Craving God Day 14 God is my Portion

Thought for the day: His compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:22-24

Th term "portion control" took on a whole new meaning for me one day when I read the response that Gods people had after Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt. God had performed several sensational miracles to help them escape their captors. Yet they panicked when food became scarce. They even asked to go back to slavery in Egypt where food was supposedly abundant. But God planned to use their desire for food to teach them about daily dependence upon Him.

As the Israelites traveled through the desert, each morning God would rain down exactly what they needed for nourishment- a provision called "manna" which I imagine was something like little sweet potato flakes. They were to collect just enough manna for that day. They couldnt gather extra, except before the Sabbath day of rest, or it would rot. This daily process was intended to put them in the habit of dependence on God, and only on God.

However the Israelites began to grumble & turned their hearts against God. SO he took them on a detour. Instead of heading straight to the Promised Land of freedom, they wandered in the desert for 40 years while they learned how to truly depend on God.

I dont know about you, but I dont want to spend the next 40 years of my life learning this lesson. I want to stop grumbling about my weight & embrace this valuable lesson to walk in the freedom of Gods provision. As we apply this same process to our struggles, we can find that God is the perfect portion for everything we need, every longing we have, every desperate desire of our soul,.

God is there when my husband & I have a big argument, my kids are unruly, a business deal doesnt do as planned, or the bills start piling up. Instead of grabbing a tub of ice cream or ordering a pizza (eating a pan of brownies in my case-Beth), I ask God to be my daily portion in these tough times.

For example , if your boyfriend breaks up with instead of inhaling a big bowl of chips & dip, ask God to be your daily portion of companionship in this lonely time. "God I hate this rejection & hurt. Sometimes I feel like the loneliness is going to swallow me alive. I cant deal with this on my own. Will you be my portion of healing& companionship just for this day?"

Or when your kids are driving you crazy, instead of chowing down 3 pieces of chocolate cake, you might pray God I so desperately want to be a patient mom, I dont know if I can be a patient mom the rest of my life. But with your portion of strength I an rely on You in this moment not try to medicate my shortcomings with food.

Whatever your situation, ask God to be your daily portion of companionship, provision and patience- over & over. Soon you'll find yourself walking in victory over those things instead of looking back over tears & piles of cake crumbs...

This was a good devotion for me......