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"Do We Acknowledge the Almighty?"

"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."   Proverbs 3:6

If the ministry of the early Church was anything like today, it wouldn't have been unusual to see large caravans traveling from city to city with the name of the ministry painted clearly on the side of each camel, it would have read something like this, "Paul of Tarsus Ministries", or perhaps, "John the Beloved Ministries", or how about "Peter the Apostle Ministries". Recognize the vanity of today's ministries!

No, of course you've never heard of these ministries from the early Church. The reason is simple, Christ was everything, and they were nothing. There was no place for the flesh, the Ministry was Christ, their dependence was upon the Holy Spirit, the glory was for the Father. No exception, no compromise, and because of this the Church walked in great power and the devil was constantly on the run. Nothing like today's ministries.

The key beloved is in who we acknowledge as head, self or Christ. Do we acknowledge the Almighty? If so there will be life in the ministry. The fruit of the Spirit is always plain to see, as is the works of the flesh. Satan's cry can still be heard through many of today's ministries, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;" (Isaiah 14:14). God save them from their own vanity!

Our power comes through surrender. To acknowledge God is to yeild to His wisdom, strength and purpose. When we acknowledge God in all things, it is a total surrendering of self, and will yield to you the power from on high to be witnesses unto Him. That's true ministry!

John Gill wrote,
In all thy ways acknowledge him,.... Or "know him"; the Lord: set him before thee; have him always in view; consider him as ever present with thee, observing every step thou takest; and take not one step without his leave, and without his advice; ask wisdom of him who gives liberally; consult his word, and make the Scriptures thy counsellors, or the men of thy counsel, as in Psa_119:24; take him as your guide; observe the footsteps of his providence; follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes; walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; when things go cross and adverse, and not to your mind, submit to his sovereignty; and be still and know that he is God, that does all things right, for his own glory and his people's good, Psa_46:10; and when things succeed, give him the glory of all; own his hand in it, and the bounty of it; acknowledge that all you have, in providence and grace, come from him;

and he shall direct thy paths; man cannot direct his own; no, not a man: this is a blessing from the Lord; who steps of his people, keeps the feet of his saints, and directs them aright in things temporal and spiritual, Jer_10:23.       John Gill

Adam Clarke wrote,
In all thy ways acknowledge him - Begin, continue, and end every work, purpose, and device, with God. Earnestly pray for his direction at the commencement; look for his continual support in the progress; and so begin and continue that all may terminate in his glory: and then it will certainly be to thy good; for we never honor God, without serving ourselves. Self-sufficiency and self-dependence have been the ruin of mankind ever since the fall of Adam. The grand sin of the human race is their continual endeavor to live independently of God, i.e., to be without God in the world. True religion consists in considering God the fountain of all good, and expecting all good from him.       Adam Clarke

—  Randy Munter

Acknowledge God
by Matthew Henry

We must have a continual regard to God's providence, must own and depend upon it in all our affairs, both by faith and prayer.

1. By faith. We must repose an entire confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, assuring ourselves of the extent of his providence to all the creatures and all their actions. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts (Pro_3:5); we must believe that he is able to do what he will, wise to do what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us, if we love him, and serve him. We must, with an entire submission and satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us, and not lean to our own understanding, as if we could, by any forecast of our own, without God, help ourselves, and bring our affairs to a good issue. Those who know themselves cannot but find their own understanding to be a broken reed, which, if they lean to, will certainly fail them. In all our conduct we must be diffident of our own judgment, and confident of God's wisdom, power, and goodness, and therefore must follow Providence and not force it. That often proves best which was least our own doing.

2. By prayer (Pro_3:6): In all thy ways acknowledge God. We must not only in our judgment believe that there is an over-ruling hand of God ordering and disposing of us and all our affairs, but we must solemnly own it, and address ourselves to him accordingly. We must ask his leave, and not design any thing but what we are sure is lawful. We must ask his advice and beg direction from him, not only when the case is difficult (when we know not what to do, no thanks to us that we have our eyes up to him), but in every case, be it ever so plain, We must ask success of him, as those who know the race is not to the swift. We must refer ourselves to him as one from whom our judgment proceeds, and patiently, and with a holy indifferency, wait his award. In all our ways that prove direct, and fair, and pleasant, in which we gain our point to our satisfaction, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove cross and uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge God with submission. Our eye must be ever towards God; to him we must, in every thing, make our requests known, as Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh, Jdg_11:11. For our encouragement to do this, it is promised, “He shall direct thy paths, so that thy way shall be safe and good and the issue happy at last.”

Note, Those that put themselves under a divine guidance shall always have the benefit of it. God will give them that wisdom which is profitable to direct, so that they shall not turn aside into the by-paths of sin, and then will himself so wisely order the event that it shall be to their mind, or (which is equivalent) for their good. Those that faithfully follow the pillar of cloud and fire shall find that though it may lead them about it leads them the right way and will bring them to Canaan at last.

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