Iron gate

And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

Psalm 78:8

In my travels I have come across iron gates. While reflecting on this type of gate I thought of it being strong and hard to penetrate. Sometimes we put up an iron gate around our heart, nothing is going to enter, it is stubborn and unchangeable it is our way or the highway. Most of the time we have our heart set on something, whether right or wrong, and no matter what Someone says we will not listen.

There are many Bible characters who display this type of heart gate, stubborn, obstinate and know better than anyone. A name that comes quickly to mind is King Saul. He was the first king of Israel. In the beginning of his reign he was quiet and obedient to the Lord. The Bible tells us he was a goodly person, there were no others like him (I Samuel 9:2) as you continue to read about Saul in the early chapters of I Samuel he appears humble and desires to seek God’s will.

The more you read the more you realize Saul wanted to do things his way. He did not care about God’s law but about himself. He was impatient and wanted results NOW, he could not be bothered to wait for the priest to offer the sacrifice, and he offered it himself (I Samuel 13:8-14). God told him to destroy everything in Amalek, but again Saul thought he knew better than God. (I Samuel 15:2-9) Each act of disobedience brought him further and further away from God. The iron gate around his stubborn heart was unbendable and unyielding which lead to the loss of his kingdom.

The prodigal son (Luke 15) is another example of an iron heart gate. He wanted his own way. He did not want to wait to inherit his share of the estate. He wanted it NOW. His father freely gave him what he requested. Without a care in the world the son took off to parts unknown to enjoy his riches. Forgetting everything he learned, he foolishly wasted each and every cent. The iron gate around his heart was slowly yielding. He remembered His Father and His Father’s love and traveled back home. Once home he found his loving Father with arms outstretched to embrace his wayward son. His stubborn, obstinate heart started to shed the “ iron” gate.

I know there have been many times, too many to count, where I allowed the iron gate to surround my heart. Thankfully I allowed the Lord to break down the iron gate. How is your heart? Are you stubborn or unyielding in a certain situation. Ask the Lord for guidance and direction through His word.

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea 10:12

Gates

The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. Psalm 69:32

This past summer New England was beautiful. It was warm, sometimes very hot, and sunny for most of the season. Everywhere you looked the yards and gardens were bursting with color, beautiful vegetables and fruits to eat and lovely bouquets to place on tables. As I write on the first of October the weather is still gorgeous, warm and not our typical New England weather. I walked this morning without a sweater or jacket as the temperature neared the mid 70s.

While out and about I noticed many gates. The gates are of various size and shape placed around gardens and yards, some are decorative while many are used to keep out animals. A gate is an opening to a world beyond. Gates can be inviting or they can be extremely protective, keeping out unwanted or unfamiliar objects. As I looked at gates I thought of the hearts of God’s children. Do we put up “gates” around our heart?

What kind of gates do we put around our heart? I have come up with a few that I will be reviewing in the next few days. The first gate I thought about was a closed gate. When we see a closed gate the first thought that comes to mind is “stay out”. Do we sometimes say that to Jesus? Is our heart closed to his leading or his love?

Sometimes we are so engrossed in what we are doing or in what we believe that we do not want to make any changes. Even if the changes are what the Lord is directing through His Word. The gate around our heart is closed and we do not want to open it.

I thought of a couple of Bible characters who had closed hearts to the Lord’s leading. The first one was Jonah, a prophet of God. God told him to go and preach to a group of people that Jonah did not like. Did Jonah obey? No he had a better idea; he took a ship and went in the opposite direction. A “closed gate” around our heart will often get us in a lot of trouble. In the end Jonah did obey God but it was only after a very trying time in the belly of a giant whale (Jonah 1-4).

King Saul also had a “closed gate” heart. He was always one step before the Lord, or so he thought. He sacrificed animals, instead of waiting for God. His hatred for David was so blinding that he could not see anything but revenge. King Saul disobeyed God in everything hence keeping his heart’s gate closed. Closed to God’s leading, closed to God’s love, closed to anything to do with God. What a sad state of affairs, from the king of Israel to the king who lost his throne to his neighbor (I Samuel 15:28) all because of a closed heart.

Is there something in your life that is keeping a closed gate around your heart? There are many things that will keep our hearts closed to the leading of the Lord; unforgiveness, bitterness, disobedience are just a few of many. Start today with a clean slate before you and God. Ask Him to show you what to do so your gate does not stay closed.

Have a blessed day,
Donna