Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Did you know that the English language is one of the most difficult languages to learn? One of the reasons for this is due to the multiple meanings of words. For instance, the word "can" has many meanings, depending on the context. I can do something, my mother knows how to can vegetables, canned music is music that has been recorded, however, if I get canned it means I got fired. Fired can also mean that something was ignited... I think you get the picture, my drift, my meaning...
The meaning of words is vital to our understanding of what is being said. I was taught in a communications seminar years ago that, what you say isn't necessarily what they hear. So, just exactly what does it mean to "acknowledge Him" and what does "in all your ways" mean?
Well, the definition of acknowledge is"
1. declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of.
2.report the truth of.
3. express recognition of the presence or existence of, or acquaintance with.
4. express obligation, thanks, or gratitude for.
5. accept someone to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority.
6. accept as legally binding and valid.
I have to admit that I never had a full understanding of what this word truly meant until I looked it up. I believe that most of us just think "acknowledge" is to give a nod to someone to let them know we heard and understand, but that isn't the whole truth, is it?
So, if we accept these definitions of "acknowledge" then it means that if we acknowledge God the we must do the following.
We declare Him to be true and admit His existence, the reality and truth of it. We confess to Him that we have received His truth. We express recognition of His presence in our lives. It means we express gratitude and thankfulness for what He has done for us. It means we accept the obligation that our relationship with Him requires. It means we accept the claims He has over our lives when we enter into a relationship with Him. It means we accept His power and authority and His claims over our lives and our will. And finally, we accept His claims over our lives as legal and binding.
With all that being said, how does that translate into our everyday lives?
1. What does "acknowledge God" in thought look like? Well first off, I need to know what His ways are, if I am going to acknowledge them. God is Holy, He is righteous and His Word declares that He desires the same for us. That means we are to seek holiness in our thought lives. The things we think about eventually become our actions. When I was in survival training in the Navy, I went seven days without any real food. All I could think about was getting a pizza from the Line Shack across from my barracks. When the training was over, that was the first place I went after I got cleaned up. The thoughts we obsess over become our actions.
This also means we seek holiness in our attitude, our attitudes toward others that are guided by humility and love, our attitudes toward our family, friends, and co-workers, our boss, our subordinates, and our attitudes toward our fellow Christians. If we truly acknowledge God's ways with our thought life and our attitudes, then others will see a difference in our lives.
We will be so different from the people of the world that our actions will reflect the glory of God.
2. What does acknowledging God in our social life look like? It means we choose our friends carefully. God's word says that the light has no walk with the darkness and that the believer is not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. Light drives away darkness. If you have the light of God in your live, then darkness will flee. If the light of God is in your life then there will be now friendship with darkness. If the light of God is in your life then it should be impossible to make friendship with those in darkness. If the light of God is in your life then it should be impossible to establish a romantic relationship with one who walks in darkness.
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. We are to seek out those in darkness in order to bring them to the light, but we are never to take up residence in the darkness. When God's work says we are not to be unequally yoked, it speaks to the act of plowing with a team of animals, two ox or two horses, but never one of each. The reason is because an ox and a horse are so different in strength, temperament, and gate that you would never be able to plow in a strait line. Or worse, the dissimilar animals would end up killing each other.
The outcome is the same when a believer is trying to maintain a relationship with an unbeliever, one will dominate the other.
3. What does acknowledging God in our business life look like. Well, the book of Proverbs says that God hates an unjust weight. The image is that of a vendor in the market whose scales are rigged to give the customer less product than advertised for the price, thus cheating them of a fair trade. It means that, as a child of God, we are to be fair and honest in all of our business dealings. It means that if we are supplying goods and services to others we are to deliver what we promised. It also means that we are to give an honest days work for our wages.
God tells us that in our work we are to work as unto the Lord. That means that our efforts for our employee are to be put forth as if we are doing it for God. If all Christians did this consistently, then one of the most valuable bullets you could put on your resume would be that you are a Christian.
So often I see people that lack enthusiasm in their vocation because they don't feel that it is important. Let me just say this, it is not our jobs that give us significance, it is what we do with our jobs. Whether my job is pumping out a septic tank or landing a jumbo jet, if I use the resources from my labor for the Kingdom of God, then and only then does it matter. I may not be able to go to the mission field, but the resources that I earn from my job can send someone who can.
It is acknowledging God in my business, my work, and my resources that gives direction and worth to my life.
4. Acknowledging God in my ambitions is similar to my business or work. It has gotten to the point in our society today where ambition and drive are almost a dirty work. God has no problem with our ambition as long as we ultimately use it for His glory and not our own. As a matter of fact, the promise of our scripture passage is that He will guide our ambition if we will only acknowledge Him.
What are your dreams for your life? What are your goals? How will you reach them or achieve them? God wants us to dream big dreams and to set impossible goals. Then He wants to make them happen so we will give Him glory in the process. If we truly acknowledge God in all our ways then our dreams, our goals, and our ambitions are God's best plan for us because He will be directing our path to success.
5. Acknowledging God in my prayer life takes the form of consistency and honesty. Consistency, in that I spend time with the Lord in prayer not just once in a while, not just daily, but minute by minute, hour by hour, as often as needed to stay in constant contact and submission to His perfect will for my life.
If I were walking though a mine field and were in radio contact with someone who could direct my steps so that I could avoid being blown to bits, you can bet your life that I wouldn't take a step without their direction. That's the way our prayer life should be. God wants to direct our paths so as to steer us clear of any explosions that would injure us or those around us.
And God wants us to be honest in our prayers. If we are mad, even at Him, let Him know. If we are in despair or crushed in spirit, let Him know. God desires a real and honest dialog with His children. That requires us to be consistent and honest in our communications with Him.
Have you ever put someone on hold and forgot about them, or have you ever been left on hold to the point where you finally just hung up the phone? Well, that's how we treat our communications with God sometimes. We are having a conversation with Him and then something happens and we put Him on hold, and sometimes we just forget that we left Him there.
The only difference is that He never grows impatient and never hangs up on us. His word says that He is long suffering toward us and Jesus said that He would never leave us or forsake us. So acknowledge God in your prayer life. Be consistent, be honest, and don't put Him on hold.
6. We should also acknowledge God in our Church life. Now you would think that would go without saying, of course you would acknowledge God in your church life, of course you would want God to guide your Church. But sadly, this isn't always the case, more often than not. According to surveys and statistics, 94% of the Churches in America are in decline. If everyone who attended a church in America acknowledged God as they should and let Him guide their ways, then this number would be an impossibility.
If we, as a Church, are going to grow, are going to reach the people in our community in any significant way, then we must make a practice of acknowledging God in all our ways. Our very existence and relevance in the Kingdom of God depends on it. I challenge each of you to fast and pray and seek God's direction for this Church. It is imperative that we move forward under His divine guidance and not our own.
Our direction can't just come from me, it will require all of us to seek the will of God, to properly acknowledge Him and then humbly and willingly follow the path that He sets before us. Will you, as a Church, make a covenant with me to do this?
7. Finally, we must acknowledge Him in order to be properly equipped and motivated to share the Good News of Jesus with our family, friends, and co-workers. When I look around at the condition of our society and the world in general, I can only come to the conclusion that our time is short. Jesus said that no one could know the exact time of His return, but that we could recognize the signs.
Israel has become a nation, there are wars and rumors of wars, mothers have lost their natural affection for their children as is evidenced by the flippant attitude toward abortion, society in general is calling good evil and evil good, and people have become lovers of themselves rather than God.
By all the signs that God's Word has given us, our time is short. As such, our sense of urgency should be more intense than ever before. Let us acknowledge Him in our desire to share the Good News of salvation and forgiveness.
Conclusion: Our scripture today is a promise, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. By acknowledging Him we are confessing that He exists, that He is Lord of all, that His words are truth, that we are grateful for His grace, that we have an obligation to serve Him, that we are subject to His power and authority over our lives, and that we accept His claims over our lives as legal and binding.
Will you acknowledge Him in all your ways? In your thought life, in your social and family life. Will you acknowledge Him in your business life and your ambitions? Will you acknowledge Him in your prayer life and your Church life? And will you let Him lead you to be a witness for Him?
God has called us to serve Him, will you acknowledge that today?
