“The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” (La 3:24 AV)
The real beauty of this verse is the surrounding context. The weeping prophet is speaking for an errant Judah. She now stands desolate, completely burned to ruins by Babylon. She finds herself in captivity hundreds of miles from her land and in complete misery, all because she walked contrary to the will of God. The surrounding context paints a dire situation. There is no hope for the current generation. Most will perish in the land of the Chaldeans. Most will never see the temple project once they return from their years of slavery. The prophet mentions repentance, but they know even if that were to occur, their situation would not change. Even the pagans to whom they are held captive will not pity them. They live in a cloudy day. There are no rays of sunshine. In the middle of all this doom and gloom, the prophet tells himself to remember just how good God is. No matter how dire our situation, even if self-inflicted, God is our portion and is ever-present. Because He is, there is always hope.
Note the direction of the conversation. It is not the LORD speaking to the prophet. It is the prophet speaking to himself. The soul is speaking to the spirit. The soul knows the truth of the statement. The soul knows God is its portion and that with God as its portion, there is hope. This is true of everyone who can claim the name of God. All His children have the same truth. Regardless of our situation, God is our portion. He is that which we need for every single moment of our lives. We are overwhelmed and forget this. We suffer from trouble or trial and forget God is always there. The LORD may have allowed the nation of Israel to be carried away captive, but that does not mean He abandoned each individual soul. As they sat around their family table on the evening of the Sabbath, they sang the psalms written to their fathers as they worshipped the God who loves them. Their lives may not have been perfect and there may have been many obstacles to overcome, but the LORD was there each step of the way. He was and still is their portion. Like Daniel who bowed his head three times a day in prayer toward his beloved Jerusalem, the people of God did not forget that God was still their God. No amount of trouble or trial would ever change that.
Years ago, God gave me a profound thought that persists even today. I was about nine years old and it was gym class time again. For me, that was my living nightmare. A nerdy clutz, I was always the last to get picked for a team, the first one out, and the one they picked on in the locker rooms. It got so bad that I became physically ill when gym time came around. One afternoon, as the rest of the boys were starting to pick sides, I found myself in the bathroom becoming sick to my stomach. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and gave me a question. “What is the worst thing they could do”? I thought they could torture me to death. Then I was reminded the result of that would be heaven. No matter what happened, they could do no worse than graduate me to glory. Carrying that same thought forward, there is nothing that will separate me from the love of God. NOTHING. Whether it be my disobedience or trials of faith, there is nothing that can drive a wedge between me and my God. He is my portion no matter how dark the days may be. He is my portion and therefore my soul has hope.
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