TRUST GOD THROUGH IT ALL, part 3
The first clause in Part 2 told us to Lean not on your own understanding. What’s the step in order for you to Trust God Through It All? The answer is in the next clause: In all your ways acknowledge him.
The emphasis in this clause is not so much on acknowledging God, which is pretty much taken for granted, but on the all your ways part. In all your ways acknowledge him.
Running right through the lives of many, many people in churches today is a dividing wall between what they see as their Christian lives and what they see as their non-Christian lives. This is the so-called sacred–secular divide.
The sacred–secular divide is the assumption that God cares about what I do on Sunday morning in church but not on Monday morning in the office. It is the assumption that God cares about to whom I give my money but not how I earn that money in the first place. It is the assumption that God cares which church I attend but not which house I live in. It is the assumption that God cares about my Bible reading but not about my television viewing. It is the assumption that God cares about my sin but not about my toothache.
We all make these kinds of assumptions all of the time: our lives are divided up into the secular and the sacred and the Berlin wall keeps them apart. Often this suits us, doesn’t it? There are parts of our lives we just don’t want God interfering in, aren’t there? Come on be honest up in here.
But God passionately wants to break down that dividing wall and to be God of our whole lives: for us to trust in him with all our hearts. And in this verse, He tells us how to do that: in all your ways acknowledge him.
The call is to take every part of our lives, every minute of every day and to acknowledge that all of it is part of our journey with God. Not one part of the Christian’s life should be secular. Don’t get quiet on me: God is there with us in the office; He is there with us as we drive our cars; He is there with us as we pick the kids up from school. He is watching television with us; He is with us down in the club. Let’s acknowledge him in all our ways.
We can get an indication of how well we are acknowledging God in all our ways by looking at what we pray for, what we are thankful for and what we worry about.
Once when I was moaning to a wise friend about my work she asked a simple question: “do you pray for your work?” I didn’t—OOOPS—sacred–secular divide! I started praying for it, and guess what: it was transformed.
Thanking God is another way of acknowledging him in all our ways. For an example, we make a point as a family of saying grace before all our meals, not just as a ritual, and not just thanking him for our food, but for all our blessings that day whatever they might be. It helps us to acknowledge God in all our ways.
Another indicator: are the things you worry about different from those you pray about? They often are for me: it’s more clear evidence of the sacred–secular divide. I worry about money, but I rarely pray about it. How strange is that? The apostle Paul was keen to break down this sacred–secular divide in his readers when he wrote these words in Philippians chapter 4 which you will know well,
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In all your ways acknowledge him.
The danger of persisting in the sacred–secular divide is that we will be half in the wheelbarrow, half out. Frankly that’s not going to be very comfortable, is it? And there is always the possibility that we might fall out completely. Amen, somebody!
Keep trusting God and join for Part 4! Let me know your thoughts in comments section.
See you next Tuesday….