Is the Lord ready when you are?

By DUNCAN MANGO
Published February 16, 2010

There was a time Joshua made a deal with some tribe, which pretended to be from a distant land. He signed a contract with them, but did not consult the Lord beforehand. Maybe he assumed that since only nine chapters ago the Lord promised to be with him wherever he went, that he could now sign off contracts on his own without checking with the higher authority. So he proceeded to break bread with these Gibeonites only to discover three days later, that they were insincere.

Have you ever signed on the dotted line without asking Him first? I have. And I can tell you it is not pleasant to check later whether it was okay. The silence gets so loud that you hear it clearly. One might ask why it is necessary to check when He is there, and will never leave nor forsake me. The answer is in one word – acknowledgment.

The Encarta Dictionary interestingly gives the definition of acknowledgment a legal twist. It states: it is to legally admit, or recognize the authority of somebody or something. Legal? No wonder the Bible says that  in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. That means, it would be better to do so way in advance. Why? Because He knows which offers you will be getting next week, year, decade, way before you start looking for those opportunities. Right now He can see the Gibeonites plotting to work cunningly against your career, or business with that great offer. So even though He has ordained all our plans into the Promised Land, He jealously desires that we acknowledge Him in all our ways.

Going about our business with that “I am ready when you are” approach will not work with Him. He wants to make us ready. Proverbs 21:30 says the horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord. Your horse maybe your confidence, your curriculum vitae, your tender documents, your talent, skill or expertise. Just when you think your horse is ready to win the battle, alas, you discover victory is stored up elsewhere. Remember, the horse is the Lord’s just as victory is. The Lord may be with you always, but are you with Him?

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