Psalm 119:59 His Ways Are Enough

I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.

Psalm 119:59

Does this describe you?

Or does one of the following sound more like you?

I was frustrated because my plans and actions landed me in a big mess, so I'm going to make a half-hearted attempt at a different approach to life.

I was accused of doing wrong and I chose denial, refusing to admit my guilt.

Someone pointed out the error of my ways, and I resented them for it.

I narrowly escaped disaster because of my own choices, and I refused to face my fears, pretending everything will be just fine.

Chasing my desires keeps coming back to bite me, so I gave up on controlling myself.

I know I need to make big changes in my life, and I keep wishing I had the passion and discipline to do what it would take.

I was punished for the things I've done wrong, so I went through the motions of acting sorry, begging for another chance.

I've embarrassed myself in front of others, so I put up a good front to convince them I'm different now.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

II Corinthians 7:10-11

It's your choice. Do you want to cling to your own way of doing things, when when they continually fall short?

Or are you ready to admit that God's ways are enough?

Psalm 119:58 Seeking His Face; Seeking His Grace

I have sought your face with all my heart;be gracious to me according to your promise.

Psalm 119:58

I've lived in Columbia, MO, for the past 39 years. I've worked in the healthcare field and for the University of Missouri, the two top employers in the city, which means I've interacted with a lot of people over the past four decades.

There's a high probability that any time I go to the mall or a store or a restaurant or any other place where people gather in Columbia, I'm going to see someone I know.

As I'm looking around, quite often I'll see faces that are familiar. I don't know their names, and I really don't know them personally, but I know I've seen them around town. It's that sense of "where do I I know them from" that nags at all of us sometimes.

Of course, I'll also see the faces of people I instantly know, but not the type I would just go up to and greet. These are the local celebrities: the TV reporters, the politicians, the movers and shakers. I'm not a part of their world, for the most part, so while their faces catch my eye, not too many of them will notice me.

But then there are the co-workers, friends, and neighbors, who I wave to or say 'hello' to, and they - hopefully - respond in kind.

But, of course, what I'm really looking for is the face of someone who is truly a good friend. Even better,a good friend I haven't seen in a long time.

Every year or two I see Mark Martin's face at Walmart or at a concert or festival downtown. When he sees me, he gets a wry, half grin on his face, his eyes reflecting the shared memory of our rambunctious youth. We talk for a couple of minutes, catching up on the latest major changes in our lives. In the past couple of years we've asked each other about the possibility of retirement. It's a question that will never stop seeming strange when talking to someone who was part of my group of closest friends when we were in our teens.

I used to run into Alex Miller in Walmart about once a year. He had been my oldest brother's best friend back in high school, and then he had been a good friend of mine for a few years when we were both going to church at the Mizzou Christian Campus House. His face would always break into a grin when he would see me, as I'm sure mine did in return. We enjoyed a shared curiosity and idealism about many things during those years before our paths separated.

I also occasionally see the face of people I recognize from a decade and a half of Monday nights in the chapel at the women's prison. When I see these familiar faces, I wait before greeting them, especially if they're with someone else -  or, as has happened frequently, if they're working at a fast food place or restaurant where I'm eating. I don't want to embarrass them if their companions or their co-workers aren't aware of their past.

Usually, though, they'll initiate the conversation. Sometimes their face is familiar but I'm not sure where I know them from, so I'll just say, "Vandalia?", which is specific without revealing too much.

The faces of these women are almost always beaming with joy at seeing me again. Sometimes that joy is instantly mixed with a bit of guilty apology. They know they're not living up to everything I taught them and encouraged them to be. But after a few questions and answers, I'm almost always able to offer them a bit of encouragement and perhaps a bit of advice, if they ask.

But generally, what their eyes crave most, is grace. Because that's what they need the most.

All of us, when we seek the face of God, especially if it's been a while since we last looked for Him, desire grace above everything else.

I know, Lord, that I've fallen short. I don't turn to you as often as I should.  But what I need is to know that your promise is still good, that grace is still on the table.

Any thing else, any other blessings, would be fantastic. But your grace is enough.

Psalm 119:57 You Are My Portion

You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words.

Psalm 119:57

Our son, Cody, enjoyed the advantages of life as an only child throughout most of his childhood.

When we would visit his cousins in Kansas, the difference in their lives compared to his was a huge culture shock for him. His Uncle Chuck and Aunt Nancy had 14 children.

He noticed the difference in an elemental way at mealtime. Aunt Nancy would portion out the available food among the children, Cody bringing the number to 15. Those portions were significantly smaller than what Cody was used to.

When he asked me about it later, I explained that everyone got what they needed. He might be used to getting more, but the portion he got was the same as all his happy, healthy, rambunctious cousins.


It seems to be a part of human nature to always want more. In the 21st century we see that played out in the consumer culture. It isn't enough to have a phone that provides the basic things we need. There's always a newer model with options and features we didn't even know we wanted, but now we just have to have them.

We carry that desire for more over to our relationship with God, forgetting that He has promised to give us everything we need.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

II Peter 1:3-4

God Himself is enough. The closer I get to Him and the more I allow His divine nature to permeate my character, the greater my portion of Him.

The goal of Bible meditation should always be to know the heart of God. As both Peter and David agree, knowing and obeying His Word - and His heart - is the key to enjoying God as my portion.

Psalm 119:57-64 Heth

You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words.
I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.
I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.
I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.
Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law.
At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.
I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.
The earth is filled with your love, Lord; teach me your decrees.

Psalm 119:57-64

Psalm 119 is not the only place where David says God is his portion.

I cry to you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.'

Psalm 142:5

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing 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

What does David mean when he says God is my portion?

Allow me to quote myself, from an article I wrote about that question in The Lookout magazine in November of 2010

God is my portion. The scriptures tell us this over and over.

Unfortunately we read “God is my portion” and it sticks in our minds as “God will give me my portion.” As though God were an eternal Santa Claus with a large bag of blessings. He welcomes us onto his lap at a church that meets in an abandoned discount store and he listens to our long list of what we want from him. And he bursts out with a mild “Ho Ho Ho” (not too powerful, so as not to terrify his timid children) and he promises we’ll get all that and more.

The one true God does indeed promise blessings for being his and for sharing him with others. . . .

But the good news of the gospel is that we who are lost can be reconciled with God Himself. The best promise He gives, the blessing that surpasses all else, is Himself.

He is our portion.

Whatever blessings may come my way, whatever rocky roads I have to travel, whatever troubles and trials I face, God is enough.

Psalm 119:56 Remember to Live Intentionally

This has been my practice: I obey your precepts

Psalm 119:56

The various translations and commentators disagree on what this verse is actually saying.

It could be David is saying that because of the practices he has described in this stanza, especially the spiritual disciplines of verses 54 & 55, the natural result of that intentional spiritual training is habitual obedience.

It could also be as simple as the way the NIV (above) translates it. The most important part of my intentional spiritual practices is this: I obey your precepts.

It doesn't really matter, does it? The point is that intentional spiritual disciplines result in intentional obedience in daily life.

It's similar to what's going on in this short video of a Mizzou Baseball pitcher:

When your caught doing something you should be doing. Visualization should be part of everyone’s routine. Maximize your time when you are not throwing. Difference btw ordinary and extraordinary is the “extra”. Didn’t even get chapped about being on the tarp 😀 #onCamera pic.twitter.com/TChKZzHbxx

— Fred Corral (@FCorral34) November 16, 2017

Bryce Montes de Oca is visualizing what he will do in specific situations during a baseball game. He could rely on the accumulated physical training and practical coaching of over three and a half years with the team. But he takes the additional step of planning in detail how he will apply all those things to real game situations.

For the person after God's own heart, the key to intentional living is to meditate on the Word using a similar approach.

• Physical training: Intentionally develop the physical habits of study and prayer at a scheduled time and place. This trains your entire being to arrange your life around those habits of spiritual discipline.
•  Coaching: Intentionally seek out spiritual mentors and leaders who will go beyond providing spiritual pep talks to teach and train you in the specifics of righteous living. As they teach you, visualize how you can put to test what you're learning in your daily routines.
• Study and Meditation: Intentionally spend time in the Word, combining light reading and deep study. While you read, meditate on the Word, visualizing the ways it can transform you, the specific aspects of your life that could be impacted by what you're reading.

Make this your practice: visualize obeying His precepts. Then intentionally obey.

Psalm 119:54-55 Remember to Stay Grounded

Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.
In the night, Lord, I remember your name, that I may keep your law.

Psalm 119:54-55

At the beginning of this zayin stanza, I framed its theme like this:

How does a person after God's own heart respond to wicked people who make a mockery of God's law and cause troubles and suffering for God's people? 

Verses 54 & 55 echo Psalm 37's answer to that question. The key to properly responding to the wickedness we see in the world (and sometimes in the church) is to always remain grounded in the Word. Only by putting down deep roots can the believer avoid being swept up in the 21st century tide of extreme division.

Much of what David wrote in Psalm 37 describes the spiritual disciplines that will keep us grounded.

• 37:3 dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture: Spend so much time with God during your quiet times that, even when you're in the midst of the chaos of the world, you will be internally dwelling in His safe pasture
• 37:4 take delight in the Lord: Get to know the Lord through quality time in the Word and in prayer, praising Him for who He is, so that your heart delights in his companionship, rather than delighting in wickedness or delighting in wicked responses to wickedness (such as hatred, mocking, and politics)
• 37:5 commit your way to the Lord: Meditate on the Word and make concrete plans to live out what you're reading in your daily life, to avoid falling into habits driven by the world
• 37:7 be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him: Spend time in stillness and solitude, learning to wait patiently for His guidance, rather than impatiently trying to control your world by other means

I could go on and on in Psalm 37 - and you should, too. David's response to wickedness is to put down roots in the Word, rather than giving in to your knee jerk responses.

David echoes that here in Psalm 119. Wherever he is, he worships God and praises His decrees. And every night he refreshes his mind with memories of God's name (who He is and what He stands for) so that he refreshes his commitment to keeping the law.

Keeping your focus when the world around you is getting crazy begins with intentionally and habitually renewing your focus on God and on incorporating His word into your life. 

Psalm 119:53 Remember the Whole Law

Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law.

Psalm 119:53

That Hebrew word translated as indignation also can refer to a burning fire.

It would seem David is so gripped by indignation it gives him heartburn. He's about to explode with blazing anger.

Have you ever felt that indignant about wicked people who have forsaken the law of God? I know I have.

Indignation grips me because of the hundreds of thousands of children whose lives have been terminated before they ever got a chance to walk the 1 road.

I'm often indignant at the callous use of the names of God and Jesus in everyday conversation. I'm even more indignant when those same words pop into my own mind.

My heart heats does a slow burn when I see people worshiping athletes, celebrities, politicians, and other human idols. I shake my head in disgust when my fellow Christians do the same.

My heart burns to see discord, dissension, factions, and vilification of opposing viewpoints become the norm in 21st century America. That heartburn bursts into a raging inferno when I see the 21st century American Church falling into the very same habits.

I'm indignant that so many Christians will get explosively worked up over the laws they see being ignored among the people of the world, while they remain comfortably selective in their follow-through on God's commandments to love your neighbor and love your your enemies.

I'm incensed when Christians ignore the laws against bearing false witness and gossiping, all in the pursuit of "spinning" the truth in favor of the "right" politician and against the "wrong" politician.

I'm also indignant when Christians choose to ignore clear biblical teachings about sins, under the pressure of modern culture and their personal experiences. I'm equally indignant when Christians choose to stand firm on those teachings about sin, but choose to ignore the clear scriptural teachings to lead with love, to win those people to Christ, to be reconcilers.

I also become indignant when people post lists of things about which they're indignant, as though the focus of the gospel is to build walls rather than breaking them down.