VAULTS and CELLARS | Who’s Got the Keys?
When we’re at our lowest, Jesus can pull us out.
I was busy looking for my safe deposit box when the vault door closed, locking the teller and me inside.
She searched her pockets and shrugged. “Oops. I forgot the keys.”
I stared through the bars down the long, empty hallway—helpless, utterly and completely trapped.
For the briefest moment, I wondered if I’d die in there—surrounded by other people’s treasures and a stranger that wasn’t a friend.
Sitting in my wine cellar night after night felt exactly like that.
I’d climb down the ladder following the crowd, trying to fit in. Corks popped, wine and laughter flowed, but the moment the trap door closed, my heart stopped.
People said they wished they could live down there.
Me? I wanted out, so I could live.
Here I was again, stuck in another impossible place with a girl I hadn’t officially met yet.
We Christians get ourselves in some crazy situations, don’t we?
We know all the Bible verses that tell us who we are—image bearers, conquerors, and God’s chosen people.
But breaking free from vaults and cellars without looking like complete Bible-thumping weirdos feels complicated.
God calls us to be holy, but didn’t He make us human, too?
Like the bank teller, we pat our pockets for a while, hoping they’re lined with a little advice or a magic solution.
Then it hits us. We don’t have the right keys.
That’s OK. Because Jesus does.
He knows your predicament. He’s no stranger to fear or temptation.
Jesus made a way for you by laying down His life and taking it up again.
“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17b-18)
If you’re going through your own kind of hell right now, shaking the bars, crying out for help that never comes…
If you’re ready to leave this suffocating place…
If you don’t know how you’re going to climb out of this mess…
Jesus holding the keys is very, very good news.
Because He already set you free.
Jesus broke every chain, bent every bar, and unlocked every door that stands between you and freedom.
He’s closest in our heart-crushing, impossible situations. Even when shame blinds us, we can still hear His voice wherever we are.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.” (Revelation 3:20a)
We forget two things:
This is His house.
Jesus wants us to enjoy our lives to the full.
So, don’t be afraid.
Open the door; invite the Master in. Life is so much better living free.
“If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (v20b)