Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.” - Hebrews 13:5
It’s so easy to be discontent. The more we have, the more we seem to want.
Eve faced such discontent even in Paradise. She allowed herself to become dissatisfied with what God had given her. She wanted more. She believed the snake when he told her that she could (and should!) have more. Then Paradise wasn’t enough for Eve (Genesis 3:1-19). Can you imagine how that could be? Yet the snake still tries to tell us that there must be something else that enough money could buy us that would really satisfy our discontentment.
Are you like Eve, thinking you should have more? Have you become dissatisfied—not enough money, not a big enough home? Perhaps you feel that you’re not smart enough, thin enough, or beautiful enough. Perhaps you’re rebelling against the role to which God has currently called you—and you want (or feel you deserve) more. Are you looking afar for “paradise”?
You need not look any further than your heart. Paradise is found in obedience to God, service for God, and a deep knowledge of God. As long as we believe that paradise can be purchased and furnished with our own hands and means, we will be doomed to discontentment. Once we put spiritual life before material living, paradise will be our home. God has promised never to leave us and never to fail us. To accept ourselves as God created us, to do what he wants us to do today, and to revel in his love for us—that is paradise.
For Further Study: Hebrews 13:1-25
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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