Day 31: My Portion
Read: Psalm 16:1–6
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
— Psalm 16:5 (ESV)
Reflect
When Israel entered the Promised Land, each tribe received a portion of land. Each family got its measured share, its lot.
Except for one tribe. The Levites, the priestly tribe, received no land at all. Instead God told them, "I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel" (Numbers 18:20). Everyone else got fields. The priests got God.
Now listen to David in Psalm 16. "The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot."
The word for "portion" is ḥelqi, "my portion" or "my share." David is using the language of land allotment, of measured shares and drawn lots. And he takes the Levites' deal for himself. Whatever else he has or does not have, his true inheritance is the LORD.
That is a remarkable thing to say. It means that the most important thing you own is not something you own at all. It is Someone who has given himself to you.
When you have nothing else, you have the one thing the priests had.
Land can be lost. Health can fail. Plans can collapse. People can leave. But the one thing you cannot lose is the one thing you already have. And notice the last phrase: "you hold my lot." Even your future is in his hands.
Across Scripture
God repeats his promise to Levi in Deuteronomy 10:9. Asaph says, "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26), and in the ruins of Jerusalem Jeremiah prays, "'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him'" (Lamentations 3:24). On the day of Pentecost, Peter read Psalm 16 as fulfilled in the risen Christ (Acts 2:25–31).
Sit With It
What do you count as your share in life? The one thing you cannot lose is the one thing you already have.
Pray
You are my portion.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.