Shut the Door

Many scriptures have been brought to light during this pandemic. There have been many truths and verses that have been shown to me either through the Word itself or through those around me. One verse in particular brought to light for me was Isaiah 26:20.

“Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
    until the fury has passed by.“

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first read this passage. It was right at the beginning of our world turning upside down and I had no idea what would be in store for me to learn from it. It was exactly what we were being asked to do, right? Stay in your home and shut the door for a little while until we “flatten the curve” (okay, that’s the paraphrased version). We took this as an opportunity to dive into His Word more, love on our people, get those house projects finished or even just started, try our hand at a new recipe or even the trend of sourdoughing.

As I studied this verse more, the part about “shutting the door” kept coming to my mind. You see, it is often behind closed doors that the Lord does His most amazing work. I started to remember that there are many times in the Bible where God asks people to shut the door. In Genesis, when Noah entered the ark with his family, the Bible says, “Then the Lord shut him in.” (Gen. 7:16). Oh, the work that needed to be done during that time (and I don’t mean just taking care of all those animals!). There was indeed fury going on outside the ark and God was certainly doing His work there. But I would imagine God was working on the hearts of Noah and his family as well. I can imagine they had many questions, similar to the ones we have today. When will this end? What will be like when we are able to leave this ark? What will our world look like when our doors are finally opened? The Lord needed to prepare their hearts for what was ahead.

In the book of 2 Kings 4, we read the story of the widow whose boys were about to become slaves because she could not pay her debt to the creditor. This widow cries out to Elisha for help who then takes stock of what she has, which happens to be only a little oil. He instructs her to ask her neighbors for jars and get as many as she can. He proceeds to say in verse 4, “Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” In other words, hide yourself for a little while, shut the door and let the Lord do His work. There was so much oil, they ran out of jars! The the outside world was closed off while God worked a miracle in her life.

Lastly, the Passover came to my mind. The very first Passover consisted of God’s people behind closed doors preparing themselves to flee from Egypt. Meanwhile, the angel of death passed over their homes because they had placed the lamb’s blood on their doorway. The fury was literally happening right outside their doors! While inside, they hid themselves and allowed God to work in their hearts and families to get ready to flee. Oh, the preparations that needed to be made before they faced the unknowns that would lay before them. God was doing His work behind closed doors.

Needless to say, there is a purpose to being closed in our homes right now. There is work that the Lord is doing and still wants to do in the hearts and lives of our families. Maybe there is a sin being called out. Maybe there is a new venture He is asking you to take part in once you “re-enter” the community. Perhaps there is a neighbor or two God has given you a burden for. The Lord might be using this time to make His Word come more alive to you. Or maybe it’s simply the Lord showing you the importance of slowing down and resting in Him. We live in a world that tells us to “go, go, go!” and when we live that out each day, there isn’t much space for us to grow or the Lord to work. However, when everything is stripped away and things have quieted around us, we can actually hear. We are able to listen a little closer and love a little deeper.

I understand that things are starting to open a little bit more. We might even say we are seeing a little bit of light from this tunnel that we have been in for the past few months. Even so, we are definitely still home much than we used to be. Don’t miss it. Don’t miss this opportunity to allow the Lord to work in your hearts and minds as your door remains shut a little while longer. Press into Him and His Word to see what He has for you. Just today I read in Matthew 6:6 – “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to the Father who is in secret.” Take time during this peculiar season to seek Him like you haven’t before and let Him do His work in your heart. It is often behind closed doors that the Lord does His most amazing work.