The inspiration for this blogpost came from this chilling picture….

Do you see what I see? An alligator is at the door of somebody’s home! Actually, my son sent me this picture last month as he was driving up to his house. The alligator was at his neighbor’s door!

What comes to mind when you see that picture? My first thoughts were this…

WHAT IF SOMEONE OPENS THE DOOR?

What is that gator going to do if someone steps outside into his path? Even worse, what if a little kid opens the door?

I’m sure there are all sorts of scenarios running through your head right now, but here’s a question to ponder….

IF YOU KNEW THERE WAS A GATOR AT THE DOOR, WOULD YOU OPEN IT?

I’m sure the answer is NO!!!! 

Now, if you had no idea there was a gator lurking at your door, there’s a possibility that you would open it. If you didn’t sense the danger, you might open the door and start to walk outside. Meanwhile, that gator might lunge forward… and let’s not talk about what could happen.

The gator lurking at the door reminds me of many biblical principles. If you’ve read the Bible, you probably know that Satan and his minions are always lurking at the door. They’re always looking for a way to attack God’s people, or drive fear into their hearts. Sadly, Satan and his gang of thugs will show up to your door each and every day in one form or another.

Thankfully, it’s rare for an actual gator to show up at your door! But again, if you knew ahead of time that this predator with sharp teeth was standing right at your door, YOU WOULD KEEP IT CLOSED AND LOCKED WITH TEN DEADBOLTS.

Hmm… it would be nice to have a gator alarm that would ring anytime a gator was in the area!

Behold! Jesus can Detect Gators

Ahh yes…Jesus has given us a warning system to detect “gators” and all sorts of enemies that lurk at our doors. Do you know what it is?

THE HOLY SPIRIT!

That’s right— if Jesus is our Lord and Savior, that means the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us each and every day. This is the way Jesus communicates with us. When there’s danger at the door, he lets us know. There is a catch, however.  In order to hear the Holy Spirit, we must be communicating with Jesus through prayer, as well as listening to His voice. If we are distracted, caught up in our emotions, or too busy to pay attention, the Holy Spirit’s voice may be drowned out.

Jesus may very well be saying, “Hey, there’s a gator at your front door! Don’t open it.” Unfortunately, we may ignore this warning completely as we pursue our own interests.

Here’s an example of how the enemy could be at your door, but instead of keeping it closed, you let him waltz right on in.

Let’s pretend you are arguing with your spouse, son/daughter, or friend. The argument is starting to get heated. You can hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Step back. Calm down.” Unfortunately, you are so upset you decide to ignore it.

The Holy Spirit speaks again, “Walk away and pray about this before you lose control.” Again, you ignore the Holy Spirit. The gator at the door is getting bigger and more ferocious, but you don’t care. You want to win this argument at all costs. Next, in a fit of anger, you say something very hurtful that you can’t take back. The other person is so offended by what you said that they blame you for everything. Even if the argument didn’t start because of you, and even if the points you made during the argument were true, that person now sees you as the enemy who hurt them.

now THE GATOR IS IN THE HOUSE.

HE IS AT YOUR HEELS.

CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP! HE GOT HIS WAY….

This is how Satan and his demons do their dirty work. Again, if you saw Satan or any of his buddies standing at your door, you would never open it! But like the gator that my son saw just walking up to his neighbor’s door, this is how Satan operates. He is just hoping you will open that door so he can come on in and cause chaos.

Instead of letting the gator come inside, we should invite the Holy Spirit in.

A good friend offered some great words of advice. She said, “There are two doors— one leads to the enemy and the other one leads to Jesus.” She explained that the enemy is always looking for a way to enter your life. He will use guilt, anger, fear, shame, jealousy, or any kind of sin to get you to open the door.

On the other side, however, there is the Holy Spirit (Jesus). The Holy Spirit is always working in us and trying to get us to choose the door to life and peace. Opening this door is not as easy as you think. In the moment, the door to the enemy is much easier to open. Opening the Holy Spirit’s door requires more thought, energy and even a little bit of skill. Oftentimes, you have to swallow your pride to open that door! “Satan the gator” is very disappointed when you do this—after all, he thrives on pride.  

The Holy Spirit will always advise us to do the right thing. But that doesn’t mean we hear it, or that we listen.

I have been thinking more about the Holy Spirit recently because as the season of Shavuot arrives this year, we celebrate this precious gift. This is also known as Pentecost in the Christian community and it arrives 50 days after First Fruits, or Resurrection Sunday (Easter). This year Shavuot arrives at sundown on June 1, 2025 and ends at sundown on June 3, according to the Hebrew calendar. Sometimes the dates coincide with the Gregorian calendar observance of Pentecost that Christians follow. This year, however, the dates are different because Pentecost arrives on June 8. (For more information on the details of both observances you can read this blogpost. Note that the dates of Pentecost/Shavuot will be different as it is from 2019, but the information about what the appointed time (biblical observance) represents will be accurate and helpful).

Regardless of whether you observe Shavuot or Pentecost, the main idea is that this is when we take the time to thank Jesus for the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus rose from the dead, he promised the disciples that they would receive this miraculous helper who would guide their lives. The Holy Spirit would bring inward transformation like that of a caterpillar to a butterfly. The Holy Spirit would change hearts and help people follow Jesus. In essence, the Holy Spirit would help people open the door to Jesus and to keep it open!

If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives inside you and is always there to guide you. Truthfully, it’s hard for many Christians to really understand this. For myself, most of my life I had no clue about how to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. I went to church and read the Bible, but I couldn’t figure out how Jesus was speaking to me.

It wasn’t until I went through some personal tragedies that I started to really pray and seek Jesus. All of a sudden, I could hear that still, soft voice speaking to me (though sometimes it could also be loud). But the main thing I learned was to stop and listen. Most of my life I was ruled by my emotions. If I was sad, I wallowed in it. If I was angry, I stewed for days or maybe weeks. That’s not to say that we can’t be sad or mad, but we shouldn’t let it define us. To hear the Holy Spirit, I had to remember that Jesus was right there with me ALL THE TIME. At any moment, I could ask him for help. I realized that I could tune into his voice no matter where I was at or how I was feeling.

Hearing and Heeding

Learning to hear the Holy Spirit is one thing, but heeding His guidance is another thing altogether. Believe me— there are times when I ignore that wise voice. Usually when I fail to heed it, things turn out poorly, or I end up regretting my actions. That gator is laughing as he prances through my house! I willingly opened the door to this dangerous beast.

Before ending this post, I’ll share one more story that reminds me of how the enemy is always trying to get us to open the door.

Back in 2004, my oldest son and I were taking refuge in the hallway because a hurricane was ripping through our neighborhood. You may remember Hurricane Charley if you lived in Central Florida at that time. This hurricane hit Florida as a category 4, but weakened to a category 1 by the time it got to my part of town. Nonetheless, the quick-moving storm caused massive damage due to its fast, chaotic winds. Additionally, tornadoes spawned by the hurricane knocked down trees and electrical poles everywhere.

During the storm my son and I were alone because my husband had been called away with the National Guard. As we huddled together in the hallway, I will never forget the look on my son’s face. He was terrified! Part of the reason is because we could hear debris hitting our house and we even heard some trees falling down. But the most chilling sound came from our front door. It was rattling so loud that I thought it would burst open at any moment.

Then my son said something I will never forget:

“Mommy, please don’t open the door. Charley is trying to get in!”

He was referring to the storm like it was a person!

As the door continued to intensely rattle, I told my son there was no way I would be opening that door! “Don’t worry buddy, Mommy would never open the door!”

After those words of reassurance, my son decided he would take his SpongeBob blanket and throw it over his entire body. He curled up inside and immediately went to sleep. The wind kept howling and the trees kept falling, but he was safely hidden under his blanket.

There’s a spiritual lesson here.

Hurricane Charley was scary and dangerous. That storm rattled the door for what felt like hours. But if you think about it, who in their right mind would open the door in the middle of a hurricane?

Yet we do that all the time.

WE OPEN THE DOOR FOR HURRICANES. The enemy always has one stirring up. If we open the door, then the wind, rain and debris will knock us right off our feet.

Instead of opening the rattling door, we should do what my son did. He went under that cozy blanket.

This reminds me of the covering of Jesus. When we take shelter in Him, we are protected from the enemy— who is always rattling the door.

Psalm 91 says that “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, rests in (abides in) the shadow of the Almighty.”

It also says, “He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge (v 4).

How do we receive this covering under his wings?

We pray and listen to the Holy Spirit. This is our covering.

Jewish believers use a special shawl called a tallit to cover their head when they pray. Each corner of the prayer shawl is called a wing. The wings of the shawl (garment) go around the person and form a little tabernacle or prayer closet.

In this secret place, the believer spends time with God and blocks out the rest of the world. Another cool detail about the tallit is that when a man marries a woman he places it around his wife’s head and shoulders, symbolizing that he will always protect her. They are also married under a large canopy that is made from a large tallit (prayer shawl). This symbolizes God’s protection over their marriage.

As believers we have this same protection and covering, but we have to take hold of it. When we are fearful, frustrated, depressed, angry, jealous, feeling unworthy or tempted, we must go through the open door that is provided by Jesus. We can then pray and let Him speak to us through the Holy Spirit. He will give us peace even in times of crisis.

The other option is to let the hurricane in. Or we can let the gator in.  

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a hurricane or a gator in my house. I would rather have JESUS!

This Pentecost (Shavuot), take some time to cherish the Holy Spirit. Make it a priority to listen to His voice every single day!

Tell that gator to go back to the lake!