Harvest Daily 11/10/04

Harvest Daily Devotional
by Pastor Greg Laurie

November 10
True Contentment

Be content with such things as you have.  For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

Contentment is a great thing to have in life.  It was the Apostle Paul who said, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (Philippians 4:11-12).

Here in Philippians, Paul makes it clear that contentment is not the idea of having lots of possessions.  According to Paul, we are to be content regardless of what we have.  Our contentment comes from Whom we know.  Experience tells us this principle is true because there are so many miserable rich people in this world today.  We read about them all the time.  Celebrities and sports figures who have power, fame, and money, but their lives are falling apart.  They are not content.

The only place we can discover true contentment is in a relationship with the Good Shepherd.  Let's illustrate this concept by thinking about Psalm 23:1: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."  Everything we need is right there in our relationship with God.  We shall not want because He is the source of everything we need.  He satisfies our spiritual thirst, preserving us and promising us guidance and peace.  In Him is where we find true contentment. 

Therefore, let us all proclaim, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Copyright (c) 2004 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.