The Levite Portion

Original post from the Christian Writers Forum blog

It started with my reading Susan May Warren’s Team Hope series. I can’t remember which book, but God being our portion was a consistent theme. Within a week I read the same promise in devotionals. I heard it through music. Now, it’s starting to cement in my brain.

God is my portion.

He is enough.

As Psalm 16:5 states: “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.”

Joshua 13 and 18 really drove the point home. The Israelites received their lot of land, their portion. Imagine leaving a horrible place, traveling with other kin folk and you make it to the Promised Land. They call out you family name and what kind of land you get.

Smith—Nice fertile land with cute ranch house.

Jones—Lucious green acreage with a mansion (I mean would you expect any less from the Jones’? We are always trying to copy them, after all)

Smythe—low land that floods easily with a mobile home park filled with toys and garbage
Your name—The Lord.

That’s the picture I get from Joshua 13 and 18 and the Levite tribe. Folks lined up for their land announcement. The Levites—no land. Their portion was their service as priests to the Lord. That was their inheritance.

From Joshua 18:1-7: “The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The country was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God. The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.”

So often I get tripped up in worry, jealousy or even coveting because I see others receiving their portion and as my ten year old would say, it’s “sweet.” We aren’t a family that knows the palm trees of Florida, the ears of Disney or the pineapples from Hawaii. That’s not our inheritance or portion. For the longest time I felt we lacked because we didn’t have those things, places, or lands.

But here is what God showed me as my portion:

1-He has given me the supernatural gift of faith, intercession, and encouragement. I am able to believe God to be big in a person’s situation and pray through it. As the years pass I’m realizing this isn’t something everyone has. God gave me such a generous portion here, and I never realized it. I love He would choose me as a vessel this way. Lives are changed for Him, and I didn’t need any land at all! Just the Lord.

2-He gave us two children who clearly have a calling on their life that is only partially defined so far. I’m not saying my kids are better than anyone’s, not even. I sense they are set apart, and that might not mean missionary to Africa, it could be teaching at a school or giving presentations to audiences about His goodness. Whatever it is, I sense it and am committed to pray for the Lord to direct their steps, not me. I’m not praying they get to cruise the Bahamas and inherit exotic lands.

3-As an intercessor, a praying person who gets direct orders from God to pray on things until He tells otherwise, the last couple years has opened doors to pray for organizations, people, and things to come I can’t believe. Often I treat this as a burden as often He wakes me at night to chat about a country, a person, a place. Not because He needs me or else, He wants me. What a portion!

You have a Levite portion. What is your Godly inheritance that perhaps you kicked the dirt thinking you got cheated and instead realized you have something even better than Willy Wonka’s Golden ticket?

(Additional resources used online by
http://bible.christianity.com/
and
http://www.drbilllong.com/LectionaryII/Ps16II.html)

Have you visited Christian Women Take Root? The Narrow Gate Invites girls are not only involved in the social networking site with fantastic groups to join but the main site called Take Root and Write. Regular columns are ongoing, check it all out. The best thing you could do with Take Root is sign up for the free subscription feed right to your in box. We'll see you there...and hey---if you have a blog, Take Root has a blog roll. Give your blog some exposure and be associated with a quality Christian site!

Julie Arduini is a surrendered writer with her own blog, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/. A graduate of the Christian Writers Guild, she blogs for the Christian Writers Forum Sundays as the mommy blogger. She is active with FaithWriters and has several writings ready to publish in different books and anthologies in 2008-09. She is the tentative debut interview on surrender/fearlessness for Kathy Vick's upcoming website, Run Like a Girl. To get to know Julie better, read her interview by Lynda Schab at:http://www.faithreaders.com/featured-author-details.php?id=33%20 To contact Julie, please use the e mail provided in our profile.

Time In The Desert

I remember the day I received Julie's picture of the Blue Heron asking if we had any insight to the bird's significance. (See yesterday's post.) I immediately consulted my son, the animal expert, and he shared information about the bird's solidarity and uniqueness. Over the next few weeks it was both exciting and amazing to watch the Lord speak and reveal His plans and purposes for Julie's life and journey with Him. When I read her post it took me back to that time and confirmed how God speaks and how He has been speaking to me too.

You may have read in my bio that I have a heart for the abandoned children 'over the seas.' The past few years I have been praying and asking the Lord to use me to reach others and be a voice for those who are unable to speak for themselves. In the beginning when I prayed I thought God would answer me with this 'booming' voice followed by a road map and clear instructions on which direction to go. I often became frustrated and could not understand why He was not speaking to me. He was speaking, I was just not paying attention. Then I thought that if I filled up my days with bible studies, prayer groups, church activities, . . . that I would have 'clear' direction like other spiritual people I interacted with. Again, He was speaking and this time I was too busy to listen. And then my life took a turn.


In April I traveled back to Romania, a dream come to true, to minister to the children and village people. My time there was eye-opening, heartbreaking, and confusing. Then I returned home not knowing what to do with all the emotions inside. In the meantime a childhood friend of mine and I started having some difficulty. Although there were apologizes and forgiveness, I felt in my heart it was time to walk away. The pain I carried with me was almost unbearable. Then summer came. Three months with little ones at home, friendships changing, long periods of lonliness, and inside I knew He was calling out to me.

I attended a conference alone during this emotionally trying time. It was my first time to the church sponsoring the weekend event so I was uncertain about what to expect. Well, God blew me away! To summarize, the speaker used a small willow tree as He spoke about God in our lives. First He began pruning it, gently, slowly. I could relate to that. We all need things pruned off our life like bad habits, negative thoughts, . . . Then He picked up a larger tool and whacked off the branches. I felt the tree and myself yell, "OUCH!" My friendship was one of those branches. Sometimes the things that are taken away hurt, I know my branch did. Then came the ax, I closed my eyes. The skinny little trunk was now in his hands. "Okay, enough!" I wanted to scream. He was still not done. He laid the the scrawny trunk on the floor, in the sun to dry out. "Ughhh!" I thought, but look, here he comes to pick it up. No, he came and turned the trunk over to dry out on the other side. My life, my body, was lying in the sun just like that tree trunk!

As Julie quoted from Hosea 2:14, "I'm going to allure her to the desert and speak tenderly to her." I was in the desert. He had allured me to the desert to speak to me, to spend time with me, to just be with me. And He wanted all of me. At times the desert was so hot and the only water that could be seen were the tears running down my face. Some days I found myself exhausted, falling to my knees wondering if I could withstand one more day. But it was there, in the desert, that I cried out to Him and said, "Lord, help me, save me! I feel so broken and shattered that I do not know what to do!" It was in the desert that I sat alone and listened. It was in the desert that I knelt and prayed. And it was in the desert that He taught me to rely on Him.

I cannot even remember the time coming out of the desert to where I am today. I can tell you that since then my life has focus - focus on Him, my family, and my purpose. So many things that consumed me before have been cut away. In my quest for direction the Lord heard my cry and led me His way, not mine. He knew what needed to be changed in me before His direction was to be revealed. Imagine that! And my prayer is slowly being answered in ways I never dreamed of.

Be Blessed, Kim