As John Ortberg continues Chapter 3 of All the Places to Go, he posits that actually noticing people leads to open doors. He states: “Doors open when I actually notice and care about people I might otherwise overlook.”
Pastor Ortberg relates a story he read about a woman who locked her keys in her car. The car was parked in a very rough neighborhood. Frustrated by her bungled attempts to use a coat hanger, she prayed to God to send someone to help her. Soon a rusty car approached, driven by a tattooed, bearded man wearing a biker’s skull rag. The woman thought this a rather dubious answer to prayer.
Nevertheless, when the man asked if he could be of assistance, the woman replied, “Can you break into my car?” Replying that it was no problem, the man took the coat hanger and had the door open in seconds. The woman hugged him and told him he was a nice man. He told her that he wasn’t a nice man, that he’d just gotten out of prison hours earlier after serving two years for auto theft. The woman hugged him again and shouted, “Thank you, God, for sending me a professional!”
To a reasonable person, this was not an ideal door choice for the man or the woman. But what a blessing each received, far beyond the specific encounter. John concludes:
“Open doors are everywhere, everyday. And when we follow God’s leading, we receive the blessing of seeing the world and our place in it as he sees it.”
Today’s question: How have God’s open doors blessed you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “How to fix a broken story”