Have you ever traveled past a large gated property? Long before you see the dwelling, you can begin to tell the property’s condition by looking at the gate. The gate serves as the point of entry in the boundary that has been laid around the property. Some gates are shiny and new; others are worn and faded but still functioning. If the gate is intact, chances are the property is intact. It’s not an absolute guarantee; however, when a property’s gate is latched and functioning, generally the dwelling and property are in working order as well. The gate is the first thing you encounter before coming to someone’s home. It is serves as a measure of protection but also a form of welcome. It can be a warm welcome or a cold one. The gate is the place you start any relationship you are going to have with this property.
In Nehemiah 3, we come to the devastated city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the center of the Israelites’ spiritual lives. Its heartbeat was in the Temple where God met with his people. The wall around Jerusalem had been destroyed by war and neglect. The gates no longer functioned to protect or welcome anyone to the city. They were in disrepair. As the Israelites began to rebuild the wall, they first had to repair and install the gates.
The gates are important to the city for a number of reasons. First, they are a point of entry. They prepare you for what you will encounter as you enter. Will you find strength and health as you enter the city? Or will there be apathy and disrepair? The gate is also the gathering place for community. The judges sat at the city gate to hear cases and decide on critical issues for the people. The gates provide safety. When the gates are intact and shut; no unwanted outsiders can enter the city. The inhabitants enjoy security and peace.
Most of us do not own large gated properties. We do however inhabit large spiritual properties. These are guarded by the boundaries we set in our minds. Our mind serves as a gate to protect our spirit and body. What we allow in our thinking directly affects our spiritual and physical lives. Many of us have walls and gates in disrepair. Our boundaries are not in working order due to trauma, abuse, neglect, or poor choices. We’ve been battered by the enemy in some shape or form and we’ve not returned to repair our boundaries. The enemy seeks entrance to disrupt and harass us. We no longer have judges sitting at our gates discerning and making wise decisions on our behalf. We no longer welcome others into our lives. We live in fear and insecurity. Who can feel secure when the enemy roams around wreaking havoc in our lives?
We must rebuild the gates. We must yield our minds to the Spirit of Christ and allow him to come and repair the damage. Yielding to Christ is a choice we make. It can start as simply as praying, “Christ, I yield my spirit to you. Please heal my mind and restore my spirit and body to you.” He always answers this prayer. You can be assured of that. It is his desire that the gates to our spiritual lives are in working order to welcome Him and to protect us from the enemy. Once we are yielded to His presence, we maintain the working order of our gates by choosing carefully what we allow in. “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Heading to church once a week to refuel is a great start but in reality; maintaining a strong, healthy mind and spirit takes daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute maintenance. It requires regular renewal through the scriptures. We open our gates to his presence and his Spirit but we must learn to carefully discern and shut everything else out. While the work is done by his Spirit; we must make the choices throughout the day to welcome his love and to shut out all the doubts, irritations, lies, and confusion that the enemy wants to sneak in. We rebuild and maintain the gates to our spiritual property each day by submitting to God’s loving presence and yielding our hearts completely to Him.
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