When deciphering the Bible, almost every word packs a hefty meaning. Small, seemingly insignificant words can leave me with a feeling of awe and wonder at God’s power and enormity. Every time I am reminded of one of those deep meanings, I revel in how much God loves me and every single person. Let’s take a look at the common words ALWAYS and ALL.
Always
When Jesus commissioned the disciples, He said, “And be sure of this: I am with you ALWAYS, ev
en to the end of the age.” In all of those times when we don’t think we can handle our stress, we absolutely can because Jesus is with us ALWAYS — in every second of our lives. And because He is stro
Proverbs 30:5 (NLT) says: Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
ng and right beside us, we know we are supported 100 percent and we will not fail. We just need to realize that He IS HERE for us!
With respect to our Lord and all He is, Psalm 105:4 (NIV) reminds us to “ALWAYS” see Him in whatever we are doing, thinking, saying. “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face ALWAYS.” When we do this, we put our selfish desires aside and do God’s will. In everything we do, we should see God’s hands all over it.
All
The other word that needs more attention is ALL. When I read Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength.” I have read this verse hundreds of times and thought, “I got it, I will do my best to love God a lot.” Then I realized that ALL doesn’t mean “a lot,” it means 100 percent. 100 PERCENT!!!
That means when God is telling you to help someone with a flat tire on a Friday night after work, you do it. If he’s telling you to give up your Saturday golf game to help a widow with yard work, you do it. If you have negative thoughts toward someone, you change them to positive thoughts and pray for them. If you see someone walking along with arms loaded down with groceries, give them a ride. That’s right. In a world where we are worried about our safety, you still help. Do these things and watch your happiness grow. You may think that giving up something will be hard. It is, but what you will find out is that God gives back. Helping someone will actually help your mental health. Hats off to those people who give up their entire lives to serve God by serving others.
Again, God uses ALL in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT): “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in ALL you do, and He will show you which path to take.” Here God is reminding us that our ALL is to Him exclusively. ALL does not include our own understanding. If we give our every day lives to God, He will guide us through choices, big or small. And you will be surprised at how pleased you are to do His will. His will is good!
1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NLT) employs both ALL and ALWAYS together. “See that no one pays back evil for evil, but ALWAYS TRY to do good to each other and to ALL people. This verse gives us a little grace because ALWAYS is followed by TRY. God knows we are human and cannot be perfect followers all the time. However, as believers, He expects us to try our best. How about making it a goal to show grace to everyone, just like we are given grace from above?
You can read through the Bible quickly to get the gist of it, but if you slow down and linger on Scripture, you will experience the bounty of God’s love in ordinary words. Make it a challenge to dissect every seemingly insignificant word of Scripture and you will unveil a deeper, more fulfilling meaning than you could ever imagine. Roses are beautiful, but if you stop and smell them, you capture their essence.
