Open Doors by Pastor Brent Lokker

By Brent Lokker & Michaela Thompson This past week I shared about how our beautiful and powerful King Jesus opens doors wide in front of us to be able to step through with Him. You can hear that message here on podcast: https://blazingfire.podbean.com/e/our-lord-jesus-opens-doors-brent-lokker/. In the message, one of the doors I mentioned that Jesus opens for us is the one to healing the deep wounds in our hearts. Michaela Thompson had this wonderful insight to add: It’s interesting that you spoke on Open Doors last night, since Papa has been bringing back to my remembrance some of the first promises He made to me. He promised to heal my heart, but it has to be His way. It's funny how we think we know what that means when we first hear it, but in reality there’s a continual unfolding of revelation that unpacks this truth. His WAY now takes on more than repentance from sin (my first interpretation) and basic obedience. His WAY now encompasses my whole life's journey regardless of how I got here, which is something I've been having a difficult time accepting and embracing.  So what is one of the open doors that Jesus has opened for me that no one can shut? Obviously, it's the healing of my heart, but that is so very vague. The open door is deep, deep rest for my soul - this is my life's message, which encompasses so very much. It's freedom from anxiety and fear, freedom from feeling the weight of my world upon my shoulders.... feeling like I am completely alone in this life. I have an open invitation to step into and abide in His pure love for me.... that He just likes me for me, that's it - there's nothing for me to do. This is so very difficult to hold onto.... the tendency to return to performance and achievement as a means of finding value and worth is strong.  We say it all the time, that “Papa loves us just as we are,” but this can be so very hard to grasp on the inside. So, the invitation stands for me to go deeper into this peace, into His rest, into His love and His care for me. I get to go deeper into trust, into leaning upon my Beloved. I get to perform and achieve things because I am already loved and accepted as an overflow of His life in me and the unfolding of who I am in Him in this world. The fact I can do nothing at all and still be good with God is crazy. Papa has invited me to take dance lessons... couples dance lessons (like ballroom, west coast swing, etc., anything with a partner). He wants me to learn to follow. My initial internal response was "I know how to follow! I'm sensitive to the Holy Spirit!" - and yes this is true, but there is so much more for me! So, I’ve taken a few lessons and I’m beginning to understand why He wants me to do this. ("Ohhh! There’s a whole other level of following and sensitivity that I haven’t experienced yet!) Here is one nugget I’ve learned so far: As a follower, I need to be committed to keeping the momentum of my movement going in whatever direction the leader sends me until I receive another direction. There’s a deeper level of trust involved that Papa is getting at with me, because I find that I want the security of knowing all the steps from beginning to end. But there’s no trust in that, because regardless of what my leader does, I would already know what I'm supposed to do. See how I’m getting my sense of worth from my performance?  It’s true I can't dance if my leader doesn't know how to lead and it’s also true he can't lead if I don't follow and am second guessing him all the time. I can get in my head instead of simply staying present and this is just not how couples dance works. And there’s no rest in trying to know all the steps ahead of time either, because then I have to remember what's coming, which keeps me from simply staying present with my leader in the now and enjoying the moment. There's a deeper level of rest in simply feeling the direction my leader sends me. All these insights are aspects of the open door I’m walking through with Papa.  So what open doors are in front of you? Ask for Papa’s help to walk through them. He’s all about taking you to good places in your life and He’s all about doing it with you!