Devotional: 1 Timothy 6:6

1 Timothy 6:6 AMP

⁶ But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God].

In Psalm 23 verse 1, King David reflects on God’s sufficiency. God being his shepherd makes him lack nothing. The attributes of God are set in that He is, always was, and always will be our Lord God almighty. We can forever call on God to fill the void parts of our lives. To draw on God’s sufficiency, we need to depend on God for everything. We learn to depend on God by setting all our ways before Him, whilst admitting all our faults and shortcomings. This act of humble surrender aids in crucifying our flesh. Humbly surrendering ourselves allows God’s sufficiency to work in and through us because there is no longer opposition against godliness. The heart of stone creates opposition; however, humble surrender allows us to receive a heart of flesh from God (Ezekiel 36:26). Our renewed disposition includes a satisfaction derived from our confidence in Christ. This renewal releases us to live in and receive godliness, which is a source of great gain. A benefit we can experience from this is freedom. For example, one might find freedom from pessimism since godliness helps in leading a positive life with a positive mind. Another example is freedom from world dogmas, especially those that encourage excess. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it (1 Timothy 6:7 NIV). Hence, we easily perceive God as being enough, and His sufficiency living in us makes us sufficient in living godly lives. Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God (2 Corinthians 3:5 AMP).