“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”- Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal . . .”- Philippians 3:13-14
In Chapter 10 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg states that “at the deepest level . . . doors are about entrance into another reality.” Suffering and death do not have the last word.
Pastor Ortberg asserts that life itself is a door opened by God. We can’t force it, as Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. writes in Reading for Preaching:
“Life so often releases its gifts only if we do not try hard for them. . . . Try too hard . . . and we defeat ourselves. Faith in God is much more gift and discovery than deliberate achievement.”
John concludes Chapter 10 with four reasons we’re tempted to give up searching for the door when the wall seems insurmountable. The first reason is discussed today.
1. I’m not strong enough. We are tempted to give up when overwhelmed by a sense of our own inadequacy. At times we remember Jesus’ words and do them. Often we don’t. We try to master temptation by force. At the door of the mind, John notes, mastery comes through surrender. We are to forget what is behind. God’s strength will help us stand guard at the door of our mind.
Today’s question: During your desert, land between time, have you tried to force things or relied on God’s strength? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The first door”
