Contentment: Truths from Proverbs 30: 7-9

By Gwendolyn Harmon

We live in a world that fights against contentment. It pushes us to listen to the longings of our hearts for the things we wish we had. And yet, contentment is an important mark of Christlike character and a means by which we show our faith in God. But how do we learn to be content?

Proverbs 30:7-9 gives us a glimpse into the heart of a man trul

• Language: English
• Publisher: Learning Ladyhood Press
• Release date: Nov 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735508733

Gwendolyn Harmon

Gwendolyn Harmon is a teacher, writer, and church musician who loves to encourage Christian ladies to be all that God designed them to be. She is the author of the Hymns for the Heart series and Learning Ladyhood, a blog about learning to be not just a woman, but a godly lady as well. To learn more, visit www.learningladyhood.com.

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Preface

This book is a personal devotional study on a specific passage of Scripture, but also on the topic with which that passage is concerned. While Proverbs 30:7-9 is the focus, I use many other passages of Scripture to illustrate the truths of the text being studied.

This is not a formal academic-level commentary, so I have omitted verse references when walking through an entire chapter of Scripture for the sake of readability. To make it clearer when a verse is being quoted, all Scripture is in italics.

I also flesh out some passages here and there with details implied , but not explicitly stated in the Biblical accounts. That having been said, my goal in writing is to be as accurate to Scripture as possible. God's Word is the foundation of this book, and my desire is to represent it truthfully and faithfully.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:105

Part 1: Content with God's Truth

1

Where Do I Begin?

Discontent has long been a struggle of mine. It is real and miserable and can become almost debilitating if we allow ourselves to feed it. It aches. It stings. It immerses its victim in a fog of sadness, dulling the bright reality of life in Christ. It is a destroyer of peace, joy, hope, and fellowship with God and with others. It makes our most precious dreams unutterably painful and hinders us from being conduits of God’s love to those around us.

When we are discontented, we turn inwards. We lick our wounds in isolation, far from the happy world we feel we cannot be a part of because of our dissatisfaction with some aspect of our existence. But it doesn’t have to be that way! God is able to deliver, even from discontent, and I pray that the truths in this book will indeed make you free. (John 8:32)

Proverbs is well known to be a book of wisdom; and what better than God’s wisdom to lean on regarding the nature of contentment and how to live it out in our daily lives! The passage which forms the basis for the following pages is one that gives a snapshot, as it were, of Biblical contentment in everyday life:

Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. (Proverbs 30:7-9)

The man God used to pen these Divinely-inspired words was named Agur. His name is just about all we know about him, other than what we can glean from the words he left behind. But those words speak volumes about his contentment. He was not looking for wealth or fame, nor was he prideful about where his provision came from. He simply wanted to be given enough --not too much, and not too little-- so that his life would honor God.

So how do we get there? This passage sheds some light on how to learn to live a life of contentment with God’s sufficiency. The next chapters will explore the foundation of contentment as well as how that translates into some very practical areas of life.

But it all begins with truth.

2

The Truth

remove far from me vanity and lies

The foundation of contentment is truth. In fact, discontent only comes when we have listened to one of Satan’s lies. Think about Eve. When Satan came to her in Genesis 3, he didn’t tempt her with truth, but with lies. He seemed at first simply to mis-speak.

"Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree