Psalm 16: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
Portion (def) - a person's destiny or lot. In this definition we see the significance of the portion the Psalmist is speaking about. The "lot" is the inheritance we have been given from God and sometimes in life things go so crazy the portion is all we can depend on. But it is enough. With it being enough we also get a peace about the crazy things and that peace goes well beyond what we can understand when it happens. But so it is with God and how He takes care of us. Proverbs 3:5-6 begins to make more and more sense when we are "up against it!" Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Part of the straight is making firm decisions about those things God shows us, even though we don't fully understand. That "trusting" may be the most difficult because we are leaving it up to God and that goes beyond our human reasoning. That is also why in Ephesians 6 its says12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. We are not struggling against "human" forces, but "spiritual" forces and that is a whole different battlefield. The Psalmist in saying "This is my lot in life" is saying that God has set this into motion in my life and I am satisfied with it because God is the one who did it. It seems like an easy fix to any conflict in our soul when we make it about the will of God. But surrender to and following that will at times will stretch our faith..
The Psalmist goes on in verse 7 to say I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. So when we are trusting the Lord as in the above Proverbs scripture we are trusting that His way is the perfect way and He shows us through His Word how things are fitting together. Paul called that knowing "the mind of Christ" and even just the little that is shown to us is almost mind-blowing! The comfort that comes in the midst of those crazy times is expressed in verses 8-11 where it says 8 I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
In other words, God will say in all situations. "Don't worry. I've got this!" This is the "lot" God has dealt to us. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient and really nothing else matters. He is God and we aren't. So trust Him and let that be your lot in life.
The Pilgrimage Continues...
David Warren
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