HEBREWS 13:5-6

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.” So we can confidently say, 

 “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;  what can man do to me?”

TO PONDER

Growing up, my family was not well off. We often had to make do with the bare essentials and hand-me-downs. I remember how, at the beginning of every school semester, Mum would tear the used pages out of my older brother’s and sister’s notebooks and exercise pads before giving them to me. School uniforms were re-used, generation to generation. A single pair of Oxford shoes was expected to last the whole year. At times I would get angry, my brother’s uniforms were a poor fit for me, and the books crumpled and hollow between the covers. Worse still were all the cool things other kids had – toys, games, new bikes and shiny helmets. “Why does my family have to be so poor!?” was my unvoiced complaint. 

Yet despite how terrible it seemed at the time, we never missed a meal. We always had enough. Mum was an expert at turning a little into a lot. We had clothes, warm beds, and parents that dearly, dearly loved us. 

At times it is tempting to look at our own churches and think “Why does my family have to be so poor!?”, and to look at other churches with their shiny big-screen TVs and media equipment, packed pews, and generous parking lots and think “Why don’t we have that?!” It is easy to fall into envy. But God has a message for us: don’t love the things of the world, be content with what you have and what I have given you. Have no fear, I will not forsake you. 

We can learn to do a lot with a little. Let us look at how we can use what God has given us, for His glory, and so that others may come to know the unfailing love of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let us trust wholly in God our Helper, who has done all things.

PRAYER: Jesus Christ, thank You for loving me, thank You for providing for me, thank You for all that You have done, are doing, and will do. Help me to see what I have, and to use my time, talents, and treasures for Your Kingdom. Show me how to be an effective steward of all that you have given me. In your precious and Holy name, Amen.

Today's devotion written by Anthony Fawcett, St. Paul's Sydney & on loan to LifeWay Westside.