"Acknowledge Him"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

"Acknowledge Him" 

   

      

     "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Psalm 3:6).

    The light of God shines along very pathway of born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our walk thereupon requires recognition of the blessed influence of our Lord and His illumination.  We must "acknowledge Him" in order to be guided, meaning we must see, perceive, and recognize Him as the Life of our lives and the great fact of every condition, circumstance, and situation.  "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).

   We must acknowledge the Lord in our pleasant and happy experiences.  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).  To truly enjoy the blessings of life, we must realize their Source.  Indeed, it is one thing to rightly use our senses and emotions to happily appreciate family, friends, things, events, and experiences.  It is another thing altogether to remember the God who provides such goodness.  "The Lord is good to all… He giveth to all life and breath and all things" (Psalm 145:9; Acts 17:25).  Grateful acknowledgement of the Giver provides a fuller experience of things that bring happiness and pleasure.  Indeed, we miss something when we allow a happy moment to simply be a happy moment.  At the very least, a deep sense of inner thanksgiving must grace our hearts, and we also do well to frequently look toward Heaven with a conscious and expressed "Thank You!"  Yes, acknowledging our Father for the blessings of life must consistently and increasingly accompany our journey both now and forevermore.  "I will give thanks to Thee forever!" (Psalm 30:12).

    We must also "acknowledge Him" along thorny pathways.  This presents great challenge because pain and difficulty tempts us to divert our focus from the One who promises Himself as "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  Our flesh resists viewing difficulty as what one author called, "the strange garb of the Divine."  Of course, the cross of our Lord Jesus should tell us that God does wondrous things in sorrow, loss, suffering, and even death.  Our very salvation depends on our acknowledging Calvary not only as the horrific injustice it was, but far more, as the hope of our eternal redemption.  "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21).  All other trouble pales in comparison to the cross, and thus we must "acknowledge Him" in troubles as being present - "very present" - and working to fulfill His good purposes in our lives.

    Finally, much of life may seem to offer neither blessing or trouble, but rather the everyday matters of home, work, travel, and other repetitive functions that can seem mundane.  Perhaps they are.  However, acknowledging our Heavenly Father along well worn pathways of the ordinary opens our eyes to sometimes see glories we miss if we forget His working in "all thy ways."  Much of life may continue to seem mundane, ordinary, and repetitive.  However, something happens in our hearts when we "acknowledge Him" as the Life of our lives who shines His light into those who open their eyes to see...

"I will look for Him."

(Isaiah 8:17)

Weekly Memory Verse

       "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility."

 (Proverbs 15:33)

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