Pull, Don’t Push

Psalm 95:1 “Come let us sing for joy to the Lord:”

Psalm 96:1 “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth”

Psalm 98:1 “Sing to the Lord a new song,”

Psalm 99:3 “Let them praise your great and awesome name — he is holy.”

Psalm 100:2 “come before him with joyful songs,”

Billy pushed and pushed on the door, but it would not open. Again and again, he would rest and then begin the exhausting effort to get the door open, but the door just stood erect and unmovable. Dejected and tired, he sat down in defeat. He was never going to get the door open. Gone were all the hopes and dreams behind that infamous door. To Billy, the door was a rite of passage that he was not strong enough to overcome. Now he would have to live with the stories of those who had entered the door without ever seeing what was behind it himself.

A passerby came near, an old, weak, and withered man. Seeing the young man, he inquired about his state, noticing the look of defeat all over his face. The young man began to tell the story of the joy behind the door and how it promised to fill the soul with gladness, yet for him, the door would not open. The withered old man gazed at the strong young Billy and chuckled. Billy, becoming angry, barked at the old man to stop making fun of him. The withered old man looked up and said, “You have to pull the door, not push it.”

We often want to go into the presence of the Lord because we hear of all the great things that happen there, happiness, fulfillment, direction, and so much more. Like Billy, we just push the door and never get in. The recipe for getting into the presence of the Lord is praising Him. Psalms is clear on that, just read the five short verses above. Like the withered old man, human strength is not what we need, nor is human wisdom. All we need is to praise Him. Take the challenge to listen to Christian music for two weeks straight without anything else, and you will notice the Lord God speaking into your life like never before. You will begin to relate to the presence of God like walking into a room, you will know it.

Prayer: Father, help us praise You all day, every day. I pray that we give You the sacrifice of praise when we are not feeling like it and also joyfully praise Your name when things are going our way. I pray that we never forget the awesome presence of the Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.