Have you ever been ignored? Disregarded? Overlooked? Neglected? Discounted? Or worse … snubbed? Each of these synonyms points to a different brand of insult and offence.
Can anyone make it to adulthood without experiencing all of these things? Be honest. Has any of us made it through the fifth grade without committing each of these offences?
There’s another synonym that’s not used often these days. Flout. It means to disobey, defy, scorn, spurn, scoff, or contravene and even to violate. To flout means to refuse or reject authority. If you’ve ever lived with a two-year-old, you can picture these things. Most of us have seen it in teenagers. All of us, if we’re honest, have committed these offences.
It boggles my mind and wounds my heart to think that I would turn my back on the Lord’s promises and instruction. But how many times have I stumbled and fallen head first, heart first, into sin? Most often, it’s a sin of omission. I assume God will wait while I’m forgetting, or making a promise and then “finding” excuses.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know [acknowledge] him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, CSB).
Each phrase of that passage is worthy of study, but the word of the week is “acknowledge.” So what does it mean to acknowledge Him in all my ways?
Acknowledgement is not only an attitude and posture. It’s an action. Lip service won’t do. It means submission when we think we can do better. We might have been educated and trained to do it differently. It means to lean into the leadership of the Holy Spirit and abandon old notions. It means to set aside human logic sometimes, and to risk an earthly comfort or pleasure for a yet-to-be-seen, forever treasure.
All my ways means all my methods, emotions and relationships. All of my dreams and plans. My finances and my schedule! My accomplishments. My calling. To acknowledge Him means to give up control and leave my outcomes to His authority. All my ways means that I must be alert, but I can rest and not worry. Is that even humanly possible? Of course, I know the answer.
I like the chorus to the Casting Crowns song:
“Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.”
Yes, I do know Jesus … and trust Jesus. Still, there seems to be a great divide between ignoring or forgetting the words of the Lord and outright flouting Him. I’ve acted as though sins of omission, the sin of disregard, overlooking, neglecting or discounting what scripture teaches hurt less than what we call sins of commission, or the “thou shalt nots.”
I’ve been wrong. Sin is sin. I know I’ve avoided some awful consequences by avoiding the more public sins. Good for me? But how many blessings have I missed? How many treasures won’t I be able to appreciate because I didn’t acknowledge the Lord in “all my ways?”
How precious to know God loved me enough to go to the cross, not because of who I am, or because of what I’ve done—or haven’t done. He loves me because I am His, and He tells me that He is mine.
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