"Be Content - part 2"

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

Yesterday we discussed the need to be content because we are generally discontented people. We always want more than we have. We said there are blessings attached to contentment and ruin attached to discontentment. Knowing we need to be content is one thing, but how do we achieve it? How do we reach that place of contentment? Like we said yesterday, the Apostle Paul testified that he had learned how to be content regardless of his situation. So it is possible. This morning let's discuss how we can reach the place of contentment.

Contentment doesn't come naturally. It is part of a daily process. When we look at our verse above, it seems as if the end of the verse has nothing to do with the rest of the verse and is a misplaced attachment. It seems to me that after he said, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have", there should be a period. What does, "for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee", have to do with contentment?

As Christians, our delight is in the Lord. He fills that empty place in our lives. He fills our longings. He is the object of our desire so in Him our desires are fulfilled. If He is the fulfillment of our desires and He said He would never leave us, then our desires are fulfilled as long as He is there-- which is always because there is never a time when He leaves us. Therefore, that leaves no room for discontentment, because what we desire is fulfilled and with us always.

Discontentment comes when we get discontent with the Lord. It comes when He is no longer the longing and desire of our heart. It comes when we stop putting Him first in our lives. It comes when we start placing "things" above Him. If He is always our first and greatest desire, then these other things that we "desire" to have will find their proper place in our lives. Some we will obtain, some we won't, some we will decided aren't really that important.

So the key to being and staying content is found in putting and keeping Him first-- the first longing and first desire of your heart. Then, like I said, everything else that we desire will fall into its proper place. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

Have a great day. Contentment is found in the Lord. Discontentment comes when we are no longer content with Him.

For further reading:
Psalm 37:4; 63:1; 84:2; 103:5; 107:9

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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