God is With You
Is God’s presence enough for you?
Verse of the Day
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.”
Today’s Devotional
Other translations say that we should not covet and should be content. So…coveting can be compared to being a lover of money. When I think of covetousness, I think of wanting something that someone else has. But this verse is telling me that coveting can also be simply wanting more than I currently have.
Let’s be clear about something. I like nice things. I am not in the stratosphere of the ultra-rich. Nor do I like to spend a lot of money on any one item, but as a whole, I like nice things. Perhaps I am more of a lover of money than I’d like to admit.
I have noticed that the things I covet most are qualities in others that I feel I lack. I have been coveting rest and renewal because I have been feeling deprived of it. I have coveted the freedom of schedule that I once had. I have coveted the capabilities of others to handle things in much larger quantities than what I am handling. All of those things reveal a lack of contentment that I have been battling.
Let’s take the last part of this verse and see where it leads us. “Be content with what you have because God is with you and He isn’t ever going to leave you.” (My paraphrase.) This can apply to any kind of “lack” we may experience. Are you content with the current level of peace in your life? You should be because God is with you. Are you content with your current financial situation? You should be because God is there. Are you content with who you are as a person? You should be because God made you and He is right there with you. Are you content with your current level of spiritual growth? You should be because God is walking alongside you to help you grow closer to Him.
I read something by Spurgeon about this verse that resonated with me. “I cannot, under the influence of this grand text, find room for doubt or fear. I cannot stand here and be miserable tonight. I am not going to attempt such a thing; but I cannot be despondent with such a text as this, “I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.” I defy the devil himself to mention circumstances under which I ought to be miserable if this text is true. Child of God, nothing ought to make you unhappy when you realize the truth of this precious text.”
Because God is with me, right in this very moment and all other moments, I can choose to be content. No matter the circumstances. Contentment, then, is about realizing who I am as a beloved child of God and not at all about what I have. Each and every one of us is a beloved child of God. What I have in this moment is enough. Because God is with me.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Where do you struggle with financial or material wants?
Where do you covet non-material things, like qualities that others have?
How does Spurgeon’s comment affect you?
How would your life look and feel different if you truly believed that God is with you?
Is God’s promised presence enough for you today?