Where Do You Go for Direction?

     Here it is harvest time in much of the US. Some farmers will literally rake it in. Others are really stretched because it has not been a good year all over this country. Many of us have farm roots or are connected to the farming economy by some relationship of the past. We understand that many farmers never make it, but some become very close to the Lord because of the problems in being a farmer. There is something about hard times that drive people to the Lord. Why is that?

     We know about many problems these days. War in the Middle East! Elections in the Fall! Balancing the checkbook! How to advise a friend without alienating a relationship! When or if to get the car fixed! Some problems are very serious and some are very simple. But, problems in life are not a new thing. A number of us are in the process of studying the Book of Revelation Wednesday nights, and it was Revelation 4:1 that got me thinking. There he is, the prophet John praying and talking to God about being isolated and alone on the Isle of Patmos. We get this image of prayer and a door to heaven opening. It is a big, loud voice that tells John, “Come to where I am and I will give you the direction you desire.”

     Moses, more than a thousand years before John, was looking for direction as well in the middle of problems. Moses is the man who spoke to God “face to face,” remember? Yet the Lord is talking to Moses in Exodus 24:12 very much like He speaks in Revelation. “Come to where I am and I will spell it out for you.”

     Jesus Christ, perhaps 60 years before John on the Isle of Patmos, had no ministry at the time He came to the Jordan and John the Baptist. He is baptized and He prays. We know that He soon ended up in the wilderness and was confronted by Satan over a period of 40 days. But, do you see Luke 3:21. Like John of Patmos and like Moses in the exodus, heaven was opened with prayer. Jesus’ direction for ministry begins at this point.

     The direction we desire in life comes with our encounter with God. And that encounter comes when we seek the Lord in prayer. We have many sick and infirm in our church. Have you been bringing them to the Lord in prayer? We have many in our communities who do not know Jesus or church. Have we been praying for them?

     Rosh Hashanah, September 23, marks the new year for the Jewish people. A practicing Jewish person has some relationship issues with Rosh Hashanah. That person must examine himself or herself and get right with God. The idea is that there is work in being connected with our Heavenly Father. Perhaps we can take a cue here, like Moses, and like Jesus, and like John of Patmos--we can pray and look up to God for direction for life and for our prayer life.