In Psalm 84:10 it says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
When I first read this passage, I thought it was saying, “I’d rather be doing something small, like holding a door in God’s house than doing great things in the presence of evil.” But a few years ago I had an experience that completely changed my understanding of what it means to be a doorkeeper, or as I like to call it, a “doorholder.”
A Practical Example
In the fall of 2009, my wife and I began attending Passion City Church in Atlanta. In its early days the church met at one of three locations around the city. It wasn’t long before I signed up to serve on one of the volunteer teams. A few weeks later, I got an email about serving on the host team.
Our responsibility was pretty simple. We stood at the door and welcomed people into the gathering. Since we were a young church meeting in a different location each week, it was important to let people know they were in the right place and to answer questions about gathering times, bathroom locations, and a variety of other details.
After volunteering with the host team for a few weeks, our team leader challenged us to study the role of doorholders in the Bible. After all, we were literally holding the doors open every week! As we spent time searching the Scripture, our team discovered a few different names for this role: doorkeepers, gatekeepers–and doorholders.
Regardless of the title, it was a position of great honor in the Old Testament. When David finished building the temple in Jerusalem, he rewarded his faithful servants by assigning them to be doorholders. 1 Chronicles 9 lists those who were chosen for this special task.
Our team realized that by holding open the door, we created opportunities for others to enter and experience what we had experienced with God–and there is no greater privilege than being part of God’s plan to draw people to Himself.
Who Has Held Open the Door for You?
In the Old Testament, doorholders served at the entrance of a physical temple where God’s presence dwelled. Today, we don’t have to hold open the door to a church building for people to experience God’s presence. The Holy Spirit now lives in each believer and we carry Him wherever we go.
When you embrace the role of being a doorholder, it changes the way you view your job and your day-to-day interactions. God gives us opportunities to hold the door open where we work, where we live, and where we play so that those around us can experience His presence. There is truly no greater calling for our lives.
Who has held the door for you, so that you could know Jesus? How can you be a doorholder for someone today, so they can experience His presence?
