (as Peter slept) in Acts, chapter twelve. The angel woke Peter up and commanded him to get up, get dressed, and follow him. He then led Peter to the city gate, which we’re told opened for them all by itself.
I began to realize that like Peter, we’ve probably found ourselves in a place where we may feel stuck, a place where we may feel restricted, a place where we feel we should be doing more; especially since we’re doing what the Lord told us to do. And we wonder, even question, how did we end up here…in this place?
While we may think we have some valid reasons for feeling this way, let me ask you this: Is it possible that like Peter you aren’t aware that you are walking in that which you have prayed for? Do you realize that the thing you asked for, prayed for is actually happening? Have you lost focus of what it is that you’re doing and why you’re in the place that you’re in?
Like Peter, all we have to do is: Do what He’s telling us to do and follow Him. And like Peter, He will lead us to the place where we should be. He will lead us to the place where we’re most effective; the place where we will have the greatest impact. And just as He did for Peter, He will lead us from a place of confinement to the gate that leads to the city; that leads to the people that He has ordained to receive us.
Could it be that we can’t see what the Lord is doing because we’re not walking by faith, which has caused us to lose hope? Have we become discouraged, disappointed because what we see doesn’t look like what we’ve been praying for? If we open our eyes and walk by faith, we’ll see that we’re walking in the manifested blessings of God. We’ll see that we’re doing exactly what we’ve been praying for; God has answered our prayers!
Is it possible that we’re so focused on doing what we want to do, and going where we want to go, that we can’t comprehend what God is doing? The things we’re trying to do and the places we’re trying to go are too small for what God wants to do through us.
We’re thinking too small.
What God is getting ready to do in our lives will far exceed our expectations; anything that we could even think or imagine…if we just do what He’s telling us to do, and follow Him.
Jesus is trying to take us from “doors of opportunities” to “gates that lead to the city”!
The things that we’re doing now (though they seem insignificant) are going to be the very things that will open the gate and lead us to the city. And I can’t say it enough: “What God has for us is so much more than what we could ever think or imagine.”
But instead of following Jesus, and keeping our eyes on Him, we have become like Rhoda (and the others who were praying); we don’t believe that the thing that we’ve been praying for is here! How could we not believe that the knock on the door is what we’ve prayed for? How could we not believe that He would do just what He said He would do?
If we would just stay focused on what it is that the Lord has called us to do, if we’ll just manage our expectations of what we think the blessing should look like, we’ll see that the thing we’ve been praying for is at the door; the Lord has given us what we’ve asked for.
All we have to do is: Do what He says, follow Him, and He will lead us to the place where He would have us; the place with the greatest impact!
Do you want “doors of opportunity” or “gates that lead to the city”? Do you want the Lord to lead you to more blessings; bigger blessings?
Then we must be mindful that the things we’re doing now are going to cause the gate to open by itself…if we continue to be obedient to what He’s telling us to do.
And like Peter, we need to come to our senses and realize this thing is really happening!
This is the will of God concerning you.
