…and [she] went after her lovers, but me she forgot,” declares the Lord. -Hosea 2:13b

Have you ever forgotten about God? I know I have. Sometimes we forget God in big ways. Maybe we get out of a regular church routine, leave our Bibles on the shelf for a long period of time, or just generally find ourselves distanced from Him. Sometimes we forget God in small ways. This might look like forgetting to thank Him when you get a raise at work, just going through the motions during the worship songs at church, or turning to all of your human resources for help in a certain situation instead of first turning to God. 

Later in Hosea, that word acknowledge comes up. First we see God telling Israel how He will help them turn from forgetting Him to acknowledging Him again.

I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. -Hosea 2:20

Then, a few chapters later, the Israelites themselves decided to pay great attention to this matter. 

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. -Hosea 6:3a

When reading the book of Hosea in its entirety, you’ll realize this resolution in Hosea 6 was actually somewhat shallow and short-lived. I’ll let you read it for yourself to see how things progressed between God and the Israelites during Hosea’s time serving as a prophet. But for our purposes today, let’s think about how we can better acknowledge God in our daily lives so that if we were to speak those same words from Hosea 6:3, we would mean them wholeheartedly.

There are many different ways you can acknowledge God in and through your life! Here are three:

ACKNOWLEDGE GOD AS THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING. Every single thing you have comes from God. Before God created the world, the Bible tells us the earth was formless and empty. He brought everything that we see and enjoy to life! And He is the source of every single thing you see and every single thing you use. For example… Any money you have saved up? That all came from God. Sure, you likely worked hard and exercised plenty of discipline, but guess who helped you get that job? God did! You get the idea. It’s easy to think that the good things in our lives come as a result of our own hard work, determination and planning, but that is simply not the case. Don’t forget to acknowledge God as the source of every good thing your life has to offer.

ACKNOWLEDGE GOD AS YOUR SOVEREIGN LORD. It can be so easy to believe in Jesus BUT not surrender fully to Him. One of the definitions for acknowledge was “to recognize the rights, authority or status of.” Are you truly recognizing God’s authority in your life? Have you taken your hands completely off the reins and, instead, lifted them up toward heaven? It is hard to give up control. I can speak for myself and say that when I feel like I have control over my life, I sometimes feel peace in the order and routine I’m able to create. I also find a sense of empowerment! …well, I recognize and enjoy that peace and empowerment when everything is going my way. But when something happens that is out of my control, I am reminded that I’m not really in control at all. God is. He is sovereign over all of human history, which certainly includes my little life. By acknowledging His role not just as the sovereign Lord of all, but also as the sovereign Lord of my life, I can surrender to His control and live with a new, deeper sense of freedom, peace and joy. It’s not up to me! God is in control. And guess what? Life is much better that way anyhow. 

ACKNOWLEDGE GOD AS THE ONE WHO DESERVES THE GLORY. When good things happen, you can acknowledge God and give Him the glory He is due. Guess what this does for those who are watching the way you live? It points them to Jesus. Rather than just enjoying your blessings, point to Him! Focus your attention on His generosity and greatness. My Bible Study Fellowship lesson a few weeks ago asked the question, What do your family, friends and neighbors learn about God by the way you think and live? Then it said: Our victories allow us to humbly grow in gratitude and celebrate God’s faithfulness. Your Christian life is not just about you. Give Him the glory!

When your life is going great, give God credit! When your believing and nonbelieving friends around you hear those words coming out of your mouth and see your Jesus-focused posture, then their eyes and hearts will also turn toward Him. And what about when your life is not going great? Keep on pointing toward Christ. Talk about trusting Him through your storm. Talk about the times He has been faithful in your past and how that proves He will be faithful through your current storm, as well. When your believing and nonbelieving friends around you hear those words coming out of your mouth and see your continued Jesus-focused posture, then their eyes and hearts will also turn toward Him. 

Acknowledge God on your good and bad days. Acknowledge God as the source of everything you have. Acknowledge God as your sovereign Lord, and find freedom and peace. Acknowledge God as the one who deserves all the glory! By acknowledging Him, you will point others toward Him, too. Remember, if you’re not acknowledging God in these ways, then you are by default forgetting Him. 

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. -Hosea 6:3a