The Secret of Satisfaction

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” HEBREWS 13:5

 

PONDER THIS

The secret of satisfaction, of true contentment, is God Himself. If you told the man on the street that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the secret of satisfaction, he would laugh at you. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” The word “conduct” literally means behavior. The first secret of family contentment is God Himself. It is important to note we can’t just say we are content with God. We must also follow up with our behavior.

Does your behavior indicate you are content with God?

Where might you be seeking contentment outside of God? What might you need to change?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of the most frequent ways you spend your time. What does this say about where you seek contentment?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

I Can Be Content in Every Circumstance

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13)

God’s provision of day-by-day future grace enables Paul to be filled or to be hungry, to prosper or suffer, to have abundance or go wanting.

“I can do all things” really means “all things,” not just easy things. “All things” means, “Through Christ I can hunger and suffer and be in want.” This puts the stunning promise of Philippians 4:19 in its proper light: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

What does “every need of yours” mean in view of Philippians 4:11–12? It means “all that you need for God-glorifying contentment.” Which may include times of hunger and need. Paul’s love for the Philippians flowed from his contentment in God, and his contentment flowed from his faith in the future grace of God’s infallible provision to be all he needed in times of plenty and want.

It’s obvious then that covetousness is exactly the opposite of faith. It’s the loss of contentment in Christ so that we start to crave other things to satisfy the longings of our hearts which only the presence of God himself can satisfy. And there’s no mistaking that the battle against covetousness is a battle against unbelief in God’s promise to be all we need in every circumstance.

This is so clear in Hebrews 13:5. Watch how the author argues for our freedom from the love of money — freedom from covetousness — the freedom of contentment in God: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Faith in this promise — “I will never leave you” — breaks the power of all God-dishonoring desire — all covetousness.

Whenever we sense the slightest rise of covetousness in our hearts, we must turn on it and fight it with all our might using the weapons of this faith.

John Piper 

Is it possible to be content?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Paul came to a place in his life—not a physical place, but a spiritual place—where he felt divine contentment. Most people think they know what this word “contentment” means, but let me tell you what it means in God’s Word—“self-contained.”

In the context of this passage, we learn that Paul was thanking people for their love gifts to him, but he wanted them also to know that he was not dependent upon them because God had brought him to a place of sufficiency in Himself alone.

That is, Paul was able to say, “I have learned that I don’t need anything or anybody else, but the Lord. I have Him, and therefore, I am self-contained. I’m not self-sufficient. But I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

ACTION POINT:

Do you have contentment today in Christ alone?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Finding Your Contentment in Jesus

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“…and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’” Hebrews 13:5-6.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

As you face the new year, find your contentment in Jesus, your companionship in Jesus, and your confidence in Jesus. Then you’ll find your comfort and your courage in Jesus. When you are contented in Jesus and He is closer to you than any one on earth could possibly be; when you are confident in the midst of trials and testing that He will provide…then, and only then, will you know the courage that comes from His comforting presence.

ACTION POINT:

Pray, “Lord, with all my heart, with all I am, I want to know you. I want our relationship to be close and my faith to grow. Cleanse me and make me new that I may be all that You want me to be this year.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Jesus Meets the Heart’s Deepest Need

BIBLE MEDITATION:

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” - Philippians 4:11-12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When Paul wrote this he was in prison. But he said, “I've learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

The word “content” literally means “self-contained.” We're hearing a lot today about the "r" word, recession. Back in 1929 and 1930 when the stock market crashed, there were men who jumped out of skyscrapers, committing suicide. Why? Because the things they were trying to satisfy their heart with, they lost. That's where their security was. Friend, you’d better have your security, sufficiency and satisfaction in something that can't be tampered with.

ACTION POINT:

Paul continues, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That literally means, I can do all things through Christ who is pouring His life into me. Learn a life of contentment. Have the contentment of His provision—Christ Himself. The deepest need of your heart can be met in the Lord Jesus Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers