“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Few promises mean more, when practically interpreted, than that one which tells us to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, and that He will then direct our paths.

We all need direction in our life’s paths.

We turn to our friends for counsel, but human wisdom is inadequate. It is short-sighted, for they cannot certainly know what is best. It is ignorant and may mislead us unintentionally. Wrong advice, even if it is meant for good, has wrecked the destiny of many lives!

Even love may guide us fatally. Peter, in his impulsive warm-heartedness, would have turned Jesus away from His cross. Many times, human love has held back its dear ones from paths of sacrifice, hardship, and loss, which were the Divinely ordained paths for those feet. Human guidance is not enough; we need something truer, wiser, and safer – something infallible. And that is just what we have assured to us in this promise of Divine direction.

There is a condition: we must acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. The “all” is emphatic. Most of us acknowledge the Lord in some of our ways. We turn to Him in the time of great trials, or in great and sore dangers. Even scoffers and atheists have been known, in the moment of peril – as in a storm at sea – to fall upon their knees and call upon God for help. Even the worst people, when alarming sickness is on them, or when death stares them in the face, want to take hold of the hand of the Lord. There are none of us who do not, at certain times, crave Divine direction and help.

But the promise reads, “In all your ways.”

Sometimes we only acknowledge God in spiritual things. We talk to Him about our souls, but not of our daily work and our weekday life. What did you pray for today? Did you men talk to God about your business, your buying, your farm work, and your common tasks? Did you women talk about your household affairs, asking the Lord to help you keep tidy homes, and to train your children well to be sweet-tempered, gentle, patient, and thoughtful? We make a mistake when we take the Lord into our counsel in only one section of our life. “In all your ways” is the condition of the promised direction.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on this article! Feel free to leave your reflections and ask your questions below.

God bless you and your family, this day and always.

All for our King’s glory,
Christian

photo by Brianna Shae  |  Lightstock.com

This post is another installment of Miller’s Monday Musings, a weekly series that is published every Monday on my website. The series features selected writings that have been adapted from the works of James Russell Miller (1840-1912), a much-beloved Christian author and pastor who is well-remembered for his practical thoughts on Christian home and family life. Learn more about this weekly series by clicking here.