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5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV
Sound Advice
Truly sound advice is given in this one verse. Countless people have allowed themselves to get caught up in the pull of fame, prestige, position, and especially the desire for wealth accumulation that goes with it.
Others without great positions or wealth greatly desire to give the impression to others that they have more money or influence than they have.
In both of these situations, the love of money is at the center and brings heartache and purposeless wasting of life.
Be Content
Instead, be content with that which we have.
How do we do this? I believe the key is thankfulness to God our Father.
God Our Provider Deserves Our Praise
God has been the Provider of all that we have.
Every meal we have eaten, and every stitch of clothing with which we have warmed ourselves came from God.
Furthermore, every time we found ourselves in a place that protected us from the storm raging around us, we know that our shelter was provided by God.
He gave us the intellect to work and the physical strength to carry out the task.
All things come from Him and He alone deserves our praise.
Concentrate on the Goodness of God
When we concentrate on the goodness of God and His abundant provision for us, we are humbled.
Are you hungry today and in need of a meal? Praise Him for the times before in which you were fed.
Homeless currently? Thank Him for the days you had shelter.
Praise Him, give thanks, and rejoice that you have a God Who loves you and Who is aware of your needs.
Rejoice that He sees you and all you do. Continue to be grateful and continue on, believer, serving and thanking Him.
Trust Him
We can trust God for our present situation and our future because He was faithful and loving in our past. He is a God of all love and power and ability. Trusting Him in all things makes sense. He is worthy of our praise and trust.
Never Leaving Us
Our verse goes on. We are to be content because above all we have God’s promise that as believers and followers of Christ, we have the Presence of God with us.
He will never leave us.
He will never forsake us.
We are comforted and companioned on every side by God Almighty.
There is nothing we face of which He is not aware.
He is a God of power and protection.
If things seem to go wrong in our estimation, realize that God has seen the outcome and has all things in His Hands. Ultimately, it will come out well.
We might not see the end from where we stand now. In the midst of our storm, it might appear very dark and frightening. However, God has your hand and promises to be with you.
Romans 8:28 is a powerful promise that when we are His, good comes from our circumstances.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom.8:28KJV
Following and Obeying
Are we only giving lip service to Jesus or are we following and obeying Him in all things?
If we know beyond doubt that we put God first, we can expect that somewhere, someday, good will come from our difficulties at present.
Trust, Be Content, Praise
Trust. Give thanks. Be content. We have God with us and His promise to stay with us.
Nothing else compares to having God Almighty with Us.
Praise Him for That!!