ALL – Not Just SOME!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and ALL that is within me, bless His holy name! 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not ALL His benefits.” Psalm 103:1,2

“I will bless the Lord at ALL times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34: 1

                David committed himself to praising the Lord at ALL times, with ALL his being. David lived a life of extremes: he experienced abundant blessings and the most horrific situations; he rejoiced with dancing in times of victory and anguished in the lowest pits of despair. Suffering the consequences of sin, David had times of family disasters and times of national catastrophe; he went through periods of discouragement, a season of trying to hide his sin, but later praised God for His forgiveness and wholeness. When he worshiped God, he did it with ALL of his heart. How could David have composed many of the Psalms under the most despairing circumstances? How could he choose to worship God at ALL times, and praise Him with ALL his being?

                The secret lies in the personal relationship that David cultivated with God in the good times. Knowing God with the degree of intimacy that he did gave David the assurance that God always takes care of ALL our troublesome situations. In Psalm 34 we can read that bad times will come in our lives, but God will see us through them ALL – not just some of them!

v. 4 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from ALL my fears.” (Not just SOME!)

v. 6 “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of ALL his troubles” (Not just SOME!)

v. 17 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of ALL their troubles.” (Not just SOME!)

v. 19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them ALL.” (Not just SOME!)

                While it’s true that God is able to deliver me from ALL my fears and troubles, it’s also true that Like David, I must choose to strengthen my relationship with Him in the good times. When I choose to bless Him at ALL times, with ALL that is within me, I will also seek Him in times of distress. In the measure that ALL that is within me blesses His holy name when life is good, my natural response in difficulties will be to cry out to Him and keep praising Him with the assurance  that He hears me and will deliver me from ALL my fears, ALL my troubles and ALL my afflictions – not just SOME!