My Portion, My Hope

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the LORD's great love I am not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.  I say to myself, "the LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him".  The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.  It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.  Lamentations 3:21-26 NIV

I have said this many times before but I love words.  Look at some of the words of these verses with me.  Yet.. call... mind... therefore... hope... love (KJV says mercies) ... compassions... new... faithfulness... portion... wait... good... seeks... wait... quietly... salvation... LORD!

Go back and look at some of the phrases...  call to mind... therefore I have hope... because of...the LORD's great love...I am not consumed... His compassions never fail... new every morning... Great is YOUR faithfulness... the LORD is my portion...  therefore will wait for HIm... The LORD is good... hope is in Him... one who seeks Him...  it is good to wait quietly... for the salvation of the LORD.  

His Word says it all, huh?!

I am given several jobs in this passage... and for me this is good news because I am always wanting to do something to help...or at least it seems helpful in my mind ;))  Call to mind... what? ... And if I do I get to have hope.... what?  THE LORD'S GREAT LOVE!!!  Call it to mind, Tammy and you will not be consumed.  Consumed by what?  Well for me it is consumed by myself, by worry or wondering should I have or should I? etc.  For you it might be something different.

So what am I to do first?  Call to mind God's great love (FOR ME!) and realize that I will not be consumed whether I 'deserve' to be or not.  Wait, what do I mean?  Whether I have fallen into the same sin trap again or whether it is just because of my own human weakness... I am not consumed (by sin, by my past, by my flesh, by my current weaknesses) but by His love.  WHY???  Because His COMPASSIONS NEVER FAIL!!!

Mind boggling ... but certainly true and where I can get hope!  He loves me and He has compassion on me all the time.  He, unlike me, never tires or never gives up or in.  I praise You God!  You are truly amazing and I am thankful for You! 

The word/phrase that is jumping out at me today is "The LORD is my portion".

My LORD, my MASTER, my SAVIOR, my BOSS is my portion.  Portion?  What does that mean exactly?

Looking at my favorite commentator, Warren Wiersbe, he says, "If the Lord is 'our portion' (Psalm 73:26 - My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever); Ps. 142:5 - I cried out to You, O LORD; I said, 'You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.'"), then we are strengthened by that which cannot be used up or destroyed.  God is our eternal source of strength, hope, and blessing (Ps. 46:1 - GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.)  Our circumstances change, and so do our feelings about them, but God is always good, loving, merciful, and kind, and He never changes.  'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever' (Hebrews 13:8).  To build life on that which is always changing is to invite constant unrest and disappointment, but to build on the changeless and the eternal is to have peace and confidence."

So it isn't IF the Lord is my portion, it is THE LORD IS MY PORTION!  There is a huge difference in this.  I have all I need in Him to have hope and here is the kicker...to wait and not only that but to WAIT QUIETLY!  For what?  The salvation of the LORD.  This is not referring to the eternal salvation of my soul, but to my everyday life and 'salvation' or rescue or help...  Oh my... again such a challenge for me, but He is my portion and I can obey when I allow Him to give me the strength to do so!  I am so thankful that He does what is right and good despite what I may or may not do or feel!!!

Father God, I thank You that You are my portion and that You allow me to call to mind Your love/mercies, Your faithfulness, Your goodness and that through this recalling You allow me to have hope.  Hope not in my own self or my own strength which fails every time and often, but hope in You that You will work, and that You are in charge!  I have so much to be grateful for, LORD.  Forgive me for often being anything but quiet and not being willing to even be quiet much less wait for You to work.  Thank You that You are working anyway!  Thank You that You never change!  Thank You that You will never ever give up on me!  What a great and mighty God You are!  Thank You for allowing me to have relationship with You, Father, through Your wonderful Son, Jesus!  May You have Your way and when I get in the way may I listen to Your gentle reminders and repent, move and be quiet and wait!  Thank You again for what You are doing in me and for me!!!  I love You...May I love You more with each passing day!