What or Who is Your Portion? (Day 2 of our challenge against seasonal depression) - EncouragementMama.com
*Please note that I am not a licensed physician or medical professional of any kind. All advice, tips, and resources on this blog are given purely from personal testimony, Biblical wisdom, and encouragement. If at any time, you feel hopeless or in despair, please do not hesitate to call your physician, seek medical help, or call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. (Find out more HERE.)
What is your portion?
Welcome to day two of our 10-day challenge!
I’ve come to realize that a big part of seasonal depression, or any kind of discontentment, is the sense that something is missing.
There’s an emptiness that is never quite filled.
There’s a gap that we can’t seem to bridge.
There’s a longing that we cannot explain.
Can any of you relate to those descriptions?
Read Today’s Passage:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Here’s the challenge:
What makes you feel most happy, content, and fulfilled in life? Make a list, in pencil, of the things that bring you the greatest sense of fulfillment. Be honest with your answers!
It may look something like this:
- Time spent with loved ones
- Monetary gains and security
- Earthly comforts and pleasures
- Habits or addictions
- Job success
- Recognition
- Acceptance
- Feeling needed
Then, as you read through your list, do you see any kind of pattern? For me, it is often the external things that bring me the most satisfaction. I love hugs from my kids and grandkids. I love date nights with my husband. I value monetary security. I really enjoy earthly pleasures and the comforts of home. And, I tend to seek recognition and acceptance from others.
And you know what? Some of those things are God-given blessings for which I am truly grateful.
However…
It’s easy to make those external things my portion in life. But when those things fail, and they eventually do, I get depressed.
What is your portion?
Each of us may answer that question differently, but the true answer for all of us is the same.
Jesus is our portion. He is Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider.
The moment we try to make anything else fill us up and sustain us, we are headed for a season of depression sooner or later.
Today’s Action:
With a pen, marker, or sharpie, write in BOLD the words “Jesus is my portion” across the page on which you made your list.
No matter what your portion has been, whether it be a God-given blessing or sinful habit, ASK Jesus to be your portion. Ask Him to show you the ways in which only He can fill you and make you whole.
Jesus is my portion. What about you?
Let’s pray…
Holy God, thank You for bearing with us, as we often turn to things other than You for satisfaction. Lord, we know that nothing on this earth can take Your place. Forgive us for trying to fill the empty places with things that do not truly satisfy. Thank You so much for the blessings around us that do bring great joy. But help us to remember that You are our true fulfillment and everlasting joy. In Jesus’ name…amen.
Always an email away,
Jennifer
*Additional resources for your journey:
10 Bible Verses about God is My Portion
What Does it Mean that God is Jehovah-Jireh?
Could it be that the emptiness our seasonal depression brings…our longing for something we can’t explain…is actually our exceeding and eternal weight of glory?
