Love God With All of You
08/23/2026
There are some things we can do halfway and still get by. We can half-listen to a conversation. We can half-clean the garage. We can even half-follow the directions and somehow get the furniture put together, although there will probably be three screws left over. But when it comes to our relationship with God, He has never invited us into a halfway kind of faith.
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
— Deuteronomy 6:5 (ESV)
Moses is speaking to a generation of people who are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. They have watched God provide. They have heard the stories of His faithfulness. They know what He has done.
And before they step into what God has for them, Moses gives them something they cannot afford to forget.
Love God with all of you.
That word all is what gets me.
Not most of your heart.
Not the part of your life that is convenient.
Not Sunday morning plus a prayer before dinner.
All your heart. All your soul. All your might.
God isn’t looking for a corner of our lives. He isn’t asking to be added to everything else we’re already doing. He wants to be at the center of it.
And that’s where this gets uncomfortable.
Because most of us probably wouldn’t say, “I don’t love God.” We do love Him. The harder question is whether there are places in our lives where we’ve quietly put up a little sign that says, This part is mine.
God, You can have my eternity, but I’m going to control my tomorrow.
You can have my worship, but I’m holding onto this grudge.
You can have my Sunday, but don’t get too involved with my finances.
You can have my obedience as long as what You’re asking doesn’t interfere too much with what I already want.
That’s not necessarily rejection of God. Sometimes it’s simply a divided heart.
And divided hearts can look pretty good from the outside.
We can sing the songs, know the verses, serve people, give generously, and still have areas we’re protecting from God.
That’s why this command goes deeper than behavior. God doesn’t just say, “Obey Me.” He says, “Love Me.”
Because obedience that grows out of love is different.
When you love someone, their desires begin to matter to you. You don’t constantly ask, “What’s the least I have to do to keep this relationship going?” You want to know their heart.
Jesus would later point right back to this passage when He was asked about the greatest commandment. This wasn’t an Old Testament idea that eventually got replaced. Jesus put it right at the center of what following God looks like.
Love God completely.
And here’s something worth noticing: right after this, Moses tells the people to keep God’s words on their hearts and teach them to their children. Talk about them at home. Talk about them when you’re walking down the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up.
In other words, loving God wasn’t supposed to be an event.
It was supposed to become the rhythm of their lives.
That’s still true.
Loving God with everything doesn’t mean you’ll do everything perfectly. It means there isn’t an area of your life where you’ve decided God doesn’t get a say.
Your relationships belong to Him.
Your plans belong to Him.
Your money belongs to Him.
Your future belongs to Him.
Your habits, your words, your decisions, your private thoughts, your ambitions—all of it.
And sometimes the greatest evidence that we love God isn’t what we give Him.
It’s what we’re finally willing to surrender.
Maybe the question for today isn’t simply, “Do I love God?”
Maybe it’s:
“Is there anything in my life I love, protect, control, or want more than I want Him?”
Don’t rush past that one.
Because God isn’t trying to take something good away from you. He’s calling you away from a divided life.
There is freedom in finally saying, “God, You don’t just get part of me. You get all of me.”
That’s where faith stops being something we practice and starts becoming the way we live.
Action Steps
* Ask God to show you the divided places. Pray honestly: “Lord, what am I still holding back from You?”
* Look at your everyday decisions. Your calendar, spending, relationships, habits, and priorities often reveal what has your heart.
* Surrender one specific area today. Don’t leave it as a general intention. Name something you’ve been controlling and intentionally place it in God’s hands.
Challenge for the Day
Identify one area of your life where you’ve been giving God some instead of all. Before today ends, surrender it specifically to Him and take one action that demonstrates you mean it.
Prayer
Father, I love You, but I know there are places in my life where I still want control. Show me what I’ve been holding back. I don’t want to give You pieces of my heart while protecting the rest. Teach me to love You with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. You have given Yourself completely for me. Help me live completely surrendered to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Jeff
#LoveGod #LovePeople #FindFreedom #FindYourDesign
There are some things we can do halfway and still get by. We can half-listen to a conversation. We can half-clean the garage. We can even half-follow the directions and somehow get the furniture put together, although there will probably be three screws left over. But when it comes to our relationship with God, He has never invited us into a halfway kind of faith.
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
— Deuteronomy 6:5 (ESV)
Moses is speaking to a generation of people who are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. They have watched God provide. They have heard the stories of His faithfulness. They know what He has done.
And before they step into what God has for them, Moses gives them something they cannot afford to forget.
Love God with all of you.
That word all is what gets me.
Not most of your heart.
Not the part of your life that is convenient.
Not Sunday morning plus a prayer before dinner.
All your heart. All your soul. All your might.
God isn’t looking for a corner of our lives. He isn’t asking to be added to everything else we’re already doing. He wants to be at the center of it.
And that’s where this gets uncomfortable.
Because most of us probably wouldn’t say, “I don’t love God.” We do love Him. The harder question is whether there are places in our lives where we’ve quietly put up a little sign that says, This part is mine.
God, You can have my eternity, but I’m going to control my tomorrow.
You can have my worship, but I’m holding onto this grudge.
You can have my Sunday, but don’t get too involved with my finances.
You can have my obedience as long as what You’re asking doesn’t interfere too much with what I already want.
That’s not necessarily rejection of God. Sometimes it’s simply a divided heart.
And divided hearts can look pretty good from the outside.
We can sing the songs, know the verses, serve people, give generously, and still have areas we’re protecting from God.
That’s why this command goes deeper than behavior. God doesn’t just say, “Obey Me.” He says, “Love Me.”
Because obedience that grows out of love is different.
When you love someone, their desires begin to matter to you. You don’t constantly ask, “What’s the least I have to do to keep this relationship going?” You want to know their heart.
Jesus would later point right back to this passage when He was asked about the greatest commandment. This wasn’t an Old Testament idea that eventually got replaced. Jesus put it right at the center of what following God looks like.
Love God completely.
And here’s something worth noticing: right after this, Moses tells the people to keep God’s words on their hearts and teach them to their children. Talk about them at home. Talk about them when you’re walking down the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up.
In other words, loving God wasn’t supposed to be an event.
It was supposed to become the rhythm of their lives.
That’s still true.
Loving God with everything doesn’t mean you’ll do everything perfectly. It means there isn’t an area of your life where you’ve decided God doesn’t get a say.
Your relationships belong to Him.
Your plans belong to Him.
Your money belongs to Him.
Your future belongs to Him.
Your habits, your words, your decisions, your private thoughts, your ambitions—all of it.
And sometimes the greatest evidence that we love God isn’t what we give Him.
It’s what we’re finally willing to surrender.
Maybe the question for today isn’t simply, “Do I love God?”
Maybe it’s:
“Is there anything in my life I love, protect, control, or want more than I want Him?”
Don’t rush past that one.
Because God isn’t trying to take something good away from you. He’s calling you away from a divided life.
There is freedom in finally saying, “God, You don’t just get part of me. You get all of me.”
That’s where faith stops being something we practice and starts becoming the way we live.
Action Steps
* Ask God to show you the divided places. Pray honestly: “Lord, what am I still holding back from You?”
* Look at your everyday decisions. Your calendar, spending, relationships, habits, and priorities often reveal what has your heart.
* Surrender one specific area today. Don’t leave it as a general intention. Name something you’ve been controlling and intentionally place it in God’s hands.
Challenge for the Day
Identify one area of your life where you’ve been giving God some instead of all. Before today ends, surrender it specifically to Him and take one action that demonstrates you mean it.
Prayer
Father, I love You, but I know there are places in my life where I still want control. Show me what I’ve been holding back. I don’t want to give You pieces of my heart while protecting the rest. Teach me to love You with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. You have given Yourself completely for me. Help me live completely surrendered to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Jeff
#LoveGod #LovePeople #FindFreedom #FindYourDesign
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