Portion
One of my favourite stories in the Bible is that of Joseph. Not Jesus’ carpenter father, but the one in the Have you ever been out, or invited to someone’s house for a meal and wondered what will you have to eat? Usually, it’s a pleasant surprise!
Or have you been in the situation where your meal has arrived and you think to yourself, ‘that’s not enough’?
On occasions, my wife does a superb, full on, traditional Sunday roast. She always makes plenty and it looks, smells and tastes fantastic.
Afterwards, I have the joy of tidying up the kitchen – which I love. That includes getting the maximum items into the dishwasher… bliss!
Thinking about food portions, I read Psalm 16 recently and verse 5 caught my attention…
“LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.”
This Psalm, written by King David, is all about how he found the secret of contentment and gladness in difficult times – a timely word for us?
Here, David declared that God was his ‘portion’ and ‘cup’. In other words, David said that God alone was his ‘share’, and that was good enough for him!
David was the youngest of eight brothers and so naturally he could expect no inheritance from his family. But David saw that having God was his good ‘portion’.
The ‘cup’ is a metaphor to what a host would offer guests. Here, David receives God’s cup offered to Him, and it is good, overflowing and a blessing!
The bottom line for David was that his security was not in money, property or reputation – but in God alone!
In this cold, dark, January time, when life is tough, let me encourage you to ponder this verse, and the whole of Psalm 16.
There is a loving and good God out there who longs to connect with you! Like David, may you and I discover that God alone can be our portion, our cup and our security.
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader