The Lord is My Inheritance
You guard all that is mine.
The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
-Psalm 16:5-6
In marked contrast to chasing after money, believers (disciples) have the Lord as their inheritance. For true worshipers and for the new covenant priesthood of all believers, the Lord is our inheritance.
The Lord is also our cup of blessing. We live out of his life. We have joy unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8) in him and we also have fellowship with him in his sufferings (Philippians 3:10).
The land, lot, or portion that the Lord gives to each of us is pleasant. We feel content with it and we don't compare it to other's portions nor to we compete. There is no greed or competition at the Lord's table. If you are audacious enough to ask the Lord, "what about him?", he will tell you it's not your business, but to follow him where he leads you.
I heard this verse, "my boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places" (Psalm 16:6), in a sermon by a leader I knew, when he was settling into a new position and a new home. I did not imagine that from that day to this, he would again move and change jobs three more times.
When David originally penned these words, he was not sitting in a palatial estate. He was probably in a cave or tent in the desert. He was on the run, in trouble, and in distress.
David could thank God for his inheritance, the place of it, while living on the run, in deserts and caves. Even though that leader gave me the impression that he was putting down some roots and thanking God for where he had landed; what he was really saying is that he thanked God for the journey and it's stops along the way.
Inheritance passed down in families is something that the Bible speak to:
What if your inheritance was stolen? What you need to know is that righteousness and justice are very important to God. Psalm 97:2 says that righteousness and justice are the foundations of God's throne. All injustices are seen by God. The Bible says that when something is stolen or taken from you, that it must be paid back seven times (Prov. 6:31). You can ask God about this.
If you have come from an ungodly family that fumbled the ball and did not leave you an inheritance, or if you were disinherited; you can rest assured and be comforted by the promise to you, from Jesus. He said that his disciples, who left behind family wealth, would be given more as compensation:
David saw his life through the life of God in his life. That is how he could say, "the Lord alone is my inheritance." Job said something similar when he said, "the Lord gave what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21).
Like David, the disciple of Jesus Christ also sees their life through the lens of their relationship with him. If you walk with him, you will be giving up everything for him, including status, wealth, and relationships, including family. That is the disciple's life.
But everything you have given up, Jesus says that God will give back to you, many times over. The catch or key is that to walk in this kind of pay back or compensation, you must be a disciple.
A disciple is a person who has one God, one Lord, and one Savior. A disciple is a person who worships one God, one Lord, and one Savior; and gives themselves to no other gods. A disciple is someone who continually gives up everything to God, for Christ's sake. And a disciple is someone who takes up their personal cross that brings death to their selves and has sweet fellowship with Christ in their sufferings.
When all those things are in motion in the disciple's life, and you don't have to do it perfectly because its all about grace, then you will realize the rich compensation involved in walking with Jesus Christ and come full circle to David's prophetic words:
In marked contrast to chasing after money, believers (disciples) have the Lord as their inheritance. For true worshipers and for the new covenant priesthood of all believers, the Lord is our inheritance.
The Lord is also our cup of blessing. We live out of his life. We have joy unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8) in him and we also have fellowship with him in his sufferings (Philippians 3:10).
The land, lot, or portion that the Lord gives to each of us is pleasant. We feel content with it and we don't compare it to other's portions nor to we compete. There is no greed or competition at the Lord's table. If you are audacious enough to ask the Lord, "what about him?", he will tell you it's not your business, but to follow him where he leads you.
I heard this verse, "my boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places" (Psalm 16:6), in a sermon by a leader I knew, when he was settling into a new position and a new home. I did not imagine that from that day to this, he would again move and change jobs three more times.
When David originally penned these words, he was not sitting in a palatial estate. He was probably in a cave or tent in the desert. He was on the run, in trouble, and in distress.
David could thank God for his inheritance, the place of it, while living on the run, in deserts and caves. Even though that leader gave me the impression that he was putting down some roots and thanking God for where he had landed; what he was really saying is that he thanked God for the journey and it's stops along the way.
Inheritance passed down in families is something that the Bible speak to:
Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner's wealth passes to the Godly.Notice that it says that the inheritance is for the grandchildren and not necessarily for the children. Children are to steward their parents inheritance for their children, while passing on an inheritance to their grandchildren. Grandparents play a very important role
-Proverbs 13:22
What if your inheritance was stolen? What you need to know is that righteousness and justice are very important to God. Psalm 97:2 says that righteousness and justice are the foundations of God's throne. All injustices are seen by God. The Bible says that when something is stolen or taken from you, that it must be paid back seven times (Prov. 6:31). You can ask God about this.
If you have come from an ungodly family that fumbled the ball and did not leave you an inheritance, or if you were disinherited; you can rest assured and be comforted by the promise to you, from Jesus. He said that his disciples, who left behind family wealth, would be given more as compensation:
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.The bridge between what David wrote and the OT texts about justice and what Jesus says about compensation for loss are the phrases, "for my sake", "for the Good News", and "for the sake of the Kingdom of God".
Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.
“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.” -Matt. 19:29, Mark 10:29-30, and Luke 18:29-30
David saw his life through the life of God in his life. That is how he could say, "the Lord alone is my inheritance." Job said something similar when he said, "the Lord gave what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21).
Like David, the disciple of Jesus Christ also sees their life through the lens of their relationship with him. If you walk with him, you will be giving up everything for him, including status, wealth, and relationships, including family. That is the disciple's life.
But everything you have given up, Jesus says that God will give back to you, many times over. The catch or key is that to walk in this kind of pay back or compensation, you must be a disciple.
A disciple is a person who has one God, one Lord, and one Savior. A disciple is a person who worships one God, one Lord, and one Savior; and gives themselves to no other gods. A disciple is someone who continually gives up everything to God, for Christ's sake. And a disciple is someone who takes up their personal cross that brings death to their selves and has sweet fellowship with Christ in their sufferings.
When all those things are in motion in the disciple's life, and you don't have to do it perfectly because its all about grace, then you will realize the rich compensation involved in walking with Jesus Christ and come full circle to David's prophetic words:
Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine.
The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
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