My portion

What do you think of when you hear the word “portion”? My mind goes back to my childhood when we would gather around the dinner table. I had two brothers, so if the meal that night was something we really liked, Mama kept an eye on the portions, sometimes stepping in to divide them up herself or make one of us put some back. She wanted to be sure everyone had enough, that everyone had their portion.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. –Psalm 73:26 (CSB)

Psalm 73 describes the thought process of a soul who is witnessing a world that seems out of kilter. The bad guys are winning and it feels like they are never going to be called to account. As I watch the news, I find myself feeling the same way. I get distressed when I see prices rising, retirement accounts shrinking, people suffering, and self-important despots running amok while their toadies line their pockets. My first reaction is to look around for someone to blame.

When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless until I entered God’s sanctuary. –Psalm 73:16-17a (CSB)

The psalmist needed a reset. The circumstances were vexing. The incongruency between what he saw and what he knew to be right was overwhelming to him. It almost made him question whether the God he thought he knew was even real – perhaps he had been a fool to believe in the first place. Rather than allow his mind to run unchecked down that path, he took his heavy heart to God.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. –Psalm 73:21-23 (NIV)

When he turned his focus to God, he found a Father who was willing to meet him in the confusion, in the doubt, in the hurt. He was able to regain perspective. Not only was God aware of what was going on with the bad guys and committed to making those situations right, but He saw the striving of His son and took him by the hand to walk the path with him.

But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, so I can tell about all you do. –Psalm 73:28 (CSB)

That was not a denial of the bad stuff going on, or a dismissal of the hardships imposed on the rest of the world by the evil being witnessed. It was an invitation to see the other side of the coin and be part of a bigger picture of redemption. His flesh and his heart might still fail. But God would be his portion. God would be enough. Can we say the same? If God is my portion, how does that change my response to the events of the day? Is it well with my soul?