Have you ever heard something and couldn’t get it off of your mind? That happened to me during our Revival services. Brother Brent Barker was preaching from James 4:1-17. His sermon was entitled “Roadblocks to Revival”. In emphasizing the point of how we run from God instead of running to Him, Brent referred to Amos 5:6 – “Seek the Lord and live”. The word “seek” literally means “beat down or trample down a path toward”. It is that visual picture that has consistently been thrown up on the screen of my mind by the Spirit of God.
Brother Brent went on to give us an illustration of this concept. We’ve heard of or seen cow paths. Being creatures of habit, cows go to the field and come back from the field, especially for feeding times, using the same path. The back and forth going beats down the grass so that soon there is just a path.
Amos says we should be “beating down a path to the Lord”. I’ve heard about places in Africa, out in the “Bush”, where new converts are encouraged to leave the village and go out into the high grass to meet with God each day. A consistent meeting with the Lord tramples down a path through that high grass. Yet it will only take a few days of not going before the grass begins to overtake the path. You can tell about a person’s relationship with the Lord by the path or lack of a path. If you and I lived out in the Bush, what could people tell about our relationship with the Lord? Would we be leaving a distinct path out to our prayer closet?
God and I have agreed on a time each day for us to meet together. Have you made such an agreement with Him? Yet I have left Him waiting for my arrival on more than one occasion – and the grass has grown up on the path. Think about it – I left Almighty God – the Creator of everything – waiting for me to show up. I stood God up. And to think that I wouldn’t do that to anybody else. You, probably like I do, take your obligations seriously. Are we beating down a path to God every day?
“Beating down a path” – I should be doing that with my wife and sons. Yet have I made intimacy with them a priority? Is daily time with Lucy something I schedule and guard? Am I beating down a path in prayer as I take them and their spiritual growth to the Lord? Am I beating down a path to enhance God’s working in the life of each family member? I don’t know about you but a whole lot of grass is growing up on the path of my intimacy with those God has blessed me with and put into my keeping – specifically Lucy, Paul & family, Mark & family, Dad and Mom.
“Beating down a path” – Do you think that we should be doing that with each other? I mean, do you think that we should be seeking a more intimate walk with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? That has been part of the pictures that the Spirit keeps flashing up in my mind. To this Lone Ranger the Lord keeps reminding me how I need others and they need me. I should be beating a path down to you so that we come to know each other more intimately. And guess what? This is one of the main purposes of our 40 day Prayer & Sharing Journey. As we meet in teams of 3 or 4, we invest in each other, pray for each other and get to know and respect each other. I hope you are involved and will be beating down a path to those in your team.
“Beat down a path to the Lord (to your family and to your church family) and live”. It is your “beating down a path” that will bring life to your relationships. There is too much grass growing on the pathways. Isn’t it time we beat down some daily paths?
Seeking to do more Seeking – Pastor Steve