According to Psalm 24:7-10, some things must be lifted up in order for the king of glory, the Lord strong and mighty in battle, the Lord Almighty May come in.
It means the things that must be lifted up keep the Lord from coming in. Clearly, despite the Lord’s being Almighty, He will not force his way in as long as the things that must be lifted up are still in place.
The psalmist speaks to the things that must be lifted up thus: “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors.” (Verse 7) Here we have a revelation of how to deal with the things that must be lifted up, namely, by the spoken word. It means that the things that must be lifted up obey to the spoken word (confession).
It is important at this point to recall the following statement by the Lord Jesus himself: John 6:63b, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Please note, spoken words are spirit, that is, not tangible but with the power to affect tangible things. Hence the Lord Jesus said to his disciples, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” (Luke 17:6)
Please note, the psalmist speaks to the things that must be lifted up in order for the King of glory to come in. He speaks to gates and ancient doors, two metaphors that evoke the concept of safety or protection. And, the fact that the gates and ancient doors must give way for the King of glory to come in identifies them with human beings rather than God (self-protection).
See, in a world of evil and uncertainty, and being prompted by their survival instinct, human beings have for generations devised ways and means for self-protection. They have built gates and established ancient doors around their lives but only to create an illusion of safety/protection around them.
Sadly, not only have these gates and ancient doors been proving inadequate in terms of protection, even worse, they have kept true protection out of our world or lives. Our only and true protection is the “Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Anything or anyone else would fail us.
Make no mistake: Human beings live on this earth in the context of spiritual warfare so that we need God and his armour in order to live the life God planned for us (read Ephesians 2:1-5 and 6:10-20; Revelations 12).
Allow me to ask: What are the things that must be lifted up for the King of glory to come in your life/situation? I pray that God will bring them to your mind as you ponder over the question. Here we’re talking about anything you have been relying on that provide you with a false sense of protection or safety. Just consider how the advent of COVID-19 completely shuttered our sense a safety and exposed the lie that the government, private health insurance, health care system and savings are to be relied on exclusively for safe living.
Once you can identify the things that must be lifted up, let me encourage you to speak to them to be lifted up, that is, take them out of the way of your trusting your life in God’s hands and inviting Him in your daily life on earth.
May God help us all.
