Portion I didn’t need the whole meal Mom had prepared for the family. I just required that portion allotted to me, the part that was added to my plate. Oftentimes, though, there were thankfully additional portions left over after everyone else had theirs, always more than enough to fill that vacancy on the inside. Other than just food, though, there were other provisions I could claim as mine – affection, correction, instruction, protection, toys, clothes, and resources for anything else I needed. From the parents that claimed me as their own, I was provided with those things I required to grow and develop. They were already my portion. I just had to receive and make them mine. In Christ, the God of Creation has chosen each of us to be His prized possession, His own cared-for child. For every part of us that has a need to be filled, He has already prepared a provision that is more than enough. He’s already put our name on an inheritance that is abundant beyond our imagination. In order for what is ours in Him to be effective and useful, however, it must be chosen over alternatives from the world. Though He has chosen us as His portion, it’s choosing Him in return that allows every area of need to be filled by Him in a way that won’t corrupt and fail. As great and amazing is our portion in Him, a lifetime of discovering it will never come close to fully realizing His claim of us as His own. Notes Portion: a persons destiny or lot an individual's part or share of something: such as a share received by gift or inheritance DOWRY enough food especially of one kind to serve one person at one meal an individual's lot, fate, or fortune : one's share of good and evil an often limited part of a whole A Portion’s care (worship) determines its worth – Esau vs Jacob Moses’ perception of God’s heart for His people Deuteronomy 32:9-10 9 For the LORD's portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. 10 "He found him in a desert land And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. God has chosen us as His portion/inheritance in Christ. Ephesians 1:18 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future he has called you to share. I want you to realize that God has been made rich because we who are Christ’s have been given to him! 1 Peter 2:9 9 But you are God’s chosen treasure—priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light, and now he claims you as his very own. He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world. What we choose and how we care for it – determines its worth as our portion Luke 10:42 42 There is need of only one or but a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her. When He is the chosen portion – we become His worshipers. John 4:23 23 A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. For the voids/needs in our lives, there is a choice made of how they will be filled. Psalms 16:5 5 Lord, I have chosen you alone as my inheritance. You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion. I leave my destiny and its timing in your hands. The flesh and the heart fail when chosen, but God provides abundant strength eternally. Psalms 73:26 26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. When there is no other that acknowledges or protects, God floods with an inheritance of life. Psalms 142:5 5 I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. Our choosing of Him as our portion is simply accessing what is already ours in Christ. Philippians 3:12 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Overview: The care of a chosen portion determines its worth. God chose Israel from all other nations to be His cared-for portion. In Christ, He has now chosen all the nations of the earth as His possession. The provision/care for every need is already ours, but must be chosen in Him. Where He is the chosen portion, worship values and fills with Him. Prayer: For every need, thirst, and craving in my life, I choose You, Lord, as my fulfilling Portion. I have found You to be unfailing in everything I commit to Your care. Fill me now with revelation of Your loving care for even the smallest things as I determine to worship You in them. Declarations: I have been chosen by God in Christ as His prized possession to be cared and provided for. With every choice of Him as my Portion in the voids of my life, I am accessing the inheritance that is already mine in Him. In caring for my precious gift of life in Christ I am owning those things He has provided for me as His possession. As His worshipper, my life is consumed with knowing Him as my portion.