Daily Java: To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:14,20)
You can almost imagine the picture. He stands at the door and is knocking. He wants to come in and be part of your life. He wants to be in your heart.
He is waiting and ready. All he waits for is your permission to come in. But he will not do it unless you ask.
That is a strong part of God. He will not force himself on anyone. He will not force his salvation, his presence, his love on anyone who doesn’t want it.
True, he will move where he wants to move and use people to accomplish his actions. In Exodus, the word says that the Lord wanted Pharaoh, the king of Egypt who was keeping the Israelites captive, to let them go.
Pharaoh didn’t want to, since they were his workforce. Exodus also says that he hardened his heart against the Israelites (Exodus 8:32). But it also says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 10:27).
What that meant was that God allowed it to happen. He knew his will would not be Pharaoh’s will but he did it anyway. By his doing what he wanted to do, he made Pharaoh rebel.
He could have entered into Pharaoh’s mind and changed his heart so that the Israelites could have gone out easily. But he didn’t. Instead, he did what he wanted knowing that it would make Pharaoh mad.
God will not force his love on you, nor will he force his presence. But he will do his will. His will is immutable and works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). He does what he wants regardless of what you want, because he is God.
But he wants you to love him and he wants to love you in a personal way. He stands at the door and knocks. He waits for you to let him into your heart.
His love is unconditional. His presence is conditional. It is depending on you and what you want.
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