Christmas morning, when I was a child, was a morning like none other. No one had to shake the sheets to get us up… We were up long before our parents! No one pleaded with us to open our gifts – we would carefully and quietly open our gifts BEFORE the 6:00 AM ‘Appointment’ our parents had scheduled. We would quietly celebrate and show off what we’d received. We would carefully re-wrap the gifts, placing them back under the tree in their original places. We would wait quietly and somewhat impatiently, so we could re-open our gifts in front of our parents and act like we were surprised.
My children, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. We were up hours before them and finally had to wake them up and tell them to open their gifts. Their lack of enthusiasm surprised and frustrated me. They were thankful to receive what they had been given, they were just more excited about the possibility of additional sleep. I remember my disappointment when my oldest daughter asked if she could go back to bed. Things were certainly different.
When I reflect on these memories and think about the Open Doors that God is presenting to me this year, I pray that my response to His releases are of excited anticipation and not of reluctant acceptance. I wonder how many times I’ve caused God to be disappointed because of my reticent response; how many times I’ve let Him down with my lack of responding? How many gifts have I abandoned and left unclaimed, leaving a virtual stamp that said, “Return To Sender”?
When we give ourselves to God, He prepares things for us that no one has ever imagined. (1 Corinthians 2:9) When we delight in God, He desires to give us the desires of our hearts. (Psalm 37:4) God has set before us an open door that no man can shut! It is up to us to access the door. Lord, help us to exemplify the spirit of my early years: Compel us to rise earlier than usual because we are seeking after You. Cause us to break our regular, ritualistic routine, to do what we’ve never done before so we can get what we’ve never had before. Create in us the drive to rush to the assigned place to receive not just Your blessings, but Your correction and instruction. And clean our hearts, preparing us to joyfully receive what we had not anticipated. God, help us to open Your gifts; to enjoy Your gifts; to share Your gifts! Help us to no longer label Your blessings ‘Abandoned & Unclaimed: Return To Sender’! Help us to ‘Get Ready’… To stay in right relationship with You; to ‘Get Set’… To speak and stand on Your Word regardless of our circumstances; to ‘RUN!’… To position ourselves in Your Presence! Lord, You have set the doors before us (Revelation 3:8); help us to run through Your Open Doors!