Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:1-3
Anytime, someone does not use the proper entrance to enter a building, it brings up a few questions:
- Does this person belong here?
- Is he/she a threat to this place and/or the tenants?
- What is the motive of the unlawful entry?
An illegal entry sounds the alarm that something must be wrong! A doorkeeper has the best interest of the person/people inside, and he will not allow anyone to enter in who can be a threat to his/her people.
Some people have an aggressive nature and would not mind climbing to get somewhere. As a matter of fact, they may consider it challenging and exciting! If there was someone in front of them, they’ll somehow push their way through to reach their desired goal. They don’t take “no” for an answer, and they will force and/or manipulate the issue until they get their way. I have seen this while driving, at DMV office, in families, and a whole host of other situations.
Unfortunately, our culture equates success with one who is aggressive and can climb the ladder the fastest. The culture focuses on the goal, not the means by which someone gets there. The Lord works the opposite. He generally gives us goals that we cannot achieve with human strength. He declares promises to us that are prophetic in nature. We only understand them in part, and they will require faith to see them come into fruition in our lives. God’s promises help us to stay in tune with Him and not get distracted.
The Lord cares about the means we use to get somewhere. That’s our responsibility. How fast we are going to get there is His responsibility. He can choose to work in a situation immediately, or can choose to take us through a process for years! Our methods show our trust in Him and our care for others. If a door is closed, and we are compelled to unlawfully climb to get there, that shows our lack of trust in God and our lack of concern for others.
When we are the ones subject to unlawful entrance, we know how dangerous and potentially hurtful it can be. I would not want someone who has cheated or manipulated their way in getting Medical Board certification to be my doctor. I also would not want to be on an airplane flown by a pilot who cheated his hours of flying to get his certification. God purposefully has set lawful entry for us, and it is best to trust His ways and His timing.
Has the Lord said that it would happen? If He has, then we can be confident that His word is trustworthy, and He will bring it about in a special way. If the Lord hasn’t spoken it, do we really want what He doesn’t want for our lives? Only lawful entry can produce good results!
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
The hard part Karline is the means of where He is taking Us. Trust is huge in our faith walk because often We don’t see clearly these means, nor do we necessarily love these ways! That is especially true with my health situation. Great post when you said its his responsibility about the speed and timing We will get there.
Amen! So true. Not seeing it makes it very difficult. Knowing that he sees all things gives us comfort in the midst of the battle! Thanks for sharing Tim.
Really enjoyed reading unlawful entry. It caused me to examine my method for getting what I want. On my path to reaching certain goals I will make sure I’m cognizant of others and staying on the path God has laid out for me.
Praise God! Thanks for sharing Sandra. Sometimes we don’t even recognize it until the Holy Spirit calls it out in our lives.