WONDERFUL THING IN THIS PASSAGE – I read a survey once that said most people felt they’d be happy if they could just increase their income by 10%. Whether they made $40,000 or $400,000, just 10% more would satisfy them.
Few of us consider ourselves greedy, but few of us are truly satisfied with what we have. We’re almost happy – we just need a little bigger ____, a little better ____, a little newer ____, a little nicer ____. Just 10% away from contentment and never getting there.
In the closing chapter of Hebrews, the Lord warns us of this never-ending quest for more:
“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or abandon you.’ Therefore, we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Heb. 13:5-6).
WONDERFUL THING IN OUR LIVES – If you’re like me, you’ve sometimes wondered if God has lost your address or if He has lost interest. He hasn’t. Today’s passage explains three things you can do, even in the midst of scarcity, to “Be satisfied with what you have.”
Learn not to love “stuff” in the first place. – The love of money and the happiness it can buy is a snare, and it will eventually catch you. “Keep your life free” from it. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy things; you just can’t love them.
Learn to trust Him when you don’t feel Him. – When you have less than you need – less money, less security, less respect, less love, or less of whatever else it takes to be happy – it’s tempting to ask where God went. That’s when you decide to believe what He said: “I will never leave you or abandon you.” You believe it not because you feel it but because He said it.
I hope you won’t think this harsh, but dissatisfaction with life is essentially disappointment in God. It is discontent with the circumstances He has brought you into or allowed you to get into. When I find myself there, I choose by faith to declare: “Lord, You’re doing a good job with my life.” I may have to repeat it several times before I believe it, but it eventually works. It allows me to sink into contentment and ask God to show me what He wants me to do in these circumstances rather than how to get out of them.
Learn to trust Him so much you lose your fear of people. – You can decide what you will believe. You can decide to affirm: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Men look pretty threatening until you look at God, so spend more time looking at Him.
Please receive this blessing for this week as we finish Hebrews: “Now may the God of peace – who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood – may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen” (Heb. 13:20-21).
