“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.” (Hebrews 13:5)

This marvelous promise of security ought to serve to strengthen us in the face of any and all opposition. Our trust is in the Lord and His promises, in stark contrast to the preceding admonition to let our mindset “be without covetousness; and [to] be content with such things as [we] have.”

A covetous spirit actually breaks the last of the ten commandments, and this warning tells us that such a spirit can afflict a Christian if he allows himself to become discontented with God’s provision. The presence of God is far more precious than material possessions, and this should be enough.

The promise is even more emphatic in the Greek. The word “leave,” which means to uphold or sustain, is…