(Provider, Generous Benefactor contd)
1) Meditation 5: How much has God given you?
Psalm 16:5-6 LORD, you are my portion of inheritance and my cup; you take hold of my lot. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
The concept of a portion comes from the dividing of the Promised Land when the children of Israel first entered. God divided the land into eleven parts. To each tribe He gave some wonderful territory and said, “This is your portion.” After the eleventh (and final) part was given, God turned to the twelfth tribe (Levi) and said, “I am your portion.” (Josh.18:7) Everything the rest of the tribes would receive from God through the land, Levi would receive directly from God. Imagine a survival expert who takes his class into the mountains and hands each student some provisions and then sends them off into the forest for the night. When everything has been handed out his son says, “What about me? I didn’t get any provisions,” to which the father responds, “I’m your provision. You stay with me.” What a grand privilege it is to have God as your portion!
What is wonderful about this attribute:
Consider what the Father has promised you. If He did not even withhold His Son, how much more will He give you all things (Ro.8:32)? That means He has given you more than what Satan offered Jesus in the third temptation in the desert. Satan’s mightiest effort to entice Jesus to sin, when he exhausted his entire fortune offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, was the largest, most extravagant bribe ever offered; and God has given us more than that! Oh how generous and gracious and kind is our Lord!
But so much more importantly than that, God has given you Himself. He is your portion. He shines His sun and sends His rain on the unjust and the wicked, but He does not give Himself to the just and the unjust. He says, “You’re your portion” only to those He loves as children. He offers Himself as father, friend – even husband only to His beloved Bride. Oh, what a thought! To be loved by God in that way is a privilege beyond words. Focus not on the mercies of God as much as the God of the mercies. Complete satisfaction comes from God plus nothing.
The experience of His love makes bitterness itself sweet. It makes times of weakness and fatigue and hunger a blessed feast on the food “ye know not of.” The experience of His love turns weeds to flowers, the rod into an embrace, stones into bread, water into wine, the valley of deepest darkness into the mountain peak of joy and hope, the desolation into a garden.
Oh dear Lord, You are all I need and all I want. All my inheritance and promised blessing is in Your hand – firm and secure, like an anchor in the sanctuary behind the curtain. Thank You, dear Lord, for Your great and precious promises, and for making them so certain, that I might live in hope. Let me glorify You today by how much hope I have.
You are my portion. You are all I need; all I want. You don’t just fill my cup; You are my cup. You are the whole of all there is to fulfillment. You are the contents and the container. My lot is beautiful and delightful and pleasant. The landscape of Your plan for me is a spectacular vista – a wonderful sight.
What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God as your portion today?
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Experiencing this attribute:
How does one experience God as his portion? By relying directly on Him rather than on a paycheck or retirement account or any other intermediate means of grace. Learn to see all the good that you receive as coming from the hand of God. If you have peace in your heart and sweet rest, do not think that it is due to a comfortable mattress or plush couch or warm house. It is due to the presence of God, which, were it removed, would render you unable to find rest even on the world’s most comfortable mattress. If you have strength, realize that it came directly from God. If you have wisdom, motivation, joy, provision, love, virtue – to whatever degree you have any of those remember that it came from God, not from whatever earthly means it seems to have come from. And the more you see God as the source of all the good things in life (your portion), the more you will love Him.
Think: What good are you receiving directly from Him at this very moment? Try to think of both the obvious and the not so obvious.
Promise to trust today:
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Write your own prayer:
