What Does It Mean That God Is My Portion?

Where Do We See This Phrase in Scripture?

We can see early on in Genesis the concept of a portion as an inheritance. In Genesis 14:24, Abraham uses the phrase to refer to spoils of war. In Genesis 31:14, Rachel and Leah speak of a “portion or inheritance” left to them in their father’s house. And in Numbers we see this phrase used often at the doling out of land. In Numbers 18:20 we read, though, that the LORD is the portion for the Levites.

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Is God Really Enough to Sustain Us?

The psalmist, Jeremiah in Lamentations, and so many other biblical witnesses believed and taught that the Lord was enough to sustain them. Is that true? Can we say that when people do not have physical food or water? What does it mean for God to be their portion when the “portion” of food they have is meager?

What Does This Look Like in Our Day-to-Day Lives?

I think about my own life as one of those plates with all the divided sections. You can have your meat in one section, the veggies in another (yuck!), a bread in one section, a place for your drink, and a tiny square for your dessert. If you’re dieting a plate like this can be helpful. Each section is your portion for that food group. You can’t extend beyond its borders.

Memoirs of the Rev. John NewtonThe Works of the Rev. John Newton