In All Your Ways . . .

Last Sunday's sermon was about how to know the will of God. The main passage was Proverbs 3:5-6, which I'm sure, we are all very familiar with. Later I did a little digging and found a treasure. I was really looking forward to sharing what I'd found in Sunday School this morning (we always discuss the previous sermon in S.S.), but it just didn't work out. So that leaves me with no other choice but to share it with you! ;0)


The word for "acknowledge" in verse 6 . . .

"In all your ways acknowledge Him..."

. . . is the Hebrew word "yada". This word means "to know". It could have been translated, "In all your ways know Him." One of its primary uses means to know relationally and experientially, so we are talking about a certain level of intimacy. What would it look like if "in all my ways", in everything I did, I was "knowing" Jesus?

I was reminded of a sermon I heard in which the preacher was describing a high school boy who was in love. The first thought when he woke up in the morning was his girl. He thought about her as he got dressed and ready for the day. He couldn't get to her house fast enough, to pick her up for school. He was almost late for every class because he was spending every available minute with her. They shared the same plate at lunch. After school, he drove her home and they sat in the car forever as they talked. As soon as he got home, they were on the phone together. Then he got all spiffed up to take her on a date! . . . Every minute of the day, she was on his mind. She affected every decision that he made and all his free time. He couldn't stop thinking about her if he tried!

That's what I think it's talking about here. In all his ways, this young man was "knowing" his girl. In all my ways, I am to know my Jesus. (This is a command!)

As these verses were discussed in Sunday School it was all in the context of knowing God's will for your life, and making decisions - and this is certainly a part of it. One person said that we have the moral will of God given to us in His word, but that we have a lot of freedom in knowing His will other than that. For example, God doesn't care which door of the church you choose to go out of. As they were discussing, my mind came back to this young man who was in love. Did he worry about making right or wrong decisions, about which door he should go out of? No! He was all caught up in loving his girl! And so I am left wondering if life doesn't just get a whole lot simpler if I am all caught up in loving Jesus. If my thoughts are all wrapped up in loving Jesus, if I can't stop thinking about Him and everything I do is done because of my love for Him. If I am attentive to Him and listening for His whisper, then He could tell me if He wanted me to use a different door, and maybe run into someone that He wanted me to talk to. And that's what I think this verse is saying . . .

"In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your paths."

Oh Abba, may I know You, in all my ways . . .