Devotion Over Convenience
Everything in our culture runs on speed and convenience. Amazon packages arriving same day. Netflix auto-playing the next episode. Food delivered to our door in minutes. We don’t just want convenience. We demand it.
And that demand for convenience is reshaping how we pursue God. We want a Christianity that’s as quick and easy as tapping “Order Now” on our phones. We want truth that fits our schedule. Worship that doesn’t interrupt our plans. Obedience that costs nothing.
But Psalm 119 confronts this comfortable Christianity head-on. In verses 57-64, we discover that true devotion to God isn’t something you squeeze between Amazon orders. It’s what defines and drives your whole life.
When God is your portion, He’s all you need. (57)
Everything you’re chasing can be taken from you. Success is fragile. Comfort is temporary. Plans fall apart. People let you down. Even the things you think are rock-solid can crumble in an instant. So what then? What do you have when all of it is gone?
The psalmist answers without hesitation: “The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words.” (Psalm 119:57) This isn’t just religious talk. It’s not a sentimental phrase to stitch on a pillow. This is a bold, life-altering statement. The psalmist isn’t saying, “The Lord is my portion… and so is my success. And my comfort. And my plans.” He’s saying, “If I have God, I have everything.”
In our modern world, we hear the word “portion” and think of serving sizes. Like when someone says, “I’ll take a portion of fries.” You remember the days of McDonalds when you were told to “Supersize Me!” But in the ancient world, your “portion” wasn’t just a piece of something. Your portion was everything you were counting on for your future. It was your inheritance. Your security. Your hope.
Let’s see how radical this statement is. In ancient Israel, your portion was your land. God had divided the Promised Land among the tribes. That land was everything. It was how you fed your family. How you made your living. How you passed on wealth to your children. Your portion of land meant security. It meant survival.
But then we meet the Levites. Every other tribe got land. Property. Resources. But God speaks to Aaron with words that would have seemed impossible to live by: “You shall have no inheritance in their land neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel” (Numbers 18:20).
Can you imagine that conversation? Everyone else is getting their plot of land. Their piece of security. And the Levites get... God. That’s it. No property. No fields. No backup plan. Just God.
This wasn’t just about the Levites. Throughout Scripture, we see this same truth. David understood it when he wrote “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup you hold my lot” (Psalm 16:5). Jeremiah grasped it when he declared “‘The LORD is my portion’ says my soul ‘therefore I will hope in him.’“ (Lamentations 3:24).
Now, think about it for yourself. What’s your portion today? What’s the thing you’re ultimately counting on? Maybe it’s your career. Your retirement account. Your reputation. Your relationships. Your plans for the future. These aren’t bad things. But here’s the question the psalmist forces us to wrestle with. Are they your portion? Are they the thing you’re really counting on?
Now you might be thinking “Can’t I have both? Can’t God be my portion and still have all those other things?” Listen to what Jesus says: “For where your treasure is there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). He knows that whatever we treasure becomes our portion. This is why Jesus tells the rich young ruler “You lack one thing go sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me” (Mark 10:21). Jesus wasn’t against possessions. He was exposing what had become this man’s portion. His driving force. His everything.
This plays out in a thousand little moments: When the career opportunity means compromising what Scripture clearly teaches or it’s pulling you away from your relationship with Christ. When following God’s call means stepping away from financial security. When standing for biblical truth might cost you relationships. When obedience means letting go of your carefully constructed plans. In these moments, we discover what’s really our portion. Because whatever you can’t imagine living without…that’s your real portion.
Asaph, the worship leader of the Levites, who had no portion but God, captures this whole idea perhaps most beautifully: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).
This is what the psalmist means when he says, “The LORD is my portion.” He’s not calling us to reject every good gift from God. He’s calling us to a radical reordering of what we’re ultimately counting on. He’s inviting us to find in God what we’re tempted to seek in everything else. And when God truly becomes our portion, it changes how we seek Him.
True seeking is desperate. (58-60)
In verses 58-60, God shows us three clear marks of what genuine seeking looks like. Not casual religious interest. Not comfortable Christianity. But desperate, authentic pursuit of God. Let’s look at these three marks one by one.
1) Desperate Prayer
Verse 58 gives us our first mark: "I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise." This is desperate prayer that is anchored in God's promises. The word "entreat" here means to beg, to plead with desperation. And notice he does this "with all my heart." This isn't a quick prayer before a meal. This isn't a casual request while scrolling through your phone. This is desperate prayer. We see this same kind of prayer all throughout Scripture.
Think about Moses. When he wanted to know God more deeply, he didn't say "Hey God, if you have time, maybe show me a little more of yourself." No - Scripture tells us he pleaded "Please show me your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Or consider blind Bartimaeus. When the crowd told him to be quiet, he "cried out all the more 'Son of David have mercy on me.'" (Mark 10:48). This is what desperate prayer looks like. Not casual requests, but wholehearted pleading based on who God is and what He has promised. If you are seeking God, you will cry out to Him in desperation.
2) Honest Self-Examination
The first part of verse 59 reveals our second mark: "When I think on my ways." This is ruthlessly honest self-examination, something we don’t do enough of. The psalmist isn't just examining his circumstances. He's examining his life. The phrase "think on my ways" means to take a hard, honest look at how you're living. No excuses. No rationalizations. Just raw honesty before God.
Think about the prodigal son. Scripture tells us "when he came to himself," he recognized his need to return home (Luke 15:17). That phrase "came to himself" represents that moment of brutal honesty. The moment he stopped blaming others, stopped making excuses, and took a hard look at his life. That's what the psalmist is describing here. Genuine seeking requires us to stop justifying ourselves and start examining ourselves in light of God's Word.
3) Immediate Obedience
Our third mark comes from verses 59b-60: "I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments." This is immediate, unhesitating obedience. The word "turn" here is the same Hebrew word used for repentance throughout the Old Testament. This isn't a slight adjustment. This isn't a minor course correction. This is a complete reorientation of life. And notice - no delay. In ancient Near Eastern culture, delayed obedience was seen as dishonor. When a servant received an order, immediate response was expected. Anything less was rebellion. Delayed obedience is disobedience.
We see this immediate obedience in Matthew's response to Jesus. When Christ called him at the tax booth, Scripture simply says "And he rose and followed him" (Matthew 9:9). No negotiation. No "let me finish up this quarter's taxes." No "give me a few days to think about it." Just immediate obedience. It’s just like when He said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60).
Take a moment. Which of these three marks is most convicting right now? Where do you need to move from casual religion to desperate seeking? What step of immediate obedience is God calling you to take? Because here's the truth - when we begin seeking God like this, it will be tested. And that brings us to our next point...
Convenient faith crumbles. Tested faith reveals. (61-62)
In verses 61-62, the psalmist shows us what happens when faith faces real opposition. He writes in verse 61, "Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law." This isn't theoretical hardship. The word "ensnare" paints a picture of being trapped. Cornered. Under attack. The world is actively trying to force him to compromise.
And it's in this moment of testing that we discover what our faith is really made of. When the psalmist is ensnared - when he's caught in the trap - his response reveals what he truly believes. "I do not forget your law." Notice the progression. The attack is real, but his commitment to God's Word remains unshaken.
Think about a refiner's fire.[1] When a metalsmith puts gold into the furnace, that fire doesn't create the gold's purity. It reveals it. Everything that isn't gold burns away. When the heat comes, anything false, anything artificial, anything less than genuine - it all disappears. What remains is what was real all along. What happens if it all disappears when you’re tested? You never had genuine faith.
This is exactly what God tells us through the prophet Malachi: "He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:2) The Lord brings testing not to destroy our faith, but to reveal whether it's genuine.
We see this pattern throughout Scripture. When Daniel's enemies made prayer illegal, Scripture tells us "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously." Notice that last phrase - "as he had done previously." The test didn't create Daniel's faithfulness. It revealed it.
But the psalmist takes us deeper in verse 62: "At midnight I rise to praise you because of your righteous rules." This is where we see what genuine faith looks like when everything burns away. Midnight represents our darkest moments. When comfort is gone. When answers aren't coming. When all our props and supports are stripped away.
Think about Job. When everything burned away - his wealth, his children, his health, his reputation - what remained? "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped" (Job 1:20). The fire revealed that his faith wasn't built on blessings but on God Himself.
This is what Peter means when he writes 1 Peter 1:7, "so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Notice he doesn't say the testing creates genuine faith. He says it reveals the genuineness that was already there.
So when those cords of opposition tighten around you - when midnight comes - don't just ask "How can I endure this?" Ask "What is this revealing about my faith?" Because if your faith is merely convenient - if it's built on comfort or culture or circumstance - the fire will expose that. Everything false will burn away. But if your faith is genuine - if it's built on the unshakeable Word of God - then the fire will prove it. Midnight will reveal it. And like pure gold emerging from the furnace, what will remain is authentic faith - faith that worships not because life is easy, but because God is worthy.
Your community shapes your devotion. (63-64)
The people around you will either feed your devotion or drain it. There's no neutral ground. The relationships you choose, the voices you listen to, and the people you surround yourself with will either push you deeper into faith or slowly, almost imperceptibly, pull you away. But there's something even more profound here. These relationships don't just shape our devotion. They reveal it.
The psalmist understands this dual truth. "I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts" (Psalm 119:63). He doesn't just believe in God privately. He chooses to align his life with others who do the same. He doesn't say "I follow God and I also keep close company with those who live however they want." He intentionally walks with those whose lives are shaped by the fear of the Lord and obedience to His Word.
Why? Because the company you keep will either help your devotion or harm it. Paul says it plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:33: "Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’" He's warning us because it's easy to be deceived about this. We convince ourselves we can handle it. That our friendships, our influences, our environments won't affect us. But they always do.
But there's an even deeper truth here. Our relationships with God's people reveal our relationship with God. This is exactly what John would later write in 1 John 4:20, "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” You can measure someone's devotion to God by examining their commitment to His people. Even ones they don’t like. You show me someone who constantly complains about other people in the church or who has a disdain for other brothers and sisters in Christ and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t love God.
The early church understood this connection. When the world looked at them, what did they see? Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Not by their doctrine. Not by their worship services. Not by their religious activities. By their love for each other. Their community didn't just shape their devotion - it demonstrated it.
This is why the word "companion" in verse 63 is so significant. It means to be bound together, to be intimately connected. The psalmist isn't talking about casual association. He's talking about covenant relationship. When we truly love God, we bind ourselves to His people. When we genuinely fear Him, we commit deeply to others who fear Him.
Look at your companions. Are they stirring your affections for Christ? Do they make you want to love Him more, obey Him more, treasure Him more? Or do they make a halfhearted faith feel normal? Do they push you toward obedience, or do they help you justify compromise? These questions don't just reveal who's shaping you, but they reveal what's already true about your heart.
Then in verse 64, the psalmist declares "The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes." This connection is vital. God's steadfast love toward us should create steadfast love between us. His faithfulness to us should create faithfulness to each other. When we see His love filling the earth, it should fill our relationships with His people.
So look at your life. Who are you walking with? Are your closest companions pulling you toward God or away from Him? Do you have people in your life who strengthen your walk with God? Your answers won't just tell you who's shaping your devotion. They'll reveal whether your devotion is genuine. Because you cannot love an unseen God while remaining uncommitted to His visible people. Your community doesn't just shape your devotion. It proves it.
Jesus is the greater portion.
Jesus is the greater portion. Psalm 119:57-64 isn’t just about personal devotion—it is about devotion that is only possible through Christ. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my portion” (57), but Jesus fulfills that truth in a way the psalmist could never fully understand. In John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” The psalmist looked to God as his portion, but we have the privilege of seeing that portion revealed in the person of Jesus. He is not just the giver of good things—He is the very thing our souls were made for.
The psalmist longed to obey God without hesitation, saying, “I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments” (60). But where we stumble, Jesus stood firm. He is the faithful One who never delayed obedience. Philippians 2:8 tells us, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” His obedience wasn’t just immediate. It was complete. He fulfilled every command, every law, every righteous requirement. And He did it for us.
The psalmist experienced opposition from the wicked, saying, “Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law” (61). But Jesus bore the ultimate suffering for righteousness’ sake. He was betrayed, mocked, abandoned, and crucified—not for His own sin, but for ours. He was ensnared by the wicked so that we could go free. He was surrounded by darkness so that we could walk in the light.
The psalmist clung to godly companionship, saying, “I am a companion of all who fear you” (63). But Jesus is the greater companion. He doesn’t just walk alongside those who fear God—He calls them His friends. “No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends.” (John 15:15) He gathers to Himself a people devoted to the Father, forming a kingdom of worshipers who live for His glory.
The psalmist saw God’s steadfast love filling the earth, declaring, “The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love” (64). But in Jesus, we see God’s love fully revealed. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9) God’s love is not just seen in creation. It is seen in Christ, who left heaven to rescue us, who endured the cross to redeem us, and who now reigns so that we might be with Him forever.
So the call is clear. Don’t settle for convenient Christianity. Don’t treat devotion like an optional add-on to your life. Seek God with your whole heart. Obey Him without delay. Worship Him in the midnight hour. Walk with those who fear Him. And most of all, cling to Jesus, your true portion. Because in the end, He is not just worth part of us—He is worth every bit of us.
