How do you submit to God?

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How do you submit to God? I used to have this Jesus fish. You ever seen it? It's called an ichthus. Well, it was this paperweight that sat on my desk that had one of the most popular Bible verses written on it. It said, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to him and he will make your path straight." But I used to look at that thing and wonder, "What does it mean to submit to God?" Well, if we look at different versions of the Bible, instead of the word submit, the King James and other versions say, "Acknowledge him in all your ways." Which does get us a little bit closer to the root word in Hebrew that means to know God. Which brings up another question, why are there so many different words to represent one thing? Well, because it's a complex topic. But, whether it's submitting, acknowledging, or knowing God, the concept can be simple to understand. There's this guy named Tony Evans who has this Bible commentary, which is where they do this research and share insights on Bible verses. But he speaks on this verse using the analogy of a bank account. So, imagine I'm going to go to the store to buy groceries. While I'm deciding what things I need to put into my cart, I need to know what's in my bank account. Because if I don't acknowledge it, it may cost me more than what I'm able to pay. But that's also why I like the word submit, because I can know what's in the bank account. I can acknowledge it, but I will only have the intended experience if I submit to it. Now, we know God's resources are unlimited. His bank account will never run out. But similar to how we're keeping our bank account top of mind when we're shopping, do we keep God top of mind when we're making any other decisions? Have we logged into God's bank account to know what's in there? The Bible says when we trust in him and submit to him in all our ways, he will make our path straight. Not smooth, but straight toward his intended purpose. You know, when we accept the salvation of Jesus and choose to follow him, God sends us the Holy Spirit to guide us. And so when we're talking about God making our path straight, there's this really cool scripture in Isaiah that helps me envision what it's actually like locked in and rolling with the Holy Spirit. It says, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way. Walk in it.'" Practically for me, I think of my experience making these videos. What you don't know is I typically record 40 minutes to an hour and then trim it down to 3 minutes for you. Because I'm praying, studying the words of the Bible, and asking God, "What do you want me to say next?" And then sometimes I'll say something and I'll get this feeling, "No, that's wrong. Don't say that because the Bible says this." And essentially I'm hearing, "This is the way. Walk in it." I don't get it perfect, but I'm doing my best to acknowledge God, to know God, and to submit to what he's asking me to do. But what if what God wants isn't what I want? Well, one, this verse gives me peace. And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. So, I can trust that as God is making my path straight toward his purpose, he will use it for good. Maybe for myself or somebody else, but God uses it for good. Part two of what if what God wants isn't what I want? That's where we're asked to trust him, to submit to him. If I want to operate from a place of never checking the bank account, I definitely can, but it's going to hurt me. Not because God isn't good, he is. But because he cares for us and has such a higher perspective, he wants to guide us on the right path. But we have to acknowledge him through this and bring him into daily decisions through the Holy Spirit. Let us know how we can be praying for each other. God bless you, friends.