Psalm 16: A Fresh Start
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6
As the New Year dawns, many of us are contemplating the past and looking ahead to the future. A New Year signals a new beginning, a fresh start. A fresh start…that is what some of us are longing for this year. Maybe last year was riddled with heartache, loss, difficulty, and despair. But, there is a glimmer of hope and anticipation with the coming year.
Last year, I encountered many difficult situations, which were outside of my control. As I felt my control slipping, I could feel my faith and reliance on God fading. In these verses, David reminds us that God, the Great I AM, holds our “lot.” In the Old Testament, before the Holy Spirit was poured out, people made big decisions by casting lots. (Casting lots is our modern day version of flipping a coin or rolling dice.) However the lots fell, they considered that to be God’s will. But, these verses are clear that God is in complete control of our life. Nothing takes Him by surprise.
It is comforting and exciting to realize that God completely has my life and the direction of my life in His hands. He is not sitting in heaven detached from my circumstances. Instead, He is the One orchestrating and directing my life.
Yet, how am I to respond when He allows heartache instead of joy? This is where our spiritual faith muscle gets its workout. We don’t have to understand all the reasons around why God chooses what He does. But, we can learn to grow in our trust of His goodness and faith that He will bring joy and life out of the ashes of our heartache. In fact, He promises it. David says, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places…” When doing some research on the meaning of this phrase, I discovered that it can mean a measured portion of land or the pang of sorrow. Ladies, do you see it? Even in the midst of our sorrow, we can be sure that God is working all things for our good and His glory.
He doesn’t leave us in the midst of our heartache, and He promises to put within us His character as we walk with Him through our difficult circumstances. Oh, that we would grasp the reality that God has given us a glorious inheritance in Christ!
As the past year comes to a close and you are at the beginning of a new year, I want to encourage you to look to Christ as your portion. Trust Him, in this coming year, to hold the direction and circumstances of your life secure.
This year there is hope for a fresh start.
Amanda Walker is a teacher, pastor’s wife, and mother. She holds both a Master of Arts in Christian education with a concentration in women’s ministry and biblical counseling (2006) and a Doctor of Educational Ministry in Educational Leadership (2013) from Southwestern. She lives in Ruston, Louisiana, where she serves alongside her husband, Chris, who is a university and missions pastor. She is passionate about discipling young women to become ambassadors for Christ. However, her greatest joy is training her children Makaylan, Hannah, and Aaron to engage the culture around them with the truth of the gospel. Amanda is the author of the Bible study Discovering God’s Design: A Journey to Restore Biblical Womanhood. In her free time (what is that?), she enjoys a good chat over a cup of coffee.
