I will Submit

It seems the closer we try to walk with God the greater our faith is tested.

 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

As compared to other versions of this verse I prefer this one.  It uses the word "submit" where many versions say "acknowledge".  While this seems to be simple exchange of words it carries with it an inherent and important change in meaning I believe. 

Acknowledge means "to admit to be real or true."  While this is important it lets us off the hook too easily for even Satan will acknowledge God.  In the story of Job, Satan not only admits God's existence but is said to be one of his servants.  If then we are to take the story of Job as being real we must also then accept that Satan, the great tempter, will acknowledge God's existences. 

So by acceptance we are going only as far as is necessary, even Satan went further for a time.  This can lead us to believe that we are in control of our own lives and our own destiny.  While I am not a five point Calvinist I do not believe or wish to be in complete control of my own life and destiny.  To say that we control our lives is to remove God from them.

Submission requires not only that we acknowledge God's existence but that we go a step further and relinquish any power we have unto God.  This difficult but necessary step is the difference in translations. 

When the Bible was first translated, submission was implied in the idea of Kingship.  At that time by simply acknowledging God as King was saying that you submitted to God.  Over the years as humanity has sought freedom from authority figures this was lost.  Many people today count on an eleventh hour conversion to save them.  I was one of those for a time and didn't worry about my actions or how they might take me away from God. 

I spent much of my teenage years and many after living for me and not at all worried about God's plan for me.  I believed in God and that was enough right?  But it wasn't, God wanted me to submit to His authority.  He wants all of us to do this.  It was the plan from the earliest.  "Just submit, follow this plan and stay away from that tree and I will give you everything you need."  That didn't happen though.  Adam and Eve ate the fruit and ever since then we have chosen the fruit over God.  We say we believe but is this lived out?

So what do you want, the fruit or do you trust that God will feed you as He fed Israel as they wandered the desert?

Will you acknowledge or submit?