Scripture: Proverbs 3 v 3 - 6: "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
In these wise words from King Solomon we are learning how to find favour with God and man. Firstly always be truthful and merciful. Secondly, trust in the Lord with all your heart. That's absolute trust for everything.
Don't lean on your own understanding, don't be independent of God, but know that God's thoughts and ways are higher than any other. He knows and sees things a long way off and if you are listening to Him you will get a heads up in good time to avoid a disaster. Otherwise, you will be caught by surprise and have to suffer the consequences.
If you acknowledge Him in all your ways, you will walk on a path directed by the Lord. It means surrendering your will to doing His will and not making plans and expecting Him to bless them. He leads, you follow. He plans, you execute them. The far-reaching power of God achieves great things. It's like when your mum makes a pudding and you, the child, gets to give one stir, and you think you made the whole thing!
The Lord loves us. Jeremiah 29 v 11 - 13: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
The more you acknowledge Him in everything your life consists of, the greater your peace and success will be. Even extending to the suburb or town in which you live. The Lord begins to bless the businesses and homes in a wide circle around where you live. There is growth and investment, New ideas and buildings springing up. He is creative and it flows through those who are in submission to Him.
Matthew 5 v 44 - 45: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
If only the rest of the world would open their eyes and hearts to know the Lord and His wondrous love. The whole Earth would be like the original Garden of Eden and peace would reign now. Unfortunately, we will have to wait for the Antichrist to bring great tribulation first, and then be utterly defeated, before we can enjoy the restoration that will take 1000 years to accomplish. If the unjust and unsaved people have not been rescued by then, it will be too late.
If it will take God 1000 years to clean up the pollution and mess of sea, sky and land, how futile for man to try it, and spend billions of dollars saving the planet. Better to spend that money reaching the lost souls and bringing them to their Creator to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Millions of people die from famine, lack of food, every year and depend on compassion of other nations and organisations to provide food. Sometimes this food is later found rotting in warehouses because the government did not bother to distribute it. This is the sorry state of the world without live today.
We need to acknowledge Him, that He is God and all things exist because He created them. This Universe is His.......every star, planet, this Earth, us, belong to Him. Satan tried to hijack it using us as pawns in the game, knowing God loved us. Like any Father whose vulnerable children were mortally endangered, He would give everything He had to save us.
Some souls were beguiled, deceived, believing lies in hypocrisy and so we were all given free will to choose whom we will serve, God or Mammon, and on this our eternal life rests. But if God is our choice then our very lifestyles must declare it from the rooftops. The way we cheer for our sports heroes or national teams should be a faint echo of how we acknowledge our God and His Son, Jesus Christ, for saving our souls from Hell.
Prayer: Heavenly Father we acknowledge You and bring every part of our lives under Your scrutiny to make sure we are doing Your perfect will. Direct our steps O Lord as there are millions of souls in need of salvation and how will they know unless we tell them? In Jesus' name. Amen.