ESOCS Devotional 20 November 2022
TEXT: 1 TIMOTHY 6:1-10
MEMORY VERSE: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
In these scripture, a difference is made between what we need and what we want; and consequently, we are being counseled to lay emphasis on the things we need rather than the things we want. God supplies the basic necessities of life to us while He is taking us through the process that would lead us to Christian maturity. While the Holy Spirit works on our hearts and souls, God will provide the things we need for sustenance such as food, clothing, and shelter. It is the will of God that all things are well with us; but the spiritual condition of our souls in terms holiness, righteousness, and sanctification is more important to our heavenly Father than material blessings and acquisition.
What is most essential is having the life of Christ in us; and then, we should be satisfied with the basic necessities that God provides. That is the great gain! If we have all the wealth in the world but do not have Christ in us, that in itself is great loss! The choice is ours to make. Paul made the right choice. He left everything and followed Christ. His testimony was most beautiful. He said, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
We are not citizens of this world; for heaven is our home. We are here as pilgrims that have gone to a far country on pilgrimage. At the end of our time on earth, we would return home to God. However, we shall be asked to present our travelling passport at heaven’s gate. The passport is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). If we do not have Christ in us, we would “by no means enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Christ in us is an indication that we are “born again” and that we are “born of the water and of Spirit” (John 3:3, 5). When a person travels to another country on a visit, he goes with only the sum of money that would sustain him while he is in the far country. He leaves the rest of his possession in his home country. The abundance of God’s provision for us is stored up in heaven (not on earth). The Scripture says, “And my God shall supply all your need [not your want] according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
There is joy prepared for us in the paradise of God in heaven. We must be contented with what we have; and remain calm and thankful to God for our need that He supplies us daily. In Ecclesiastes 5:13-16, the Teacher says, “There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun … As [a man] came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labour which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a severe evil: Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has laboured for the wind?”
CHALLENGES
- Train yourself to be satisfied and thankful always for everything God gives you.
PRAYERS
- Pray that you may be given the spirit of contentment.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
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ESOCS Devotional 20 November 2022
