CONTENTMENT

Mark 8:8
They ate and were satisfied.
------------------------------------------

According to tradition, this is how an Eskimo hunter kills a wolf. First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood. The hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood.

He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the cold Arctic night. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to crave more until in the morning light, the wolf is found dead on the snow!

Almighty Father, You are my contentment. With You in my heart, I shall forever be contented with what I have. You have filled my needs and given the gift of the assurance of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. With that promise firmly in our purses, what more could we possibly need.

Oh Lord, may we not replace You with greed and addiction in our lives. Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (1 Tim. 6:6-9). In our hearts, we know that we are infinitely richer than the richest man in the world. And we only need to know and believe in Your Words to constantly fuel our hearts and our souls day after day to maintain our status.

“…earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you...
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.”

In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.