One day I was having a conversation with a friend who was encouraging me to step out and do this particular thing. Before I even thought twice about it, I blurted out, “Oh, I can’t do that!” It wasn’t because I didn’t want to do it; I had just made excuses about doing it for so long that I had convinced myself that I couldn’t. Later on I thought to myself, Why can’t I do that? Maybe I really can do that. I realized that up until that point, I had a DO NOT ENTER sign hanging at the door of my mind regarding that area. I didn’t even stop to consider it. In my mind, we were just not going there!

Have you ever heard yourself say, “I can’t do that; I am not that talented; I don’t have the finances,” or “I haven’t done that in so long, I am too old; I am too out of shape?” If you have, you might need to remove a DO NOT ENTER sign from your own thinking! It’s easy to think, I’m never going to get married. I’ve been divorced for too long. Or, I’m never going to get out of debt. I owe too much money. Don’t allow yourself to make excuses because if you make them long enough, you may start to believe them. Instead, keep God’s promises in the forefront of your thinking. Invite Him into every area of your life. Have the attitude, “I may not have met the right person yet, but I will. I’m going to focus my efforts on being the right kind of person so when God opens that door, I will be ready.” Or say, “I may not see how I could ever get out of debt, but I know God says I am blessed, and as I do my part, God will help me.” Maybe you’ve been saying, “I have been overweight for so long, I could never look like I did when I got married.” Take down that DO NOT ENTER sign because God wants to show Himself strong in every area of your life.

Today, if you’re recognizing some areas of your life that have been closed off, why don’t you open yourself up by choosing to make a change? There’s no need to let condemnation or guilt creep in because everyone has areas that they need to open to God. Jesus said in Revelation 3, “I stand at the door of your heart and knock.” Did you know this scripture was written to people who already knew the Lord? Jesus is saying in this verse, “Please let Me into every area of your life. Please trust that I can do more than you could ever think or imagine. Please take down the DO NOT ENTER sign so I can show Myself strong in every area of your life!”

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV)