Chosen Portion

"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; You hold my lot." (Psalm 16:5) These words both challenge and secure me. The Lord is my chosen portion...this reminds me of Mary (sister of Martha) of whom Jesus said, "Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." A "chosen" portion because it is choice, or prime, highly desirable...above all else (Luke 10:41). I want to run daily towards my Savior, my "chosen portion." And my cup... "Cup" brings on a whole new element. We might look at Matt. 23:25 where Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees to "clean the inside of the cup..that the outside may also be clean." This was an analogy for their hearts, their lives. Yet the truth Jesus was communicating was that we, sinful man, can never clean our own cup, we need a Savior. Or a few chapters later Jesus prays "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." (Matt. 26:39) A cup of suffering, of sacrifice for sin. When Jesus looked into His "cup" he saw the terrible depth of our sin and the separation from God it would require Him to endure. Yet this is not what we see in our cup. Yes, we have "participation in the blood of Christ" in this "cup of blessing" I Cor. 10:15, but it is not a cup of separation from God, but one that brings us to God! "You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows!" Psalm 23. Our "cups" are our lives; washed, intermingled and overflowing by and with our Savior!

"You hold my lot." What security in these words! God holds our past, our present, and our future. We refer to "our lot in life" usually insinuating something negative. But knowing that Jesus holds this for us should transform our attitudes. Nothing can reach us without His sovereign permission. And it will turn out for good in our lives, bringing us closer to Christ and uniting us with him. Whether in joy or in sorrow. This is so encouraging! In fact, if we read the next verse in Psalm 16, we see "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance." I love these words. How many of us can actually say as we look back on trials and dark times in our lives that God hasn't used it to strengthen us and our closeness to Him? None, I hope. And perhaps if we're there in the dark place right now, we aren't feeling the truth of these words...the "pleasant places." But God will recycle the pain. He promises. And God always fulfills His promises. Be encouraged today as I am! God is at work. As we "choose" Him moment-by-moment to be our portion and cup, we can trust that He is holding our lot for us. And it will end in good, if we belong to him.

"I can't remember a trial or a pain, God did not recycle to bring me gain... All I have needed, His hand will provide, He's always been faithful to me."