‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬We ended the meditation of yesterday with prayer for a discerning heart. Why is this important? It is for the fact that both Satan and the Lord can be behind a closed door. In order to respond appropriately, we must discern who is doing what. In our text, Paul complained of a hindrance he encountered from going to the brethren in Rome. That was a closed door of some sort. That was not the Lord’s doing, because he had been mandated to preach the gospel to the gentile world. That leaves us with one other source – Satan. When you know who is shutting the door, you have a more appropriate response.

Apart from shut doors, God can also indicate new direction through a persistent desire…God uses desire to guide us. If a desire is in our heart that won’t just go away, it could be it has its origin in God.

Our text is equally helpful for how God indicates His direction for our lives by opening or closing doors. From where Paul wrote this letter, he observed that he had “no more place” in those areas. In other words, he seemed to be saying that all opening to carry out ministry had been used up. All doors are now shut. That, to him, was a pointer to a new direction. Apart from shut doors, God can also indicate new direction through a persistent desire. So Paul spoke of having a great desire to go to the brethren in Rome. The desire was not a flash in the pan; it had been with him for “these many years”.God uses desire to guide us. If a desire is in our heart that won’t just go away, it could be it has its origin in God. One major difference between our whims and sincere impulse of God is in the length of time of occurrence. Our whims are usually short-lived, they are soon replaced by other fanciful ideas which in turn fade away as quickly as they appear. The mind of God tugs at our heart persistently.