Weekly Devotional: July 23, 2026
GOD’S WORD
John 10:9; Revelation 21:1, 4; Philippians 3:20
DEVOTION BY
Major Cindy Corbitt
Assistant Territorial Personnel Secretary
DEVOTIONAL
PICTURES FROM NARNIA – THE STABLE DOOR
“And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died he for me who caused his pain,
For me who him to death pursued?
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
He left his father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite his grace,
Emptied himself of all but love
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me.”
- Charles Wesley, Song #241 The Salvation Army Songbook
I AM THE DOOR
In The Last Battle, the final book of The Chronicles of Narnia, the stable door becomes one of the most memorable images in the entire series. On the outside, it is small, dark, and unimpressive — a shabby wooden shed that smells of hay and dust. To the frightened Narnians, it represents fear, judgment, and the unknown. It is used by the powerful to manipulate and control others.
Even the faithful tremble at the thought of what lies behind it. Yet when the moment finally comes, the truth is revealed: the stable door is not what it seems.
For some, stepping through it leads to terror and destruction. For others, it opens into a world more real and beautiful than anything they have ever known — the beginning of “the real Narnia,” where joy is deeper, and life is truer. Lewis uses this moment to echo a profound biblical truth: the doorway into eternity reveals the true condition of the heart.
The same door that is terror to some becomes glory to others. The same presence that is judgment to the rebellious becomes joy to the faithful. The same King who is rejected by many is adored by those who know His voice.
Jesus spoke of Himself in similar terms: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved…” — John 10:9
A door is a threshold — a place of decision. You cannot stand in a doorway forever. You must either enter or turn away. In The Last Battle, the stable door becomes the dividing line between those who love Aslan and those who only claimed to. The dwarfs, hardened by cynicism, enter the door but remain trapped in their own blindness. Though they sit in paradise, they insist they are in a dark, filthy stable.
THEIR HEARTS LEAP
The Calormenes who worship Tash find themselves in the presence of the god they served, and it is terror to them. Their choices have shaped their destiny. But the faithful step through the same door and find themselves in a world bursting with light, color, and joy. They hear Aslan’s voice calling them “further up and further in,” and their hearts leap. The door does not change. The people do.
This is a sobering truth: eternity does not change our hearts — it exposes them. For the faithful, the stable door becomes the entrance into the “real Narnia,” a place more solid, more alive, and more radiant than the shadowlands they knew before. Lewis draws from Revelation’s promise:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
— Revelation 21:1, 4
The new creation is not an escape from reality; it is the fulfillment of it — the world as God intended it, unmarred and unbroken. When the characters step through the stable door, they discover that everything they loved about Narnia was only a dim reflection of this truer world. The mountains are higher, the colors richer, the joy deeper. They run without growing weary. They climb without tiring. They laugh without fear. Lewis’s message is clear: heaven is not less real than earth. It is more real. Everything good in this life is a whisper of the world to come.
DO YOU LOVE THE TRUE KING
Every person will one day face a door — the threshold between this life and the next. Scripture teaches that this moment is not random or arbitrary. It is the culmination of a lifetime of choices, loves, and loyalties. The question is not simply, “Did you believe in God?” The dwarfs believed, but they trusted no one. The Calormenes believed, but they worshiped a false god. The real question is: Do you love the true King? Do you trust His voice? Do you long for His presence?
The stable door reveals the answer. When we live with eternity in mind, everything changes. We forgive more quickly. We cling less tightly to possessions. We serve with greater joy. We endure suffering with deeper hope. We recognize that this world is not our home. It is only the beginning. Paul writes: “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there…” — Philippians 3:20
THE STORY IS NOT OVER
The stable door reminds us that the story is not over. There is a world beyond this one — more real, more beautiful, more alive.
Lord, teach me to live with eternity in view.
Search my heart and reveal what I truly love.
Give me the courage to follow You through every
door You place before me. When the final door comes,
let me run toward You with joy, knowing that on the other
side is the world my heart was made for. Amen.
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in nature’s sin and night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke; the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him is mine.
Alive in him, my living head, And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne, And claim the crown through Christ my own.”
- Charles Wesley, Song #241 The Salvation Army Songbook