The Powerful ALL Passages in Scripture Worthy of Our Attention!

Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord will ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”

A Divine Revelation

This is a familiar passage for many of us, and one often quoted as words of encouragement when we face times of uncertainty. This passage of Scripture is simple in its instruction yet profound in its application and it’s because of that simple little three-letter word ALL!

Many other “ALL” passages in Scripture are equally difficult to apply, and here are a few. Take James 1:2-4, which says, “To consider it ALL joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Or Mark 12:30, “And you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength.” Consider also Joshua 1:8 which says, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to ALL that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

WOW! These power-packed “ALL” passages require some heavy lifting for us as believers. Yet most of us will never know the power and/or the promise of God these passages offer because of this simple three-letter word ALL. 

A Divine Challenge

We don’t like this simple three-letter word ALL because many of us prefer to hold back a little of our lives so we can stay in control. We hold back a little of our hearts to harbor malice, anger, and resentment like it is within our rights to do so. We hold back a little of our minds to entertain opinions/beliefs of the world that give our flesh justification for our actions and downplay the seriousness of our sin. We hold back a little of the praise and approval of others from God in our service to Him to boost our egos and silence our insecurities. We act as if the ALL God is asking for is somehow a greedy or controlling request. So, we relinquish a little here, a little there, depending on the size of our trust. However, God matches what we are willing to give up with equal, if not greater amounts of Himself until He convinces us (like He should have to) of His true intent “That goodness and lovingkindness should follow us ALL the days of our lives.”  However, that is an “ALL” passage we don’t seem to have a problem with.

Call to Action

When Christ became nothing, He gave ALL of Himself to redeem mankind. Therefore, God asks nothing of us that He, hasn’t willingly given to us. Yet the cost will be the same for us as it was for Him, death to the flesh, ALL the flesh! As the refrain of a famous old hymn says so perfectly, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe,”

Beloved, though we owe Him everything, He will not rip our lives from our hands. We must be willing to surrender our ALL to Him. But know this! When we do, we will receive ALL of Him in return. Father, Your Word promises us many things, but it does require our ALL to receive them! Teach us Holy Spirit how to trust the Father as Jesus trusted the Father in everything. Help us believe that You are a God that keeps Your word. We will never be disappointed when we do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!