"Your life should be free from the love of money.
Be satisfied with what you have,
for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5
But if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with these.
I Timothy 6:8
How Strong is Your Faith? We may feel confident about the strength of our faith as we go through our daily lives. We go through faith exercises with regular church attendance, discipleship, tithing, acts of service, etc. We may check off the list of faith building activities on a regular basis, but what about our faith when tough times erupt? Our Reactions A true test of our faith can come on quickly with a health crisis within our family, a natural disaster, or financial chaos. How do we react when those times come? Hopefully, we lean into God’s promises in his word. Our reaction and response will reveal the depth and strength of our faith. It really comes down to our level of contentment and trust. The Level of Our Contentment My wife and I are teaching out of Ron Blue’s book “God Owns It All” to the young married couples at our church. We have been challenged with I Timothy 6:8 which qualifies our level of contentment. If we have food to eat and clothes on our back, we will be content! Paul’s admonition here in I Timothy seems counter cultural in the 21st century, but we often see evidence of this true contentment when a crisis comes. In the past few months following a storm or other natural disaster where people have lost all their earthly possessions, we see them share their story where they are thankful for life itself and the opportunity to start over with nothing more than the clothes they are wearing, and the meals provided by relief organizations. A Comforting Promise The writer of Hebrews provides a succinct statement in Hebrews 13:5. We should be satisfied with what we have because we have the Lord himself who is always with us. Do we really believe that? Do we really lean on that promise? No matter the tough times that test our faith, “He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.” May the strength of our faith be an example and encouragement for God’s glory.
Jeff Riddle MD5 Facilitator
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