Last night I worshiped at a charismatic church. This is not typical for me, but I went with my dear friend who feels very at-home in that setting. Individual prayers were said all at the same time, making a beautiful hum. Hands were raised, people cried out with joy and agreement as songs were sung and the Word was preached. I prayed a little. I tried to listen to God and take in this expressive type of worship. I thought how pleasing this worship must be to the Lord. I strained to think think think how I could turn this into a devotional for the next day…

There I go, one day into this assignment of following God, and I’m already trying to help God out. As I woke up this morning, still with no plan for today’s post, I thought of one of my favorite Bible verses, which happens to be related to direction: Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” I’m trying to trust the Lord for direction on this path. I’m even willing to take this one-step-at-a-time with the flashlight in front of my foot. This verse reminds me to trust God and he will make my path straight. I realized, however, that that is not how the verse reads – trust God, then get direction. I had left something out, maybe for most of my life… In all your ways acknowledge him…

What does that mean? How do I live that? I have a friend who is going through a particularly challenging life circumstance. When we pray about it we often ask God to answer our prayers, but to do it in a way that there is absolutely no way to tell the story without talking about God. Hmmm… How often do I tell my story, both big and small parts of it, without even thinking about mentioning God? Why do I think that something must be unmistakably God-caused to invoke God in the story? Believers are told to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). Do I do that? No. I can and do easily account for my joy, for example, by saying I slept well, or something good happened in the life of one of my boys. No God anywhere.

I’m a little afraid of offending people. Well, 1 Peter 3:15 goes on to say “do this with gentleness and respect.” I don’t have to shove anything down anyone’s throat to speak the truth that I am a child of God, that God is good and great, that God gives me hope and joy. That IS my story. And I guess if I want to have direction, a straight path, I’ve been told not just to trust God, but to acknowledge him. I guess I have my marching orders.

(I just realized that God gave me what to say today, just in time.  My efforts to force it were fruitless. He was faithful to come through to help me do what he called me to do.  I just thought I’d better acknowledge that!)