Many people are looking for the best fix and the soonest breakthrough that will get us through our financial lack. And while God provides every blessing through Christ, He seeks not only to work on our wallets but more importantly our hearts.
In my years of ministry, I've had dozens of prayer requests every week, and one of the most common requests has to do with money. There's nothing wrong with that. We all need money. Money is a helpful tool, and God wants you to have it. But as much as God wants to grant you financial provision, He also wants to provide you with the right heart and attitude towards it.
Philippians 4:11 teaches us, "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content" (ESV). We always hear about the spiritual discipline of stewardship, but rarely do we hear of contentment as a spiritual discipline. We think that contentment is a matter of the brain, and while partly it is, it is also deeply spiritual.
We all have needs. We all face lack, and it goes deeper than just the physical. Our spirits are also in need of satisfaction and contentment. Sadly, so many people search for spiritual contentment and end up filling it with the wrong things.
We search for financial gain in hopes that it will bring spiritual meaning, when from the beginning it was Christ that our hearts were crying out for. Growing in the spiritual discipline of contentment is crucial to financial breakthrough and the only way to grow in it is to grow in our contentment in Christ.
1 Timothy 6:7 lays it very simply: "But godliness with contentment is great gain" (ESV). Both godliness and contentment always come hand in hand. You barely ever see anyone without one or the other. That's because Jesus—our one true God—is the true source of contentment, and until we realise that, we will just keep filling ourselves with the wrong things—money, success, material possessions, disposable relationships—and we'll never be satisfied. We'll just keep feeling like we're lacking money and want more to fill our unquenchable lust for more.
God wants you to be free of financial lack, no doubt, but He also doesn't want you to be consumed by money. Contentment is the best antidote to a dangerous love of money. Hebrews 13:5 tells us, "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'" (ESV). We gain contentment when we fix our eyes on Jesus first, who is the source of everything and who meets all our needs, and then allow Him to add all things unto us.
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