“The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage.” Joshua 18:7a (ESV)
After I devoted my life to the Lord, I went to Bible college. I was tested there—academically, spiritually, and personally. It was a long road. Part of that journey was trying to adjust to a different society. As a Native American coming off the reservation, I was a minority. My worldview and strange sense of humor were basically a foreign language to those around me, and not to mention I was considered an
“older than average student.”
I didn’t do well in high school, so it was stressful trying to learn to write papers at the college level. I had never read so much in my life!
For the first two years I used Google constantly as a dictionary. But the hardest part was listening to other students share about their families and their “Hallmark Holiday” stories. I sat in classrooms with people who had never done drugs or alcohol. They never bore the pain of losing family members to suicide or overdoses. I felt out of place most of the time.
But then I realized that I had been focusing on what others had, and I would often dwell on what I didn’t have. One day I read the verse (above) in Joshua, and I began to cry. The tribe of Levi didn’t receive land like the other tribes, but they received something greater—an inheritance in the Lord!
After I realized what I had in the Lord, something powerful began to happen. I began to be genuinely happy for those other students, and I was able to celebrate with and for them, because I was now secure in Christ. What I’m saying is, “The Lord is your inheritance and that is all you need.” My friends, count your blessings.
– Mark Little Elk
Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website.
Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org