Many times that I walk through the swinging glass doors of a commercial business I get a reminder. Most of them have a little sign on them that says PUSH, indicating which way the door swings for entry or exit. When I see that little sign I am reminded of the fact that if you want to get things done in the kingdom of God, and in life in general, you must PUSH to get it. Most of the time things don’t just fall into your lap. If you want to get into that room, that business, that different place in your life, you will have to push that door open to walk through it.
Passivity is the enemy to accomplishment. I recently ran across an acronym for PUSH – Pray Until Something Happens. That’s good! Jesus would spend the whole night in prayer to God at times in order to effectively accomplish what he was sent here to do. By a study of the Greek words with a Strong’s Concordance we find that Jesus said the kingdom of heaven “suffereth violence” or is “taken by” or “seized” by “force” (Matthew 11:12). It carries the meaning “to force, to crowd oneself”. That doesn’t sound like a comfortable activity, but change and moving forward seldom is a fun thing to do. In fact, most of the things of life, and certainly the things of the kingdom of God, are a process. It is a process of enlightenment, conviction, conversion, and commitment. We don’t really become consistent and reliable until we choose to commit ourselves to something or someone. We can have all kinds of emotional experiences, but steady comes from a commitment by calculated choice of will. It’s not how you start, but how you finish up that counts, and finishing up comes by a calculated choice of will after all the glowing experiences have faded away and all the painful experiences have been relegated to the past. Now, it’s just you and your choice, based on the facts – “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” Now, it’s just you and the Word of God, the unchanging Rock of your salvation. What Jesus Christ accomplished for you is either to be heard, embraced as your own, and your life, health, and well-being committed to him, or, disregarded. It boils down to your choice. Jesus said the “violent” the “forcer, energetic” seize the kingdom, the things of God, by force. We can stand there and look at the door, we can talk about the door, we can peer through the glass and see a little of what’s inside, or, we can PUSH and go through and participate in what’s inside. Go for it! PUSH! Pray Until Something Happens!