Locked Doors Can’t Stop Him

Locked doors cannot stop Jesus; only locked hearts can.

I wrote a post a couple of days ago about how Mary Magdalene was so distraught when she couldn’t find Jesus’ body in His tomb, that she missed Him standing right in front of her. Even thought she was looking for Him in the wrong place, He came to her where she was and called her by name. Then, she knew.

I wrote about how we often miss encountering Jesus because we look for Him in the wrong places. But, what about when we don’t look for Him at all? What then?

The Gospel of John tells us in chapter twenty, that later on that same day, which would be night time on that very first Easter, the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, in fear of the Jews. They weren’t searching for Jesus at all. They were hiding.

Mary had told them what she had seen. Did they believe her? The text doesn’t say. Did they think she was just some hysterical woman? Maybe. Whatever they were thinking, they weren’t out looking for the Risen Jesus. They were hiding.

They still feared man more than they trusted God.

But, then Jesus appeared among them. A locked door was no deterrent to the Son of God. He had just defeated death. There was no physical way to keep Him away from the friends that He loved.

My pastor once said that the only thing that can keep Jesus out is a locked heart. It’s not the physical realm that presents any kind of obstacle to keep Jesus from us, it’s the spiritual. It’s the human heart. That’s a lock that He won’t pick. We have to open our hearts to Him willingly and then prepare to be amazed.

The disciples certainly were. They were afraid at first. I probably would have been too. They deserted Him in His greatest hour of need and even though Mary had reported that He was alive, they still cowered in fear. They were not searching or Him.

But, He was searching for them. Let that sink in for a moment.

He wanted to forgive them and for them to know that they were forgiven. He wanted to cover them in grace. He wanted them to know that they were redeemed.

His first words to them. were, “Peace be with you!”

Even thought they weren’t looking for Him, He found them and told them to be at peace.

And so it is with us. For most of us, there are times in our lives when we search for Jesus, but there are also times when we don’t look for Him at all, but this Biblical account is clear.

It doesn’t matter why we are hiding, or what kinds of doors we have locked, whether it’s fear, or shame, or unbelief, if our hearts are open to Him, He will find us, wherever we are.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

PS: Next week is spring break for my kids. I’m going to take break and enjoy them. I hope to meet you back here with new inspiration to share in early April.