Remains and Resolutions

God recently brought this phrase to my mind in the quiet of a run through my neighborhood. It was a few days before New Years, and I was prayerfully considering the new year and all that it would bring.

Exit to the Entrance. 

I searched Scripture to better understand the Word God spoke to me. I thought it had to mean, "when God shuts a door, He'll open another." But much to my surprise, this phrase is nowhere found in the Bible! Instead, I found the following passage and what I believe to be the root of what the Lord was trying to show me on my run that day.

 "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent" Revelation 3:1

It wasn't too long before I realized that God was not trying to tell me some flowery idea that the closing of a door (or year) was an opening of another (although there is nothing wrong with that thinking). On the contrary, the Lord was trying to wake me up! He was urging me to take inventory of my deeds, and to strengthen what remains. He was showing me my unfinished business, my potential, and the state of my heart.

So before I make my exit to my entrance, a new year full of resolutions, dreams, and a string of opportunities, I have to settle with my exit. I have to revisit the unfinished deeds, strengthen what remains, and repent before I move forward.

You'll be happy to know that in this same passage, just verses below, God then makes the promise, "I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name" Revelation 3:8

See? God was promising open doors after all! He just took me the round about way. God wants to open doors that wow me beyond my wildest imaginations. He wants to roll our the carpet and scream "go!" But I have clean up my remains before I walk out that destiny.

So, before you make your exit, what is your unfinished business of 2013? Yes, I know it's a few days into the new year, but maybe God wants to speak to your heart just as He has spoken to mine. Don't let the close of a year close your mind and heart to the things God might be still trying to show you. Settle your exit before you bolt to that entrance. Then and only then, He will see your deeds - the finished ones - and place open doors before you. Open doors that no human, no circumstance, and no Satan can shut!

-BJM