by Wendy Wood
Lamentations 3:24 “The Lord is my portion”, says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him”.
Psalm 16:5 “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 142:5 “I cry to you, O LORD, I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
A portion is an amount that satisfies. A portion is neither too big, nor too little. When you go to Claim Jumpers restaurant, you a are served a gigantic dinner on an even bigger plate. You either leave with a box of food left over or you are uncomfortably full for the rest of the day and maybe even the next day. The meals at Claim Jumpers are bigger than a portion. On the other hand, you may go to a super fancy restaurant that focuses on the presentation of food, and you have an expensive meal but it is too small to fill you up. After dinner, you are still hungry. This is probably a ploy to get you to order a beautiful looking, but small, dessert, too. Neither of these scenarios is a true biblical “portion”.
“The Lord is my portion” means that God is everything we need to be rightly satisfied. He gives us all that we need in the perfect quantity at the perfect time. We live in a culture of “super size” and “big box” stores. We are people who are constantly looking for more and more. Whether it is food for a meal or storing up food in a pantry, we tend toward wanting more than enough. The Lord is my portion is God’s call for us to find complete contentment in him.
Proverbs 30 quotes the wise words of Agur son of Jakeh. He says in verses 8 and 9, “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” This Psalmist knew the dangers of having too much or too little. In either case, we tend to forget God. When we have riches too many, we start to depend on the riches and seek more and more. When we have too little, we start to worry about the future and take matters into our own hands to get more. We deny God and place our trust in our riches or ourselves. God gives each of us what is “needful for me”. God knows your heart perfectly. He knows what you need and what you don’t need. He knows where you will be tempted and gives you the right portion to sanctify you and draw you to himself.
The Lord is my portion means that I am content when my eyes are focused on him and not my circumstances. Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad in all our days.” To “satisfy” is to “fulfill the desires, expectations, or needs of a person and give full contentment to a person”. God, in Christ, has fulfilled our greatest desire and need. He has given us everything we need in Christ to be content and enjoy him forever. Philippians 4:19 tells us “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” When we are discontent, when we are striving for more and struggling to get what we want, we are not trusting in the glory of Christ. God’s supply of riches in glory in Christ are listed in Ephesians 1. God has given us “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. He “chose us in him [Christ]”, he made us “holy and blameless before him”, “he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ”, “in him we have redemption”, “the forgiveness of our tresspasses”. The list goes on and on. The Lord is our portion. He has given us everything we need to be satisfied. He has given us everything we need to be justified and made right with him, which is our greatest need.
Is the Lord your portion? Jesus said “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:27). Are you working for “food” that perishes? A better question might be, “What food that perishes are you working for?” Do you look to your phone to bring satisfaction after a long day at work? Do you stare at a screen to bring ease and comfort and rest? Do you look to your job for security in reputation and achievement trusting that bonuses or promotions will provide for you and your family? Is your “food” having children that are well behaved and achieving success in school? Does your satisfaction or contentment come and go with circumstances or times of plenty and famine? Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Jesus is the perfect portion for your heart. He fills our deepest longings and needs so that we can rest content without hunger or thirst for anything else.
The “bread of life” is found in the promises of God which meet every need both present and future. The Lord is my portion because he is faithful to his promises.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your
God; I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.”
The presence of God, his strength and help, his grip on you are what you need. Those are your portion.
Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold,
the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they
will be his people, and God himself with be with them as their God.”
Eternity is secure for all who place their hope and trust in Christ. The guarantee of eternity with God, living in his presence, is the portion our souls need.
Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in
you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
God promises to bring to work the process of salvation that started when elected you, called you, regenerated, you, converted you, justified you, adopted you and sanctified you. He will keep you persevering until you are glorified. Romans 8:30 again promises that “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Your portion is secure! He gives everything you need to bring him to himself and to keep you for all eternity.
Hebrews 13:6 “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not
fear, what can man do to me?”
God promises to be our helper! We have no need to fear over what man can do. When Joseph’s brothers came to him, he declared “What man meant for evil, God meant for good” (Genesis 50:20). Everything that happens to us, including the sin of others, God uses for His glory which is what is good for us. Our portion is forever, eternally linked in union with Christ. Our greatest need, to have the Lord be our helper, has been met.
Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” God’s path of life looks different from our culture. Culture tells us to seek more riches. Culture tells us we need to newest and latest technology and fashion. Culture tells us we need a newer car and an expensive education. Culture tells us we should hold a grudge and make someone pay for their sins against us. Culture tells us to save up money so we can retire early. Culture tells us to have relationships for happiness. God calls us to give generously. God calls us to love our enemies. God calls us to be humble and allow our relationships to sanctify us for his purpose.
Questions to consider:
Are you content? Do you spend time wishing you had different circumstances or different people around you?
What things do you have on “bucket lists” of things to do, buy, or accomplish that will make you happier? How is this not trusting that the Lord is your portion?