[Printable version]
[Also published in Nuggets for the Needy]
Omega Message – October 1982
Mavis M. duCille
Proverbs 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
In seeking the Lord about certain hard, unfortunate or painful experiences we encountered, over a period of time, the Lord brought vividly a sense of awareness that is indelibly impressed on my mind. A few words of Scripture which has been read over and over, all of a sudden comes forth with a great enlightenment and a new perspective; “In all thy ways acknowledge him.”
God expects His creatures to love, honour, respect and recognize Him as the Creator. After all, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handy work.” (Psalms 19:1) These are abundant evidence of His presence, power and authority. He is infinitely greater than anything on earth and undoubtedly well able to supply all man’s needs far beyond our wildest expectations. It takes however, a knowledge of the nature of God and the revelation of the scripture together with the supernatural working of the Spirit, to awaken, confirm and enlarge our knowledge of God’s friendship and communion, seeing that our love to Him has been greatly obscured since the fall.
One of the most important points of revelation which the Lord brought to us was that when he desires that we love, honour, obey, respect, esteem and recognize Him as Creator, it is not for any benefit to himself, but that these attributes when given to God, creates in us a virtue which we could not obtain otherwise.
2 Timothy 2:12 “To know Him is life eternal.”
Knowing God in all His attributes furnished by nature and scripture will result in trust and confidence, that through love, man’s free will becomes one with Him – This is the Victory.
Mans Free Will God’s Channel:
God can accomplish his purpose on earth for man only through man’s free-will (the choice is ours). In so doing God makes available to man an immense and limitless realm of power; but we limit God and retard our progress by not appropriating God’s goodness.
God’s plan is that man be the channel through which heaven is released and expressed on earth. When our will is totally submitted to the will of God, then we will be in tune with Him and whatsoever we ask will be according to His will and He will direct our path.
The saints must possess the Kingdom, but this can only be accomplished as the people of God put the world behind them and set their faces upon the eternal values. The world, the flesh, and the devil are against the reign of Christ in the earth – thus, “The heathen rage…….”; (Ps. 2:1; Acts 4:25;), to destroy God’s richest graces and true value of humanity. To love, to honour, to respect and obey, are endowments of God, which places man above the beast.
Redeemed – Being Redeemed – Shall Be Redeemed:
God is in the process of redeeming man, spirit, soul and body through Christ who is the Melchizedec of Abraham:
Hebrews 7:16 “Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.”
Therefore those who seek him will find him through the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in his knowledge.
There is a place in consecration, as one progresses in God, where the unfolding of God’s plan and purpose demands a further and deeper offering of one’s self; the willingness to make such an offering is the law and principle by which God takes us from Victory to Victory. This willingness, which is the free-will offering of the soul, gives God the authority to manifest His purposes in our lives. The impartation of Christ’s Spirit of obedience to the believer, which brings him in communion with this work, must be ratified in the believer’s life and experience. This obedience removes fear, but embraces trust and confidence. When exercised, these experiences become easy, and joyful; thus obedience is God’s plan to deliver man from the corruption and enslavement of the FALL;
Self-confidence and self-reliance are often used as tools of the enemy to cause us to forfeit our blessings. God confidence and God reliance are better. There is a subtle working of the enemy of which we must always beware. The enemy will oppress a believer to make him/her feel, ‘I am nothing’, ‘Poor me’, and surely the counselors will try to get such a one to believe in himself, only to find that he makes a 180o and is the greatest Christian in town. He keeps an eye out for weaknesses for they are dark spots and he does everything to get us in our weak places. We are encouraged therefore, to –“Lay aside every weight and the SIN (that weakness) that doth so easily beset us;” (Heb. 12:1), so he will have no power over us.
This word “SELF” seems to be the greatest mountain between us and God. So many stories in the Bible show us the danger of the lurking monster:
- David numbered the people.
- Saul offered his own sacrifice.
- Joshua and the elders sought not of the Lord regarding the Gibeonites.
It is evident that God’s people must always be conscious of the fact that He is the authority – He is in supreme control, and that is the victory. Therefore, when one fails to acknowledge Him in all things, the concealed pitfalls, the snares of the enemy (known only to him) will catch us unawares.
Sometimes, Praise God, we escape the hidden dangers by divine intervention, while another time we might experience the consequences of not seeking the mind of Christ in a matter; pain, regret, remorse, loss of goods and credibility etc. follows.
Partnership with God:
God has assigned us to a partnership with him through the blood of Jesus Christ His son. By the Spirit and the Word he makes each part of the Contract clear; his part as also our part. When Paul sought the Lord regarding His thorn in the flesh, God’s reply was, “ …. My grace is sufficient… ” (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul had this responsibility by the Grace of Our Lord and saviour, through the effectual working of the Spirit in him to have the Victory over that thorn. He must have really fought a good fight, as he said, seeing it was not the thorn in the flesh that ended his physical life, but some of the rulers of this world.
Psalms 2:2 “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [saying],”
History repeats itself.
Our only hope and protection is hiding in the ROCK and dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High. It demands a daily committal to His PERFECT WILL for each individual. What man of war goes into battle on his own dictates? He would be a fool and would die like Abner. Man in himself is no match for the enemy, for it is a battle against a very high intelligence, principalities and powers, not flesh and blood, therefore it takes – “…being endued with power from on high;” (Luke 24:49). Baptized in the Spirit of God and complete obedience to the captain and sole commander who is Our Lord Jesus Christ, (captain of the host), Lord of All. He sees and knows each battle from beginning to end. Yes, the infinite God knows each person’s battle from beginning to end, that is why we must trust Him – He is our VICTORY. We must acknowledge God in all our ways. In nothing can we be our own MAN or WOMAN and do our own thing, whenever we feel like it. Our behaviour, our speech, our attitudes can arrest the flow of God’s blessings and cause us to forfeit our heritage in Christ.
Oh, how many times we are caught in being careless or impatient, acting out of the will of god, and are caught in the snare. The price is pain, regret, remorse – “Oh what needless pains we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” – “Wait upon the Lord – wait I say upon the Lord.” Good things come to those who wait.
For instance:
It might be good and proper for one to buy a house, car, horse, property, or anything, even choosing a partner in marriage or business etc., but God wants us to realize that there is a special one of any or all of these, that God with his love and foreknowledge would choose for you – the special individual – that we are to be to him. Our knowledge is limited, therefore we must always bear in mind that our CAPTAIN who is, ALL WISE, ALL KNOWING, is the perfect consultant, whose ears are always open, his doors or eyes never closes, he just sits waiting, looking and listening for his children to ask so “it can be given.” Of course, we should not ask: –
(1) To heap upon our lusts;
(2) Amiss;
(3) Wavering;
Times without number, Jesus testifies of His union with the Father, showing how absolutely necessary it is for total submission to the Father’s will. John 8:14-18 gives the working arrangement with Jesus and the Father. Although the Father has given to the Son ALL POWER for deliverance and judgment, yet he did nothing but the Father’s will. In healing and miracles etc. “My Father works and I work”, – In judgment, “I do not judge or condemn anyone, though I know my judgment is true.”
Seeing that Jesus the Son of God found it necessary to acknowledge the Father in all things, thus fulfilling His perfect will for him; how about us? All power is given unto us through Jesus, as he was so are we to be in all obedience and humility that we might also find our place in His purpose for His creation.
In order to walk safely and securely, be blessed in Him and be a blessing, there is the need to be found in Him not having our own righteousness but the righteousness which is of the Father. This righteousness will desire, seek after, long for and be satisfied with nothing but the Father’s perfect will.
Each new day brings its new demands or new experiences in our Christian walk. Our Heavenly Father has given the Holy Spirit with the necessary tools to fight our battles, but although he knows the order of the battle completely, he cannot breach our free-will. He tells us in His word to trust Him each day that he might be in control through the spirit. “In all thy ways (and through all thy day) acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.” The power and glory of heaven is made available to us through Jesus Christ; but if the whole world of wealth is made available to one man, woman or child and he or she does not choose to effect that claim, it is useless to such a one.
We are encouraged to appreciate and appropriate that which was lost in the first Adam but restored in the Second Adam, Jesus Christ to bring us into eternal victory. God uses every method to awaken us to the consciousness of who we are, where we are, and what we ought to be. He allows us to go ahead and do things we desire so badly, which are not His perfect will, knowing that the circumstances will teach us the bitter lessons of what it means to move out of the will of God.
Happy are we if we can learn the lessons through one or two experiences. It is very sad when our own attitudes rob us of being able to glean from our experiences the lessons God intends that we embrace, seeing the sole purpose and intention of his dealings with us is to bring us into union and communion with Him, that we might walk as wise men.
