Above all other titles the Lord can be seen as our father, son, friend. The first thing we see the enemy do in Genesis Chapter 3 when he refers to Lord God as just God; is to deny God's lordship, his supremacy, his rulership.
The impact of such blatant rebellion and sowing of doubt is still present in today's church if not more so now than before. It is one thing we are all guilty of at one point or another, especially when we make a request of God. We fail to acknowledge His Lordship and in doing so base our relationship with Him on our standards and terms. We make God out to be an equal.
This realisation is one that constantly causes me to reflect not just on my own walk and relationship with the Lord God but the effect it has had on the church as a whole. It’s daunting when we come to terms with not acknowledging God's Lordship in every aspect of our lives. It's even more so when we start to see the effects that it has had on us and those around us.
Failing to acknowledge
Failing to acknowledge God’s Lordship takes form in many ways. It often comes in the form of pride or rebellion: we know better, I am doing this because I want to fulfil my own desires, what I want and need in this moment is more important, how is this going to impact me. Thought processes and actions like this lead to discounting God's Lordship.
One of the most pressing realisations which has hit me and that I see not just in my own life but in the majority of the church, is that we often don’t even realize that we aren’t acknowledging God as Lord. We are so immersed in a world where it has become ingrained in us to take charge of our own lives, do what makes us happy. Nowhere in scripture is this backed up, but it is summed up perfectly in Proverbs chapter 3 verse 6 (English Standard Version) “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Afflicted walk
Both our walk and relationship with God are heavily afflicted due to our lack of acknowledging His Lordship. It impacts how pray, how we think and how we conduct ourselves throughout our day to day lives. If we honestly think about it, if we daily acknowledged God's Lordship in every aspect of our lives, our relationship and walk with Him would look vastly different.
I wholeheartedly believe if we started the long process of changing this we would come into an even deeper understanding of His grace, mercy and holiness. We would approach Him in every aspect of our lives (prayer, thought and conduct wise) from a place of knowing He is Lord of all, not me or anyone else in creation.
One step after the other
After a lifetime of I know best, I want this and that, I am in control and master of my world, learning to acknowledge God's Lordship is a process that I must do a step at a time. I am coming to realise just how many aspects of daily life there are and how it is a process of submitting every single one of them, one at a time to His rule and not my own.
There are feelings, thoughts, actions, things that we don’t even realize that we must lay down. Each step requires more humility and accountability than the last. In each step a part of us doesn’t want to let go of being lord of our own lives and the enemy whispering “no you really don't need to let go of this one”.
Humility, surrender, consistency and above all Holy Spirit's guidance and conviction are essential to coming under and into God's Lordship.
Ashley Menelaws lives in Kingaroy, Qld. He is currently working, studying, teaching and is married to Miranda. During his free time Ashley can be found writing in its various forms or reading an old book.
Ashley Menelaw’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/ashley-menelaws.html