Know Thou Him

Hello friends! I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed your Father’s Day Festivities. I had the privilege of teaching my Sunday School class yesterday and as I asked everyone how their Father’s Day was going I was reminded of something important: a woman in the class mentioned that this was the first Father’s Day without her dad (he had passed away earlier this year) and how it was an especially hard and tender day for her. It reminded me that sometimes holidays we find full of joy and laughter, others are finding very hard to breathe through.

We had such great discussion in our class yesterday (thank you to all for your participation!) that we didn’t get to finish the lesson – a first for me. And one I would gladly take any day teaching. Normally I wouldn’t do this, but there was one juicy bit I didn’t get to share with the class that I wanted to share today. So welcome, my fellow class members and enjoy!

We all are probably familiar with the Bible verses 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 carry you through. (or is it “thru”? I’m typing from memory, so I’m not sure. You get the gist, though, right?) One of the exercises was to think up synonyms for the word “understanding”. Instead, I looked up the Hebrew root word and found lots of great meanings, including: knowledge, meaning, discernment, regard, instruction, prudence, consideration. If you put those words in the verse in place of the word “understanding”, it can change your perspective drastically, don’t you think? Sometimes when a Bible verse becomes so familiar, it is hard to restore the freshness of the meaning. Looking up the original words and their definitions help do just that.

One other tidbit I just had to share with you was this: a different translation of verse 6 reads this way: In all thy ways, know Thou Him… Is that not profound or what? Instead of just acknowledging God in “all your ways”, KNOW HIM in all your ways. Then your paths will be straight, every time. Is that not some good truth, or what? Its one thing to acknowledge, but to KNOW? To “know” makes me think of one spending time and energy searching out, more than just a courtesy head nod. “Knowing” is more of an intimate relationship, vital in every step we take. In all your ways, know Him, and He will direct your paths. That friends, you can take to the spiritual bank.

Okay, now its your turn! Tell me what you think. I love hearing from you! What are your thoughts?