Working In The Hallway

Imagine with me for a moment that you are standing in a hallway. Doors close you in on either end and there are more doors spread sporadically down the hallway. There are many doors of all different sizes, made of various materials. A couple of doors are small, unpainted wooden doors, scratched, discolored, and with loose doorknobs. They have definitely seen better days. Another few doors are standard decorative interior doors, painted and pleasant to the eye, simply inviting you to step through them. Finally, you see doors made of metal, with gold inlay as decoration, and it would seem that only royalty could step through those doors.

You begin to try the doors in the hallway, but to your surprise, none open for you. Trying again, thinking that maybe you missed one, you find that you are seemingly trapped in this hallway with nowhere to go. Frustrated that you are stuck, you begin to question: What am I supposed to do? There are no open doors for me. How am I supposed to move on if I am stuck here?

As you take another look at this hallway, you begin to notice that some places need repair. The drywall has cracks, paint is peeling off the walls, the baseboards are scuffed and even coming loose in some spots. This hallway has been neglected.

This story can play out in our lives. Life is filled with doors, and oftentimes, we initially find them closed. In those moments, we have a decision to make: What will we do until a door opens?

There is always Kingdom work to be done. There will never be a moment in your life when the work of God’s Kingdom has stopped. However, oftentimes we think it has because the doors are closed. There seems to be no forward movement, and it can be a frustrating process. The Apostle Paul said, “In whatever state I find myself in, I’ve learned to be content.” This contentment was not one of complacency—of being satisfied where he was, never striving for anything else—but rather a deep trust that this is where God has me for this moment. He said, “I’ve learned how to be abased; I’ve learned how to abound. I’ve learned to live with plenty, and I’ve learned to live with not enough.”

While we wait for the doors to open, we must work in the hallway. It is in the hallway where God reveals whether we are doing Kingdom work for our own glory or His. If it’s for our glory, we won’t get the drywall mud out—because it will make a mess. We want to keep up our image, so we won’t get the paint out—because it might get on us. We definitely won’t crawl on our hands and knees to fix a baseboard. Besides, no one stays in this hallway long enough to notice what was done anyway.

But if we are dedicated to God’s work and focused on Him receiving the glory, we will find the materials needed and get to work in the hallway until a door opens.

The Preacher writes in Ecclesiastes, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might…” As Apostolics, we must REFUSE to do Kingdom work halfheartedly. But we must also accept that whatever God desires us to do, we must do it with all our might. The Psalmist said, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” God is looking for someone who doesn’t care what they do in the Kingdom—they are simply willing to do whatever He asks. No reservations, no requirements, no stipulations, just true willingness.

“God, if I need to run a lawn mower, if I need to use a toilet brush, if I need to wear an usher tag—I’m willing to do whatever I need to do until these doors open.”

We have a choice. We can sit down, pout, and mope about the doors being closed. We can try to force doors open. Or, we can get busy in the hallway until another door opens.

I pray that my generation doesn’t become so focused on unopened doors that things become neglected and begin to fall apart. When the timing is right, the door will open. And most likely, it will open to another hallway—where more work will need to be done.

If you are in a hallway, which we all are, what are you doing to better that hallway? What are you currently doing to further the Kingdom of God? Are you contributing to the work of the Kingdom, or are you complaining about the closed doors?

Let me encourage you: get busy in the hallway, and a door will open.

Remember the words of the Lord to Philadelphia. “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”