Let Him In by: @EmilyLaney

Photo credit: the_girl (creative commons)

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 
– Revelations 3:19-21

Life can be pretty chaotic can’t it? I’ve been so busy lately and have so many things piled up on my plate. Multiple jobs and volunteer duties stacked on top of the normal “take care of the household, feed the dog, do the budget, buy the groceries, and love the husband well” business. The other day I was running from one commitment to another when I heard that still small voice in my heart.

“Daughter, I’m knocking. Won’t you answer?”

I stopped in my tracks. It’s pretty convicting to realize that God is knocking on the door of our hearts, asking us to let Him in. For me, I had found myself so busy doing things for God that I hadn’t bothered to spend as much time WITH God. Ouch.

The interesting thing about the passage above is that Jesus is talking to the lukewarm church of Laodicea. In the passage, he threatens that he’s about to ‘spit them out of his mouth’ (v 16). I’m not a Bible Scholar, but it appears that the church at Laodicea was pretty content to just be. They had lost their fire for Christ and had become complacent.

I know in the past I’ve read the passage about the Lukewarm Church and immediately thought of laziness. When I think of lukewarm, I think of inactivity. I think of people who are just happy to warm a pew/seat/bench on Sundays and go about their happy American Dream throughout the week. I’m not one for sitting still, so I must have sub-consciously thought I was immune to the whole lukewarm thing. But I believe my frantic rushing and busyness can result in me slipping into that lukewarm territory just like inactivity affects others.  I’m doing a lot “for God” but my time “with God” has suffered.

We all have areas that can result in us slipping into that ‘lukewarm’ territory. Maybe it’s a secret sin you struggle with, or maybe it’s being too busy like me. Or maybe you feel paralyzed into inactivity as a result of fear or regret. None of us are immune to this, we all can fall into this category. But like everything else, we are all unique, so our struggles are unique.  My encouragement to you today is to take a moment and sit with the Lord. If you feel Him knocking, let Him in. God loves us and disciplines us and refines us more and more into His image. Each struggle, fear, failure and even disappointment is refining. Likewise, each victory, success and act of faith refines us and draws us closer. But first we have to let him in. When God knocks on the door of our hearts as a quiet reminder of the necessity of communion with the Lord, we have to open the door, and let Him come in.

Emily Laney is a social worker, educator and justice seeker. She has worked with vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad and loves to help startup nonprofits reach their goals. She is a Passion City Church door holder and leads a team of abolitionists at Not for Sale Georgia.  She loves her husband Brent and their rescue pup Biscuit. Sunsets and Sushi make her happy.  

You can connect with Emily on twitter @emilylaney or on her blog www.emilylaney.com