Feature Contentment


“Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Ps 86:11). By Eric Hancox, pastor of Covenant of Grace ARP Church


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we’re called to face or endure for our true and lasting good, as He continues to fashion the likeness of His Son in us. This contentment was the subject of a recent Wednesday evening lesson the tenth commandment, and, as the Apostle says, combined with godliness, such contentment is great gain (cf. 1 Tim 6:6). Certainly, there are a number of things in this life that tempt us to discontentment. In a culture inundated with materialism, there is the constant temptation to covet what we don’t have and to feel that we can’t pos-  designed to elicit a covetous response, and the temptation to discontentment becomes quite a formidable foe. In addition, there is the fact that, in a fallen world, our circumstances often seem far from ideal. There are re- lationships that we wish were otherwise than they are. There are fears we wish we didn’t have to face. There are illnesses that weigh us down, not only physically but often emotionally and spiritually as well. There are challenges and hardships that we would much prefer to avoid, if at all possible. Put any number or all of these  so much of the Lord’s goodness, in grumbling against the God who loved us and gave His Son for us. I’m no  that tempt us to discontentment. And yet, the Lord repeatedly warns us against such a grumbling and ungrateful spirit in His Word. There is the explicit command not to covet, which serves as a call to rather be content (cf. Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21). Then there is the example of the Israelites of old. Rather than acknowledging their God’s consistent supply all their days, trusting Him to continue to provide, and calling upon Him in faithful prayer, they complained against the Lord when they feared they wouldn’t have good water to drink or food to eat in the wilderness. When He The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


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have been praying for you this week. As I pray, I have been asking, among other things, that the Lord would grant us, in whatever situation He places us at any given time, to know the contentment of know- ing that we belong to Him, that He is with us, and that He is absolutely committed to using everything


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