“Always” and “Never”

He NEVER prophesied good unto me, but ALWAYS evil. —2 Chronicles 18:7

The two adverbs “always” and “never” are antonyms. “Always” is a universal positive meaning at all times, while “never” is a universal negative meaning at no time in the past or future.  Each word occurs almost equally in Scripture: “Always” occurs 85 times; “never” occurs 86 times.

I like how these God uses these two words in the Bible. They provide hope and assurance.  Several of God’s promises hinge on these two words.  For example, Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you ALWAY, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Mt. 28:20).  Jesus also assures us, “I will NEVER leave thee nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).

Again, 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” — Therefore we can pray with the Psalmist, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion” (Ps. 71:1).

And again, 2 Corinthians 9:8 promises, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency.” — Therefore we can cast our “burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Ps. 55:22).

What a blessing! When confronted with what appears to be a hopeless situation, you can grab ahold of these promises based on “ALWAYS” and “NEVER.” They will carry you through the hard places in life.