#DailyDevotion Be Content & Don’t Be Afraid

Heb. 13 ⁵Don’t be greedy. Be satisfied with what you have, because He said: “I will never leave you or desert you.” ⁶And so we have the courage to say: “The Lord is my Help. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

We are told not to be greedy. This pretty much flies in the face of everything in today’s society. It doesn’t matter if you are politically left, right or center, the theme of the day is “More!” What is the opposite of greed? Being satisfied with what you have. This is not a new teaching here. Paul teaches us this often, 1 Tim. 6, “⁶Of course, there’s a big profit in religion if we’re satisfied. ⁷We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can’t take anything out. ⁸If we have food and clothing, we should be satisfied.” The LORD’s Prayer teaches us to be content when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus also teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 6, “¹⁹“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy them and thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where no moth or rust destroys them and no thieves break in and steal. ²¹Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Again Jesus teaches us, ³²“The people of the world run after all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need them all. ³³Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you, too. ³⁴So, don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” If God blesses us with more than we need through our diligent work, we should be looking around us to see who is in need and be God’s blessing to that person.

I find it interesting that he quotes Deuteronomy 31:6, 8. The Israelites are about to go into the Promised Land to take it. The LORD is promising there He is going with them to give them the land. He tells them several times to “be strong and courageous” and to not “fear or be dismayed.” Forty years earlier they did not believe the LORD’s promise and they were frightened by the spies’ report of the strength and number of the people they are going to be fighting. They had to wander 40 years in the wilderness until everyone one of them twenty and older died off. We, though, are not fighting against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in high places. They do not want us to trust God our Father to take care of us today or maybe even more importantly tomorrow. When we don’t trust God our Father for our daily bread, we can turn a blind eye to the poor with the excuse, I don’t know if I will have enough tomorrow. Then greed sets in. If we have food and clothing for the day, that is enough. Jesus promises us at the end of Matthew the same thing, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” With this we can be content.

He also seems to be quoting Psalm 56:4, 11. David wrote this psalm when fleeing Saul and was captured by the Philistines at Gath. There he feigned madness and was let go. In this context, I find it difficult at times to see how this is David trusting in the LORD and not fearing men. Yet, this is what David says in his prayer afterwards. He puts his trust in the LORD and believes the LORD looks upon Him treasuring David’s tears by putting them in a bottle.

In both of these instances, we see God’s promises are what gives us courage and strength to overcome greed and be satisfied with what we have. We have Jesus’ promise to be with us in every situation in life. We need not fear not having enough for today or tomorrow. Our Father knows what we need. We can be confident in this promise.

Heavenly Father, You know every need of our body and soul. Give us faith in the promise so we can be content and hate greed in ourselves. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.