Stuck In A Revolving Door

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Did you know that the first revolving door was installed in Rector’s restaurant in Times Square in 1899? From its inception many people had a fear of becoming stuck in the door. As more buildings installed revolving doors, this debilitating fear caused some people to skip meetings and lunches if the only entrance was through the revolving door. Some Christians live life as if they are stuck in a Heavenly revolving door. Are you one of them? Please read more.

Entamaphobia is the fear of doors and agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult. Fear of being stuck in a revolving door is a combination of the two. In extreme cases, a person with these fears can experience panic attacks, dizziness, fast heart rate, and even nausea.  A person with a fear of a revolving door may find themselves standing in the rain banging on a regular door or window hoping that someone inside will allow them entry.

In similar fashion, many Christians live with the belief that Heaven has a revolving door and they fear that one day they will be standing there banging on a window hoping to gain entrance.

People with addictions often track their life on a score card. A day without addictive behavior is a good day, and a day with the addictive behavior is a bad day. Not everyone Christian struggles with addictive behavior, yet regrettably, many of us measure our relationship with God on a similar basis. When it comes to God, we tell ourselves, “He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me, He loves me not.” Symbolically speaking, we must guard against getting stuck in Heaven’s revolving door.

How often do you fall short of what you believe are God’s expectations? In what ways do you trip up? Do you battle against some “favorite sin”? When you succumb to this sin, what do the voices in your head tell you? Do they tell you that you are a bad person? Do they whisper words like these in your ear? “You will never measure up to God’s expectations.” We must never lose hope. We must guard against despair.

The evil one uses these voices in our head to beat us up and wear us down when we stumble into sin. He tells us that we are bad. He tells us that God is disappointed in us. He tells us that our sins are unforgiveable. He tells us that our salvation comes down to us. He wants us to believe that unless we achieve perfection, we will forfeit our salvation. In short, he wants us to stop believing in the gift of salvation that Jesus won for us on the cross. He wants us to fear getting stuck in “Heaven’s revolving door.”

As a result of these voices, many Christians live in a constant state of spiritual anxiety. As it pertains to Heaven, each recurring sin turns into Heavens revolving door. The dirge of, “I’m in, I’m out, I’m in, I’m out,” hauntingly echoes in our brain. We live life as if eternity with God is solely dependent on us achieving a sinless life.

These thoughts remind me of the song YOU SAY by Christian singer Lauren Daigle.

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough

Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?

Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know.

As she continues to sing the refrain, she gives us some words that we would all be wise to keep repeating in our head and holding in our hearts. She sings:

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing

You say I am strong when I think I am weak

And You say I am held when I am falling short

And when I don’t belong, oh, You say I am Yours

And I believe, oh, I believe

What You say of me

I believe

Songwriters: Jason Ingram / Lauren Daigle / Paul Brendon Mabury You Say lyrics © Essential Music Publishing

We must keep our focus on Jesus Christ. He is the one who saves us. Romans 5:1-2 states, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.”

This is extremely important! We will forever live in a state of agitation rather than a state of peace if we live with an understanding that our salvation is dependent on reaching perfection and sinlessness.  We will become forever stuck in Heaven’s revolving door if we listen to the whispers of the evil one telling us that it all depends on us.

Let’s lay our burdens and sins at the foot of the cross. Let’s place our trust in Jesus. Let’s learn to see ourselves as God sees us. We are His children and He longs for us to be with Him forever in Heaven.

Heavenly Father, I acknowledge my sins before you. Sometimes I worry that my sins are bigger than your mercy. I fear the loss of my salvation because sin still has a grip on me. Help me to trust in the redemptive power of the cross. Help me to always place my hope in Jesus your Son, amen.

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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