Morning By Morning #321

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion.”

Lamentations 3:24

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Notice this verse does not say, “The LORD is partly my portion” nor “The Lord is in my portion.” No, He Himself makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance, for within His circumference lies all we possess or desire. “The LORD is my portion”—not merely His grace, His love, nor His covenant, but Jehovah Himself. He has chosen us for His portion, and we have chosen Him for ours, although it is true He had to first choose our inheritance for us or else we would never have been able to choose it for ourselves. But if we are really “called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28), of electing love we can sing:

Loved of my God for Him again

With love intense I burn;

Chosen of Him ere time began,

I choose Him in return.

Augustus Montague Toplady, 1740 – 1778

The Lord is our all-sufficient portion, for since God fills Himself and is all-sufficient in Himself, He is all-sufficient for us. And it is not easy to satisfy our desires because when we think we are satisfied, we will soon have the feeling there is something yet to be fulfilled. “The leech” in our heart soon begs for more, crying, “Give! Give!” (Prov. 30:15). But all we could ever wish for is found in our divine portion so we may declare, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25).

Therefore, may we “delight [ourselves] in the LORD” (Ps. 37:4), who causes us to “drink from [His] river of delights” (Ps. 36:8). Our faith “will soar on wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31) into the heaven of God’s divine love as its proper dwelling place. “The boundary lines have fallen for [us] in pleasant places; surely [we] have a delightful inheritance” (Ps. 16:6). Let us “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4) and may we show the world we are a happy and blessed people, causing them to exclaim, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you” (Zech. 8:23).

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

The Lord is indeed our portion, or inheritance, and He loves to bless His people who find their delight in Him. Today Spurgeon quotes a portion of the following verse, expressing that truth: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This passage has a two-fold meaning.

Most people understand that the Lord wants to fulfill “the desires of [their] heart,” and that is true. Yet many people miss the fact that He not only fulfills those desires but He gives us the desires in the first place. Notice the specific wording: “He will give you the desires of your heart.” Thus, our gracious Lord not only fulfills our desires but He has placed those very desires within us!

Believer, do you understand how this brings Him great glory? He is the originator of the desire—and its fulfillment. It is all about Him and His greatness. This then helps us understand why certain of our desires may not be fulfilled, for they may not be of Him, or perhaps He is teaching us the importance of waiting on His timing. Therefore, may we seek contentment in Him alone as our portion!