“My door is always open,” said the commander of my Officer’s Candidate School (OCS) platoon during his welcome speech. I had seven and a half years of enlisted service, including three years in Vietnam, when I hit the doors of OCS. I saw the look on the first sergeant’s face when he heard the invitation. That look told me that it would be at great personal peril should any of the candidates try to avail themselves of that invitation!

Over the years I’ve discovered most “open door” statements are rhetorical and not literal.

As I was preparing a communion devotion this weekend, I found myself perusing Till He Comes by Charles Spurgeon, known as the Prince of Preachers. It is indeed heavy lifting for a Marine infantry guy, but we’re used to digging deep, so deep I went. In the first chapter (“Mysterious Visits”) a phrase caught my eye: “If our God has ever visited any of us, personally, by His Spirit, two results have attended the visit: it has been sharply searching, and it has been sweetly solacing [comforting].” I’m nowhere near Spurgeon’s league, but I would add one more type of visit — stabilizing!

First, the Spirit of God comes to search our hearts. King David wrote this prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, ESV). David invited God to come and conduct a search for anything spiritually harmful in his life. These days we are all about self-reflection — contemplating our navels, if you will — which may explain why so many people are irrational and depressed. Jeremiah tells us this: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick [‘wicked,’ KJV]; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Self-reflection will not get us where we need to be, which is why we ask God to come and search our hearts. As He does, the Spirit brings conviction in those areas where we need confession and repentance.

Second, there are times when the Spirit of God comes to provide solace, more commonly called comfort. Isaiah tells us the Messiah has come “to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion — to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:2-3). In this life we will have tragedies come our way, but, contrary to unbelievers, we have a source of comfort they know nothing of.

Third, the Spirit of God comes to stabilize. What do I mean by that? Through the cycles of our spiritual journey, in addition to the Spirit’s ministry of comfort and conviction there are times when the Spirit of God comes simply to abide with us for no other reason than He loves His children. The Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:21). How I love the times when I simply rest in the presence of the abiding Spirit of God.

Back to the open-door policy. In the Book of Revelation, we see this image of Jesus: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). When Jesus, by His Spirit, comes to our heart, is our door open or is it locked and bolted? He will not force His way in. Do you have an open-door policy for the King of Kings? Knock, knock!

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!