Introduction
Are you willing to let Jesus disciple your desires, so that you can be genuinely content right where God has you, even when others seem to have more? The central teaching of Hebrews 13:5–6 is this: God calls me to reject covetousness and learn contentment, because His unshakable promise is that He will never leave me nor forsake me, so I can live boldly without fear. Hebrews has been showing us the supremacy of Christ (Hebrews 1–2): there is nothing worth giving my worship, my heart, or my life to that compares with Him. Now in Hebrews 13 we’re living out the “therefore”, how holiness actually looks in daily conduct (Hebrews 12:14; 13:1–6). We’ve been exhorted to continue in brotherly love, to honor marriage, and now we come to what may be one of the most difficult commands to live:
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5–6)
This command will be challenged the moment you walk back into the circumstances of your day. Yet God is not teasing us with an impossible ideal, He’s calling us into a deeper satisfaction than our conditions can ever provide.
Main Points
Are you willing to let Jesus disciple your desires, so that you can be genuinely content right where God has you, even when others seem to have more? The central teaching of Hebrews 13:5–6 is this: God calls me to reject covetousness and learn contentment, because His unshakable promise is that He will never leave me nor forsake me, so I can live boldly without fear.
Hebrews has been showing us the supremacy of Christ (Hebrews 1–2): there is nothing worth giving my worship, my heart, or my life to that compares with Him. Now in Hebrews 13 we’re living out the “therefore”, how holiness actually looks in daily conduct (Hebrews 12:14; 13:1–6). We’ve been exhorted to continue in brotherly love, to honor marriage, and now we come to what may be one of the most difficult commands to live:
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5–6)
This command will be challenged the moment you walk back into the circumstances of your day. Yet God is not teasing us with an impossible ideal, He’s calling us into a deeper satisfaction than our conditions can ever provide.
The Rule: Contentment, Not Coveting
God gives a clear rule for my conduct: turn from covetousness and practice contentment (Hebrews 13:5). Covetousness is an intense desire for more, especially for what others possess. It flares up quickly in the human heart. I see it even in children: the toy someone else has suddenly becomes the most precious one in the room.
That’s why Scripture pairs these commands: “without covetousness” and “be content.” Discontent is rarely neutral; it often reveals a heart comparing, grasping, and quietly accusing God of not being good enough or not being wise enough.
I need to let the Word rebuke me here, not to shame me, but to free me from the “bottomless pit of more.” It’s exhausting to try to satisfy a hunger that was never meant to be satisfied by earthly gain.
The Mirror: A Child’s Tears And Our Hearts
Let me show you how absurd the “more” spiral can be with a simple picture.
A child longs for new shoes because someone else has them. He finally gets the dream pair. But before he can even enjoy them, he notices the bottoms got dirty from the walk to the car. Now the joy is gone, replaced by frustration, scrubbing, despairing, even crying because what he wanted so badly can’t stay “new.”
That’s funny, until I recognize myself.
This is what covetousness does: it promises satisfaction and delivers restlessness. Even when I get what I wanted, it’s not enough. The shine fades. The circumstances change. The “new” becomes normal. And my heart reaches again.
So I need a better ruler than my cravings. Hebrews gives me that ruler: contentment rooted in God.
Holy Comparisons That Train The Soul
A Puritan pastor, Thomas Watson, described contentment as a believer “sweetly captivated under the authority of the Word,” willing to live “in that sphere and climate where God has set him.” That’s not passive resignation; it’s joyful trust in God’s wise placement.
The problem isn’t noticing differences; it’s unhealthy comparison that steals gratitude and breeds impatience. So let me disciple you with four healthy comparisons that redirect the heart toward contentment.
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Compare where you are to where you came from. We entered this world with nothing, and we leave with nothing (cf. 1 Timothy 6:7). More importantly, we entered the kingdom with nothing but need. Remember your salvation, how God met you, rescued you, steadied you, and began changing you by grace. Everything you have in Christ is gift.
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Compare where you are to where you are going. We are “receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28). If my theology of heaven is thin, contentment collapses. But if resurrection is real and eternity is coming, then this life is a blink, the space between cradle and grave is short. That’s why Scripture says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). One practical application: remove inputs that constantly fuel comparison. For some, that may mean deleting social media for a season and replacing it with Scripture, worship, and Christ-centered teaching, because even the word content can become the thing that destroys contentment.
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Compare what you have been given with what you deserve. Apart from Christ, what I deserve is judgment, not blessing (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Yet Psalm 103 reminds me God has not dealt with me according to my sins (Psalm 103:10–11). Grace means I’m not getting what I deserve, and that reality, if I’ll sit with it, produces deep gratitude. Discontent often forgets mercy.
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Compare your wants with God’s wisdom. God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts… nor your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8–9). Not everything I want is good for me, and not everything I want is good for me right now. Contentment grows as I believe: if God has willed my current condition, then He has wise purposes in it, even if I can’t yet see them. Impatience often puts a stopwatch on God’s goodness. Faith rests in His timing.
The Reason: God’s Presence Is The Bedrock
Hebrews doesn’t just command contentment; it anchors it:
“Be content with such things as you have, for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)
Here is the foundation: my deepest need isn’t more stuff; it’s the nearness of God. Augustine said it well: our hearts are restless until they find rest in Him.
God’s promise is not that I will always have the circumstances I prefer. His promise is better: I will always have Him. He will not abandon me on the road to heaven. He will not grow tired of me. He will not discard me when life shifts, when plans fail, or when I feel weak.
This is why contentment can be unconditional: it’s not rooted in comfort; it’s rooted in covenant.
The Reminder: Change And Challenge Can’t Shake God
This “never leave you” promise shows up repeatedly in God’s dealings with His people.
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In seasons of great change: Moses tells Israel as leadership transitions, “Be strong… the LORD your God… will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Wilderness life is giving way to the unknown of the promised land. Stability is shifting. Yet God’s presence remains.
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In seasons of great challenge: God tells Joshua, stepping into huge responsibility and enemy territory, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you… I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). The mission is daunting, but God’s help is dependable.
So when my life changes, leadership changes, plans change, finances change, relationships change, I don’t have to spiral into covetousness or anxiety. The bedrock is not sameness. The bedrock is God with me.
That’s why Hebrews concludes:
“So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6)
This is courageous contentment: not denial, not numbness, but confidence that God’s help is greater than human threats and earthly lack.
Conclusion
I want you to learn a rule that will set you apart in this world: be content in Christ. Contentment is not pretending you don’t have needs; it is trusting that God is good, God is wise, and God is with you, so you don’t have to be ruled by the craving for more.
When discontent rises, don’t look sideways at someone else’s life and start measuring your worth by their blessings. Instead, train your soul with healthy comparisons: remember where you came from, fix your eyes on where you’re going, marvel at mercy instead of demanding “more,” and submit your wants to God’s wisdom.
Then stand on the reason beneath it all: Jesus has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Because the Lord is your helper, you can live boldly and without fear.
Father, I confess how quickly my heart drifts into covetousness and comparison. Forgive me for the ways I have measured Your goodness by my circumstances, and for the ways I have envied what You have given to others. Teach me to be content with what I have, because You have given me something greater than earthly gain, you have given me Yourself.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your promise that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Let that promise sink deeper than my anxieties, deeper than my cravings, deeper than my frustrations. Holy Spirit, retrain my desires. Help me set my mind on things above, walk in gratitude, and trust the wisdom of the Father in every season of change and challenge.
Make me bold to say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.” I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
I want you to learn a rule that will set you apart in this world: be content in Christ. Contentment is not pretending you don’t have needs; it is trusting that God is good, God is wise, and God is with you, so you don’t have to be ruled by the craving for more.
When discontent rises, don’t look sideways at someone else’s life and start measuring your worth by their blessings. Instead, train your soul with healthy comparisons: remember where you came from, fix your eyes on where you’re going, marvel at mercy instead of demanding “more,” and submit your wants to God’s wisdom.
Then stand on the reason beneath it all: Jesus has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Because the Lord is your helper, you can live boldly and without fear.
Closing Prayer
Father, I confess how quickly my heart drifts into covetousness and comparison. Forgive me for the ways I have measured Your goodness by my circumstances, and for the ways I have envied what You have given to others. Teach me to be content with what I have, because You have given me something greater than earthly gain, you have given me Yourself.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your promise that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Let that promise sink deeper than my anxieties, deeper than my cravings, deeper than my frustrations. Holy Spirit, retrain my desires. Help me set my mind on things above, walk in gratitude, and trust the wisdom of the Father in every season of change and challenge.
Make me bold to say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.” I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.