The question mark in the quotation
Have you ever come across a confusing passage of Scripture? I have. In fact, two verses in Hebrews have always bothered me a little.
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. -Hebrews 13:5-6
The middle phrase, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” is quoted often, and almost every time it is used, the reader starts with, “for he hath said.” I understand why they do. Their point is usually something reassuring about how we are never alone. God is always with us. We can be encouraged and emboldened by God’s presence in our lives. While these facts are true and encouraging, the overlooking of the first part of the verse sparks a question mark in my mind.
The colon between contentment and companionship
For a time I thought perhaps the person who came up with the verse divisions for Hebrews just got these verses wrong. Obviously it is two separate thoughts and they just put a colon there instead of a period by mistake. Right? This explanation didn’t really seem right to me. I felt in my heart there was a deeper meaning I wasn’t seeing. The colon connects the dots between two seemingly disconnected thoughts. We will never be content with the things we have until we realize Jesus is all we need.
We will never be content with the things we have until we realize Jesus is all we need. Click To Tweet
When we look to a boyfriend or spouse to meet our every need we will be disappointed. Only Jesus can be everything we need. When we look to shopping to make us feel pretty or chocolate to feel calm we are putting a band-aid over the hurt only Jesus can heal. Nothing in this world can provide contentment except for Jesus. Only when we accept Him fully into every area of our lives will we begin to walk through life in power. He is our Help. He is our Protector. And He is all we need.
The cravings of our hearts are simply guideposts pointing to Jesus. Our healing and sufficiency is in Him alone. The temptations of this world bring pleasure for a moment then, leave a greater void than we had to start. The only path we can take to wholeness this side of Heaven is contentment with Jesus alone. All other paths lead to greater grief and unquenchable desire.