Being content with what God has given you

There are times when I wish I could have more things.  

A new computer would be nice.  (Ours is ten years old — anyone remember Windows ME?).  

I’d also love a big-screen TV.  

I could probably go on and on about things that I’d like to have.  

But as I read this passage, there is one thing that strikes me:  that we are to be content with the things that God has given us.

God told the Israelites, “There are some people out there who will be afraid of you.  But you are not to take what is theirs. I’ve given that land to them.  I will not even give you an inch of what belongs to them to you.”

What reason did God give the Israelites for being content?  He said,

The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert.

These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.  (Deuteronomy 2:7)

In other words, “God has already blessed you.  He has watched over you.  You have not lacked anything.  And so because of this, don’t desire what belongs to others.  Be content with what you have.”

It’s very similar to what the writer of Hebrews wrote.  He said,

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”

If God is for us, if he gives us everything we need, if he is always by our side, is there anything else we really need?