Portion
Lamentations 3:24
To me, the holidays are all about pumpkin pie. I love turkey, football and ugly
sweaters as much as the next man. But I do not consider the season to be
properly started until I bite into a generous wedge of orange-brown goodness.
That’s my portion. And if I get it, the rest of the holiday will be just fine.
And if I don’t get it, the rest of the holiday will be just miserable. And if
you think I’m going to suffer in silence, just ask Tracie.
I exaggerate a bit. But whenever I tuck into this, the most delectable offering
of autumn, I really do think of Lamentations 3:24 — “’The Lord is my portion,’
says my soul, ‘Therefore I will hope in Him.’” Jeremiah, writing in the rubble
that once was the city of David, had watched his nation crumble around him —
first spiritually, then politically, and finally physically. He had been placed
in stocks (Jeremiah 20:2), been condemned to death (Jeremiah 26:8-11), had the
king throw his prophecy into the fire (Jeremiah 36:20-23), been thrown down a
muddy well (Jeremiah 38:6), and suffered numerous other indignities. (How is
your life going these days, by the way?)
How could it be that, here at the culmination of all his work, as every
despairing word he had uttered had come true, he was able to go on? Because his
security was not defined by his circumstances, but rather by his relationship
with God. And having that, he could be content.
The Lord is my portion. And if I have Him, the rest will be just fine. And if I
don’t have Him, the rest will be just miserable.
By Hal Hammons
From Expository Files 18.1; January 2011
