Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. I. GUIDANCE IS TO BE HAD FOR THE JOURNEY. There are countless false paths, but no traveller needs to take any of them. God makes the minds of those whom He guides clear so that they act wisely, and He makes their consciences sensitive and correct, so that they act rightly. II. HOW ARE WE TO GET THIS GUIDANCE? It will not be forced upon any one. No one can count upon getting God's guidance who does not seek it. This is the meaning of "acknowledge Him." It means "take notice of Him," consult Him, and obey His directions. Treat Him as you treat a guide. III. WHAT ARE "THE WAYS" IN WHICH WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE HIM? 1. The course of life as a whole. It is well often to think of life thus as a unity, and ask where it is leading to. Is it not strange that men should undertake the longest journey of all without Him? 2. In each particular enterprise and action we engage in He is to be acknowledged. 3. In what goes before our actions — the imaginations and desires, the plans and purposes, we must acknowledge Him. 4. In what comes after our actions — habits. All of us have some bad habits, and many who consult God as to particular actions still let their formed habits guide them each along its own line. But here, too, He must be acknowledged, and by His grace the strongest habit can be broken. 5. Stress must be laid on the word "all." God will have our whole heart or He will have none of it. (John Kelman, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.WEB: In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. |