Confident and content

Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV)
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"


In these verses the apostle states a commitment we should follow in our Christian lives: We are not to covet money or the possessions of others. This is sin that should have no place in our lives for it lurks in our heart and if not subdued will enter into our thoughts and even our actions. The grace we receive from God is so contrary to covetousness because we forget what has been given to us and the pleasing moments of the past. Instead we long for more forgetting God has been the provider of good things all along. Because the Lord is our helper we should not fear and therefore not long for what we cannot obtain.


Years ago I bought an outdoor grill with a lifetime warranty. All was good until several years later when some parts failed and I tried to use the lifetime warranty. It seems the company that manufactured the grill had gone bankrupt and the company name was sold to another manufacturer. The warranty was no longer valid and what I thought was a promise disappeared with the company. In a world where we can't always depend on guarantees, there is one promise we can trust. Throughout Scripture we find the Lord's pledge to be with His people. In Deuteronomy 31 we read Moses' assuring words to Joshua: "The Lord . . . will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed" Hebrews repeats this promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In a world where we can’t depend upon guarantees there is one promise we can trust and that is the Lord will never walk away to leave us on our own. Man’s guarantees and promises fade over time. God however is eternal and His promises live forever. It is because of God’s faithfulness that we can live a confident and content life.