Behind Closed Doors
…when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19
The crucifixion had just taken place. The disciples were gripped with fear trying to avoid the very religious leaders that had executed their Savior. Although they were outnumbered, there was still strength in numbers. Perhaps not enough to fight, but enough to build comradery, and to at least have the realization that they were going through this trial together.
It was then that Jesus walked through the very door they had locked. He was in His glorified, resurrected form. With a celestial body, He was unlimited by time, space, and matter. But more important that the physical miracle of passing through the door was the dispensing of divine peace: With just a word, “peace be still”, Jesus brought them from chaos to calm.
I love how the Lord is not hindered by the rooms we try to hide in or the walls we try to put up. He knows how to get behind closed doors. And thank God for that! We can make a prison out of our own fears and uncertainties. We block people from ever coming into close proximity to us. We guard out hearts so that we are not hurt. But Jesus never intended the disciples to stay in that room. Especially not full of fear. Later He would ask them to stay in a Jerusalem upper room, but that was out of faith: to wait upon the coming of the Holy Spirit, not to run from the outside world.
May you know today, that Jesus desires to come into the very areas of your life that you are most afraid of. You can trust Him like no other. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock”. If we do not open the door, then He will walk through it even if it is closed. He loves you that much. Nothing in all the world will keep Jesus from loving you.