This devotion is written by Dianna Hobbs, founder of EEW Magazine. Get more inspiration like this on her Daily Cup of Inspiration blog.

My youngest daughter Kaiah had on a pretty, sparkly pair of earrings over the weekend, and I told her how nice they looked on her. She smiled and thanked me for the compliment. She then told me, it had been a long time since she wore any earrings, and when she finally put her earrings in, one of her earlobes bled.

Kaiah had to re-break the skin to get the earring through. Although the hole in her earlobe hadn’t closed all the way, it was on its way to closing. “Ouch,” I said, remembering how painful that felt when it happened to me once before.

When you get your ears pierced, if you don’t put anything in those holes for too long, they can close completely, requiring you to get your ears re-pierced. It’s a good thing that didn’t happen to me or Kaiah, but still, trying to force anything through a partially closed earlobe hurts. Even beyond a pierced ear, when there is something in your life that you need to open up, and it remains closed, that is an unpleasant, disappointing, painful, and very limiting experience.

As I was preparing today’s cup of inspiration, God led me to a story in Mark 7:31-37, and I have read this and shared about it before. I intended to talk about something completely different today, but I knew the Holy Spirit was urging me to focus on this.  That means, somebody reading this needs to receive this specific word.

When folks brought this man in our featured Bible story to Jesus, he could not hear, and he could barely talk. When they asked Jesus to lay hands on the man, the savior obliged them. Jesus retreated from the crowd, put his fingers in the man’s ear, spit on his own fingers, and then touched the man’s tongue.

Jesus then looked up to the sky and with a deep sigh said to the man, “Ephphatha!”  This word is Aramaic, and it means “Be opened!”

When Jesus spoke that command, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed, and he began to talk plainly. Instantaneously, whatever was impeding this man’s hearing and speech was gone, he was free, and every blockage was removed.

If you need something opened in your life, the Lord is reminding you that He yet removes blockages that hinder breakthroughs. In fact, God is commanding some things to open up for you now. He’s speaking to closed doors, inaccessible opportunities, and the windows of Heaven, and He is saying two words: be opened.

Jesus, who came to earth to open both the natural and spiritual ears of man and to reveal Himself as the Messiah, wants to reveal Himself to you. It is His good pleasure to do great things. Believe Him today.

At this moment, I am speaking over your destiny and agreeing with you in faith for every hindrance to move out of your way. To reinforce this, I’m stirring one word, Ephphatha, the Aramaic word Jesus said in Mark 7:34, right into your cup of inspiration.

As you drink down the contents of your cup, things are opening up for you. As you yield to God, the Lord is removing any blockage—both spiritually and naturally— that stands in the way of your divine destiny. According to His will, it shall be done.

All you need to do is exercise your faith, and stay obedient to God, and this will position you to receive. Know that good things are on the way!