Psalm 16:5-6
(Today’s post is part of a series on Psalm 16. You can find all the posts on my Psalm 16 page.)
Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
6The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6 (NIV)
Lord – Yahweh – God’s proper name
Assigned – set aside for one particular person or purpose
Portion – ration, serving, measurement
Cup – container used to hold something together
Lot – portion, position, path of life
Secure – keep, hold tight, make sure
Boundary – measuring line
Fallen – landed, ended up
Pleasant – agreeable, sweet, good
Inheritance – something received as a gifting, usually from one in line above you
In these verses David addresses God as Yahweh, which is God’s proper name.
He is not referring to any of God’s attributes or characteristics, he is talking directly to God.
David is acknowledging the Lord has chosen what his portion and lot in life will be.
He is also saying he realizes God has set the boundaries of his life and that they have fallen in a good way.
He is sure he will have a good life and future because of this.
David knew that because God had not only chosen his path for him but had also made it secure, he did not have to worry or to fight for some bigger life.
Sure, he had struggles to deal with in life and he had to work hard.
Instead of fighting though, David knew he could look to God to help him keep what was meant for him.
He trusted God to guide him to avoid wasting time fighting for what was not meant to be for him.
This same concept applies to us.
Instead of fighting to have life turn out the way we think it should, we instead look to God to lead us on the path He would have us to walk.
We can look to Him to show us which way we should turn in our decisions.
It doesn’t mean we just sit and wait for things to be handed to us.
We are supposed to trust God, pray, work, and supply the needs of our family.
What it does mean is we don’t fight to get things not meant for us.
We don’t make having what we want from life our goal or mission.
Instead, we strive to do our best with where God has placed us.
We work hard.
We trust God to show us His plan so we can follow it with intention.
We trust Him to bless us with a good present and a good future.
We realize and understand a good life is not made up of having everything we want.
It’s living a life in close connection with God, respecting and accepting the plans He has for our lives, confident that even if things don’t turn out the way we want, it’s okay because God is in control and we can trust Him.
It’s okay to want a promotion at work – it’s not okay to make it our number one focus or priority nor is it okay to put our identity into it.
Our focus is to be on doing our best for God, not for self gain.
God has great plans for our lives.
When we focus on walking with Him and sharing His kingdom with the world He blesses and prospers us in ways only He can, in the ways He knows are best.
We can trust Him with our future, secure in the knowledge He has a plan for our lives and He has secured it for us if we will only trust Him for it and follow Him.
Prayer – Father, thank you for giving me a good life. I pray you will help me to understand and appreciate what a special gift this is. Will you please help me to understand what my lot is and to see where my boundary lines are? Will you please help me to walk with you through life in a way that pleases and honors you? In Jesus’
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
To see all the posts I’ve shared in this series, please visit my Psalm 16 page.
To learn more about what a Psalm is, please visit my post ,What is the Book of Psalms?