“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 for sake thee.” – Hebrews 13:5

    Have you ever noticed that just when you think something is there for you…it isn’t? That morning, we had kind of a shock at the Brown house.

    Many years ago, we put in an above ground pool in the back yard. It was about 4 1/2 feet deep and 24 feet round. In other words, it was a good size pool — holding about 15,000 gallons of water.  Remember that fact. 15,000 gallons of water. That’s going to be important here shortly.

    That morning, Paula went out into the backyard and didn’t notice anything especially different about the yard. She went about her yard work and happened to glance over at the swimming pool.

    Imagine her surprise when she saw that it was completely empty of water! All 15,000 gallons were gone. I’m talking not enough water in there to cover your foot. Gone.

    Either the birds were really thirsty, there was a water thief on the loose or we had a leak somewhere!

    Somehow, during a storm the day before, our pool vacuum hose was tossed halfway out of the pool, with the other half remaining in the pool. It turned into a siphon that drained just about every drop of water in that pool.

    Needless to say, we didn’t get to swim that day. It took over two days to fill the pool up with water again!

    As I thought about this incident, it reminded me again that the things of this world were like our swimming pool that day…they are empty. And they don’t last.   They are here for a moment and gone when you really want them or need them.  Suddenly.  Unexpectedly.  They’re gone without warning.

    If you put your trust and your happiness and your hope in possessions and pleasures and personalities and the things this world has to offer, sooner or later you’ll find that they are empty and gone when you turn to them.

   Only Jesus Christ can truly satisfy and endure for all times. The things of this world will pass away, but not the Eternal One. He will stay with you forever and ever and ever!  Only Jesus can provide truly satisfying and lasting hope and joy and peace. Everything else is just temporary. You go to bed one night with the full swimming pool, and you wake up to an empty circle of plastic and metal that does nothing to satisfy.   That’s the world’s way of doing things. 

    But no one has ever turned to Jesus to find Him missing in action.  In fact, the Bible says, “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

     We love that part of the verse, don’t we?  Do you remember what else that verse says?  Here it is in its entirety:  “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 for sake thee.”

     Materialistic cravings and greed reveal dependence upon money rather than on Christ.  They center on pursuing earthly riches rather than heavenly rewards.  They show a care for possessions that overshadows a care for the things of God.   In other words, they tend to put their trust in disappearing water rather than living water!

     What about your life today? Are you putting too much emphasis on things that don’t last, things that will leave you feeling empty?

     Or are you living for Christ, trusting in Him and securing “treasures in Heaven” that don’t leak out only to leave an empty shell of what used to be.