You Are My Portion

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

February 23, 2023

You Are My Portion

Then I pray to you, O Lord.

    I say, “You are my place of refuge.

    You are all I really want in life.

Psalm 142:5

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). God created humankind to be in community, to be in relationship with Him, and with others. Steeped into the DNA of humans are the needs to be loved, to be accepted, and to have a sense that our life matters. Within human experience, there is perhaps no greater fear than rejection and abandonment. In our human experience, we strive to have these needs met through our relationships with others. Some people are satisfied with the extent these needs are met by others; however, I believe the experience of most people is marginal, at best.

A postscript was added to this psalm telling us this psalm is about David’s experience in a cave. First Samuel 22 and 24 tell of David seeking refuge in a cave when he was being pursued by King Saul. In his later years, King David was pursued by his son Absalom after he usurped his father’s throne. David certainly experienced times of abandonment and rejection in his life.

Saint Augustine wrote, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.” This was David’s experience, and we too can find our peace, our rest, in the unconditional love and acceptance of God, our Savior. The NLT renders verse 5, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.” I’m not sure that translation fully reflects David’s sure confidence that God was both his refuge, and the One who meets all his needs. I prefer the NRSV translation because the word portion connotes, as a present reality, the sufficiency of God to meet our needs: ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’

Perhaps you are struggling with fears of rejection or abandonment. Perhaps you are struggling to find your rest in God, to trust that God will meet your needs for love and acceptance. In times of loneliness, you can pray Psalm 142 as your own personal prayer to God.

My Takeaway: When we pray Psalm 142, let’s add this benediction to our prayer,

God my Abba will take care of me. He will supply all my needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to me in Christ Jesus. Amen. (Philippians 4:19)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.