My Portion, Settled and Sure

Body: I am now the proud possessor of a port! The procedure went very smoothly and in 2 1/2 hours, I was out and on my way. The port will make all the nurses in the chemo treatment area smile when I walk through the door, rather than run. Seriously, for that which is upcoming, this will save my veins and ease their job of administering the treatments.

The word is that tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. I have blood drawn and 9:10 a.m. the first infusion of the new chemo. Thanks for your prayers.

Spirit: My Portion, Settled and Sure Lamentations 3:24f

Like many favorite passages of Scripture, Lamentations 3:22-23 (...His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.) has a larger context which is often missed. In reading this passage yesterday I was struck by vs 24, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."

When Israel was in Egypt, God promised them a portion in the promised land. That promise and that portion kept them going. It was their inheritance; the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow"; the paycheck at the end of a long hard work week.

As Jeremiah surveyed the devastation all around him after Jerusalem's destruction, all he had was the Lord...and that was enough. He is my portion, my inheritance, my reward. No matter what was destroyed in the onslaught against Jerusalem, his portion could not be taken.

But he must have felt pretty empty as he looked around and saw the smouldering ruins and heard the groans of his people. That's where the most striking part of the statement comes in: "...therefore I will wait for Him." Because of the choice he has made as to his inheritance/reward (the Lord), he now indicates what his responsibility is: to wait. If God is God, then waiting for Him to act is the wisest thing a man/woman can do. If He is sufficient, then He is worth waiting for and waiting upon.

I find it also interesting that a choice he made in the past (decision concerning his "portion") puts into motion his plan of action now ("waiting"). He is not overwhelmed with, "What should I do?" "Where should I go?" "When should I act?" He knows the next move is God's...and he is to wait.

What that waiting looks like is described in vs 25-33. It involves time alone, struggle, even adversity and opposition. While it may seem at times that God has abandoned him, he is confident of God's compassion and His unfailing love in the end. Why? Because God is his portion!! So, whatever occurs, his course is set because of the "portion" he has chosen. His job description is also clear: wait!

This is a helpful section of Scripture for me as I go through this treatment for cancer. It reminds me of my job right now: waiting in quiet submission before Him, whatever is going on in life. It also reminds me that what I do now is the result of choices made years ago when God, in His grace, allowed me to see that He is what life is all about; He is the "grand prize." To know and love Him is what makes life meaningful. So, because He IS my portion, I will wait and watch to see His hand at work.

"Lord, You are my portion...the whole pie...all that matters. I wait for You to act concerning this cancer...whatever it may bring. May I not miss what You are doing and teaching."