What if’ is a fool’s game that nobody wins. We’ve got to deal with things the way they are.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Buckskin Line)
“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.'”
–Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)
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I wanted to do that, I wish I had this, if only I had this job, that would be a better career for me…and on goes the discontent. People are upset that they no longer can or are able to do things they wanted to do. Perhaps it is because I am on the elderly side now that I see with a new/different perspective.
“Better is the sight of the eyes [the enjoyment of what is available to one] than the cravings of wandering desire. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it!”
–Ecclesiastes 6:9 (Amplified)
Listen! Nothing on this earth will ever satisfy the cravings of your soul. This is one of the deceptions that the devil will throw in front of you. He will make you crave for something faster, prettier, better. More, more, I want something better becomes the cry of the soul.
The enemy of your soul wants for you to indulge in your cravings. Then he’ll make it so you want more, then more. Frustration will come, depression will grab hold of you, for you cannot ever satisfy your cravings. You hunger after the things of the world; your eyes lust after the lure in front of them. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, one fruit looked better, therefore it must taste better. They were not satisfied with everything else, they wanted something more.
Paul instructs us to be content with what we have. “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11, NKJV). If you are given an added blessing, be thankful and content, don’t be wishing you had more, or that you deserved the additional blessing. Learn to be content. For example, people are constantly complaining about the weather and there is nothing they can do about it. Learn to be content in all situations and circumstances… hmmm, it could be worse.
When God gave Moses the law, one of them was, “Do not covet” (Exodus 20:17). I would venture to say that all of the previous nine laws could be listed under coveting. Why steal, why lie, why commit adultery, why make idols? Because you are not satisfied, you want more. Be content–only contentment can conquer the constant craving for more. Enjoy what you have for wanting more is emptiness and futility.
2021 is here, learn to be content with the Lord. If you have plenty, be content. If you have less, be content. Be at peace with what God has given you. Do not murmur or complain but give thanks for what you have. As Solomon wrote, craving more is useless, it will not satisfy.