In Him, No Need

Hebrews 13:5 NKJV 

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."




What a precious promise from the Lord. Imagine if we really believed it, how much happier we would be.

How often lately I have caught myself coveting, wishing I had a little more money, for instance. It makes me sick to even say it. Compared with the rest of the world, I have so much, how could I ever want something someone else has in order to be happy? The fact is that if I got that thing, like a fancier house for instance, I still wouldn't be happy. If that made people happy, then why are the rich and famous committing suicide? The real fact is, this whole business of coveting is a big lie from the enemy, telling us that God is not enough.

Not only coveting material things, I find it easy to covet when I hear about other people's vacationing all over the world, as if seeing the world would take away the dissatisfaction in my soul. I remember hearing once from my old pastor, "Wherever YOU go, you have to take YOU with you." So even if I jet-setted over all the place, I would still have to contend with the person I see in the mirror every morning.

It has taken me a long time to realize this is just plain sin, and to be able to overcome it by realizing how very rich I am to be one of God's children, to be a part of His church and His very own body, even. It is not about what I see all around me, but being part of an invisible Kingdom. And that is enough to cause satisfaction that the world and all its tantalizing temptations cannot ever take away.

The whole world seems to scream at us to get more, want more, promising us happiness but never, ever delivering.  "Grab the gusto," the world hollers. But still we yearn for more.

Maybe that is part of the reason why people are giving up. They realize it is all just a big lie but they don't know what the answer is.

Just one verse from Psalm 23 is enough to quell this anxious stirring to have what others have, to do what others do.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

The most commonly quoted verse from the Bible tells us the answer if we just took the time in our busy lives to stop and think about it. We could spend the rest of our lives contemplating what that single verse promises to the child of God. We don't have to covet even one thing if we have the Lord. Not wanting means I will always have what I need, not necessarily what I want, but what I need.

 The plain and simple fact is that we live for the promises of the next life, not this life. So we really can agree with Paul when he told Timothy in I Timothy:

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.          I Tim. 6:6-8

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" Lamentations 3:8

One Day Soon...All will be Right

So many unsettling things are happening lately, acts of terror, earthquakes everywhere, devastating disasters, wars and rumors of wars, economic market collapses, flying fireballs from heaven, sinkholes swallowing people alive, to name a few. Who knows just what is really going on?

God does.

God alone.

In my reading this morning, I was blessed by Psalm 94.

In verse 11, it reduces all man's so-called knowledge, cunning, and conniving:

"The LORD knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile."

The word for futile in the Hebrew, according to the Blue Letter Bible, is hebel, is pronounced heh'vel and is
Strong's #1892.

It means:

1) vapour, breath

a) breath, vapour

b) vanity (fig.)

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1892&t=NKJV

So, in God's estimation, plans that are created to cause fear and terror in men's hearts are vanity.

God gives great encouragement to the believer in Christ who is living in these "perilous times." These are not times to cower in fear, but to strengthen our hearts in God and Christ, just like David did thousands of years ago. The words the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 94 are just as relevant NOW as when penned years before Messiah came.

Muse on these words, see how relevant they are to NOW:


94:12 "Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD,
And teach out of Your law,

94:13 "That You may give him rest from the days of adversity
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.

94: 14 "FOR THE LORD WILL NOT CAST OFF HIS PEOPLE,
NOR WILL HE FORSAKE HIS INHERITANCE.

94: 15 "But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

94: 17 "UNLESS THE LORD HAD BEEN MY HELP,
MY SOUL WOULD SOON HAVE SETTLED IN SILENCE."

94: 18 "If I say, 'My foot slips,"
Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up."

94: 19 "IN THE MULTITUDE OF MY ANXIETIES WITHIN ME,
YOUR COMFORTS DELIGHT MY SOUL."

So, there was the Old Testament's "magic pill" for anxiety, which was all the Jews had at the time. King David especially, lover of God's Torah, puts us to shame. We have the completed Word and yet David understood God's essence much better than we do! Right now, it is time for us to store up in our souls the Word of God, the only light that shines in this world of darkness that is reigned over by the prince of the power of the air.(See Ephesians 2:2)

There is refuge in no other person, no other hope found anywhere. There are no human solutions to the mess this world is in. Delight in the Lord (Psalm 1: 2), He will not let you down (Hebrew 13: 5). While we wait for His blessed appearing to come again in glory, I love what the prophet Isaiah instructs us to do:

Isaiah 26:20 "Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past."

The Lord will come and make things right on this planet. The Lord is a just and righteous judge, He is never unfair.(Revelation 16: 5-7).

Isaiah 26: 21 "For behold, the LORD comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain."

"Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
FOR ALL NATIONS SHALL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
For Your judgments have been manifested."

Revelation 15: 4

The Lord is in this Place

Well, its welcome to the New Year and to new ways of thinking. I know I sure need them. How about you?

Its been said it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Last time, I talked about my friend Judy Seligman teaching women that we do not have receive every thought that comes into our heads. The battle is in our minds.

I was tested on this again the other day. I found myself in deep discouragement. I am in the midst of a huge project that I suddenly thought seemed overwhelming. I allowed this little voice to suggest it was all of my own plans, that God was not in it, it was just me, thinking I could do something. I was all alone.

That day, I had been extremely tired. I had not had my time in the Word as I usually do, so I was an easy target. Nor did I exercise, which helps in these dark, short winter days.

It is amazing that in just the regular habit of reading through the Word, one can find answers for problems without even looking for a special verse. The next morning, when I sat down to read my next portion in the Word, I found my answer, and I wasn't even looking for it.

Jacob had been on the run from his brother Esau after he stole the birthright from him as the story is told us in the book of Genesis. Jacob, whose name meant "supplanter," because he didn't believe God's promise that he would inherit the blessing, deceived his father Isaac by pretending he was Esau and giving him food that Isaac thought Esau prepared. Yet the Lord still went with Jacob. He still gave Jacob, the supplanter, the promised blessing, and changed his name to Israel.

In Genesis 28, he dreams of a ladder reaching all the way to heaven, and God promises him descendants as the dust of the earth, that through them all families of the earth would be blessed (verse 14).

"Then Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.'" (Genesis 28: 16)

Right there, in that verse, I found my answer, "The Lord is this place." He has not forsaken me, He will not abandon me.

The Lord is in this place. The Lord is my Good Shepherd, He doesn't lead me somewhere and then leave me, laughing as He watches me squirm.

The Lord is in this place. He knows I am but dust. He knows how frail I am, how I need His Word to combat the lie that tempts me to quit.

The Lord is in this place. I did not know it. He knows how many breaths I have taken, and how many I have left.

If He has been there with me all along, why would He leave me now?

"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."

So we may boldly say:

The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13: 5-6

Next time you're tempted to quit, ask yourself, like I should have, "Just WHO is telling me this?" If it is a condemning, harsh, critical voice, you can bet it's not God.

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)