Thanksgiving Day has passed and we’ve all been reminded to be grateful for the many blessings we enjoy. I was reading Hebrews 13:5-6 in preparation for a heart of gratitude and the passage refers to contentment. And if you think about it, contentment is tied into gratitude. When we are discontent, we aren’t grateful for some aspect of our life. We want more or we want something to be changed. We aren’t content the way things are.
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?” (Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV).
I was struck with how wonderfully God communicates why we are not content/grateful at times. God gives us the antidote to fight discontent but we must first recognize the lies we believe, which are the opposites of God’s promises in those two verses. If we don’t pinpoint the lies, we can’t combat them with God’s truths.
I’ve put in bold blue those truths. Here are the lies they are indicating and how God invites us to combat them. I’ll cover the first one this time and the other two in two future posts.
God has left or forsaken me, therefore I am on my own. Talk about feeding our discontent and lack of gratitude. The pressure of trying to figure out life on our own is a heavy burden.
My primary discontented period of life occurred years ago yet set the stage for me learning that God would never leave me nor forsake me. (Tweet that!) In 1977, after seven years of marriage, I was discontent with my life to the point I was physically abusing my two-year-old daughter and praying my husband would die. I almost took my life. Discontent fed depression and landed in despair. I prayed over and over again that God would take away my anger, but when He didn’t, I concluded He had left me and forsaken me because He no longer loved me.
What lies! The truth was He just had a better plan of learning His steps for overcoming anger and being content with a husband who seemed oblivious to my needs. God healed our family and marriage and began my ministry. I can say confidently, you and I are not on our own. No matter the status of our lives, He is aware and knows the plan for our good and His glory.
In our next post, we’ll find a second lie from Hebrews 13:5-6 that destroys our gratefulness.