The Open Door

When I was in the Marines in training as a Radio Operator, I was summoned to the Colonel's office. He told me that because of my diligence, IQ. etc. they were offering me a full scholarship to the Naval Academy. I asked him what the catch was, and he replied 1 year at preparatory school, four years at the Academy and four years active  duty in the Navy or Marines, whichever I chose.

I thought for a minute adding up the time, and at the age of 19, nine years seemed like a lifetime commitment, especially since I joined to go to war in Viet Nam. I declined that opportunity then serving a tour in Nam, eventually doing my three years and went on a destructive path of addiction, divorce and desperation. Who knows how things would have turned out if my choice was different, but I can promise you I would not be where I am now.

It was an open door for me that I shut and God had other doors for me to enter into. I do not regret my decision for a minute, but I do regret it took me so long to find the right one to walk through. Maybe you have faced similar choices and possibly chosen well right from the beginning, but for me, I was a hard headed man and I needed to face the consequences of my choices before I came around to Gods way for me.

If you are staggering now as I was, my suggestion is to get to know God, listen through his spirit as to what he would have you do, then do it. And if you interpret what he is saying, heading down the wrong road, he will course correct you through a set of circumstances where you know only he could create.

His formula is ask, seek and knock. Instead of having to bang down the door, he will open it if you don't miss that middle part, to seek. Seeking means we are looking for something, and God will always provide a sign, either a green light to go or a stop sign to look elsewhere. My problem, I always chose the easiest path to take which led me to doors I had to not only knock on but ones had to knock down.

Turning down the Naval Academy was a good decision for me on the surface, but since I did not consult God on that one, the road to get to where I am now has been filled with obstacles. What am I trying to convey here?

​What may look like an open door on the surface could very well be a trap door to destruction.