Just as we should trust in the Lord with our whole heart at all times and constantly avoid the sin of leaning unto our own understanding instead of His, so we should acknowledge Him in everything we do.  In so doing we have His assurance that He will direct our paths.  The clear implication is that if we do not acknowledge Him in all our ways, then we cannot expect Him to direct our paths.  But Oh! How we do need His providential leadership and direction.  The prophet Jeremiah said, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah. 10:23).  Man is too weak by nature to seek out the course that is most honoring to God and most to his own benefit and to the service of others.  There is nothing we should desire more than that the Lord would direct our steps, and lead us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  And there is nothing we should desire less than to be left to chose our own paths and to be guided by our own feeble judgments.

How needful it is that we "acknowledge" the Lord in all our ways!  And how do we do that?  By recognizing our constant need of Him in all things and by giving our continual assent to the fact that without Him we are nothing, yea, less than nothing.  The apostle Paul said that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God (See II Cor. 3:5).  And our Lord said, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Without divine strength, guidance and direction we can do nothing that is pleasing to the Lord or that will bring praise and honor to His holy name.  Without His directing our paths we are sure to go astray, and are certain to be out of the way of righteousness.  In all we do we need to always acknowledge that He is our all in all, and we should always have the attitude of Moses when he said to the Lord, "Show me now thy way," and, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Exo. 33:13, 15).  There is only one way we should desire, and that is the Lord's way, and we should never want to go anywhere that His presence will not go feelingly with us.  As much as in us is, let us acknowledge Him in each step we take.  It is the path of peace.    ---Elder Ralph Harris