SCRIPTURE: Psalm 1:1-6
OBSERVATION:
The best (most blessed) way to live (ie the way to happiness, success, well-being, etc.) is by living according to the will of the Lord. They will live rooted, fruitful lives, like a tree growing close to water.
Those who go against the Lord, the way that the wicked (sinners, mockers) do, find themselves experiencing the opposite of happiness, success. Eventually like chaff (the husks around the grain that blow away in the wind) they disappear.
The key is meditating on the Lord’s will/way, not just affirming it but learning, applying and doing it.
The judgment (v.5) is not the Lord’s revenge, but each person getting what all their life they were aiming for, striving for, living for.
When we aim for the Lord and the kind of life He desires for us, we can be assured that He will help us, walk with us, watch over us.
APPLICATION:
My time reading these Bible passages (SOAP) has been helpful for me in getting to know better what the Lord desires for me.
The advantage of steeping my mind in the message of the Bible is that I am better able to discern right from wrong, good from bad, helpful from harmful.
I do sense the Lord strengthening and equipping me (like water feeding the root system), and so whatever is good in my life is to His credit, the fruit of His work in me.
I also hear You gently nudging me about some personal sin issues, reminding me that when I give in to them, I am actually harming myself and keeping myself from experiencing the protection and blessing of the Lord.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for the reminder to aim for You and Your will. I have so much to learn, so many ways to grow, but thank You for what You have begun in me, and for the assurance that You will see me through to the end. Amen.
Psalm 1 reminds me that happiness is – to be rooted in Jesus Christ. Each and every day is the Lord’s day and all my activities must be interwoven with God thoughts so that I can see Jesus in my daily living. As water nurtures the tree so His presence in my life nurtures me. In this way, others may see the fruit I bear in His name. I must live for Jesus a Life that is true, striving to please Him in all that I do. As I enter the new school year, it is my prayer that I may be convicted of just that by all who see what I do. Thank You Lord for Your Spirit is here, leading and guiding and directing – giving growth in season. Help me to grow in You. Help me to nurture the growth of that faith in others, especially to all those I teach and am in charge of, so that they too are rooted in You.