Contentment is hard to hold on to when we are always grabbing for more, more, more. How can we set aside fear and embrace trust in God’s promise to provide for us?
“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)
I feel like I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to squeeze one more dollar out of my day. From my first job at a pharmacy, where I picked up extra shifts in different stores, to college where I worked more hours than I studied.
While finishing my degree in Beijing, I also taught four freshman university classes and privately tutored.
In adulthood, I worked three jobs while pregnant and would clock in close to 80 hours a week sometimes. Even now, I will take my laptop to waiting rooms and write emails on grocery store lines.
There were definitely times when this was all necessary to make ends meet. But there were many more times when it was not.
Why was I chasing money so hard? And why could I never be content with what I had?
God provides…
There is a go-it-alone, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps feeling that exists in many of us. We thrive on our independence, our ability to make it work. We love feeling like we did the impossible, like work 24 straight hours on nothing but Red Bull and Snickers bars. Ahem.
But beneath the pride lies the fear. What if I can’t do it? What if I’m not good enough/strong enough/smart enough? Who am I and what am I worth if I don’t?
Money buys many things, but also feelings – peace of mind, pride, and security. But it rarely buys contentment. The chase for more is endless, and contentment is all about stopping and enjoying right where you are.
God never leaves us wanting, never walks away when we need Him. He provides for us and always makes a way for our emotional, spiritual, and physical needs to be satisfied. I have seen it in my own life more times than I can recall here.
Because He always provides for His children.
…so we can be content
I am learning this lesson a little each day. Like rehab for the workaholic. I am lucky not to need to work 80 hours a week in this season of my life, but maybe I never did.
Maybe instead of seeing God’s provision, I only saw my want. My lack. My fear.
Money will not buy us happiness, or better relationships, or contentment. But the good news is that those things are free. God will provide if we trust Him to do as He’s promised.
And God has never ever broken a promise.
This week, let’s all take some time to stop. To look around. And see beyond the fear to where true provision and contentment lie. Ours for the taking. If we can just trust…
Have a blessed Monday!
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