"With you alway..."

 "All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father, 

and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

teaching them to observe all things 

whatsoever I have commanded you: 

and, lo, I am with you alway, 

even unto the end of the world."

Some of you have read and listened to people reading this passage countless times. I know I have. 

However, most of the time that I've read and heard it, it goes in one ear and out the other.

I understand this commission, right? or do I? After all, I've heard it all my life and I'm a missionary foraging through the risky waters of mission life in a foreign, dark land.

Well, no, I didn't understand it, nor do I fully understand it now. The Commissioner is teaching me, though.

The promise in verse 20, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," has given me much comfort and strength. 

But every time this verse pops into my mind, He is always faithful to bring to my attention the two preceding verses. He reminds me that this promise is conditional. You see, in order for Him to give this blessing to me in it's fullest measure, I need to be willing and faithful to fulfill the commission that He has called all His children to follow: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

Trusting in His promise in verse 18 that "All power is given unto [Him] in heaven and in earth," I must not only be simply telling them about Jesus, I must be "Teaching them to observe all things..."that Jesus has commanded me to observe. This includes every aspect in life, such as taking the best care of my body and spending time everyday alone with God. And in order for me to teach them how to live such lives, I must be diligent throughout everyday to live the life that He has called His ambassadors to live. 

When I am striving to fulfill His commission, by clinging onto His all sufficient power and dying to self, then God will be with me always even through the the darkest tempests.

"I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."