Open Gates

I got to enjoy a rare privilege yesterday. I hung up my pastor hat for half of the day ad drove to meet a beloved friend and rancher to help him. No, I di d not don a ten gallon stetson. I did wear jeans and boots and felt at home in them and out in rural America. We spent the day feeding cows. I received a first rate education in agriculture. We talked about heifers, first calf heifers, steers and cows. We even looked in on a lame bull. He was my favorite. When I see a bull I think of raw power, strength and toughness. We dropped feed from a feed truck, put out some mineral and sat out round bales of hay. Well what I really say i in honesty s my friend did all that. I had one job all day. I opened the gates.

I got in and out to open gates to pastures and hay lots. I've had a little experience with this in the past helping another rancher friend of mine. Thanks Jimmy for teaching me to open gates. We spent four hours driving the bumpy pastures of his cattle operation he shares with his dad, brother and nephew.

My friend traded in his slacks, ties and office for life in the country. He asked me once, "Do you think you could do this everyday?" I loved it, though, I know so little about it. I replied, "Yes. I love being outdoors. I could do this if I could still preach too." To cap the day we ate a barbecue lunch. I felt like  areal cattle rustler for a bit.

After lunch I drove back home to study and once again sat in my familiar seat to teach God's word to the flock entrusted to me. I joked with my friend as we bounced along in one of his pastures that I would probably write something about the day. I also commented that if I did that kind of work I would never run out of writing material.

Here is my take away from yesterday morning. Open gates. I am not exaggerating when I say all I did  was open gates. Any farmer or rancher knows the value of having someone along to open the gates. That saves a lot of time. We joked about how the real cowboys out of a threesome in the truck would be the one smart enough to sit in the middle so he did not have drove or on the passenger seat so he did not have to open all the gates. We all need God to go along with us and before us to open gates.

The dictionary defines a gate as a movable barrier, usually on hinges, closing an opening in a fence,wall, or other enclosure.

2.

an opening permitting passage through an enclosure.

All of us face barriers. We all face enclosures that keep us from God wants us. We must trust God in those times to open the gates. There is not a closed gate in this world God cannot open. He can open gates to closed countries for missionaries and the promotion of the gospel. He can open closed gates for new jobs. He can open financial closed gates through miraculous provision. He specializes in opening closed gates for spiritual breakthroughs and deliverance. He opens the gates for revival to breakout and spread. He opens the gates for divine appointments. He opens the gates for scholarships. He can even open gates to bring partnerships and strategic relationships together for His purposes. 

Like I said earlier. There is not a closed gate God cannot open. Look around you. What barriers are in your way. Where we see a barrier God sees a gate. Hallelujah! What seems like a dead end to us is an open door opportunity for God. God has the opening in sight and at hand to get you where He wants you to be. This makes me want to shout! In fact, I just did out loud. There are no fenced in shut off places with God. If He wills you to get there and there seems to be no way for that happen trust Him to open the gate. Trust Him to provide a gate. Trust Him make an opening permitting passage. 

I would not trade those brief few hours trying my hand at ranching. I am an expert at opening gates if you need help. Only once did my friend have to get out to help me with a gate I had trouble opening. Not bad for a bonafide city slicker. What I learned yesterday as God inspired these thoughts is priceless. I praise and exalt His holy name because He still opens gates.