Psalm 1
1Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
2But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law.
3They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.
4But this is not true of the wicked. They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. (Psalm 1:1-6, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
In the very first Psalm, the author paints a picture contrasting the life of those who follow the Lord with those who don’t.
The person who follows the Lord is depicted as a healthy tree that is firmly planted and has plenty of water. As a result, the tree thrives, producing fruit without fail, in every season, just as it is supposed to.
But those who don’t follow the Lord, termed “the wicked”, don’t thrive. Instead of producing fruit, they are like worthless dried leaves that wither in the wind.
What is it that determines whether someone is going to thrive or not?
According to the author, what allows some to thrive is that they “delight in doing everything the Lord wants.” The author expounds by saying, “day and night they think about his law.”
The person who thrives, spiritually speaking, does so because he commits himself to following God’s pattern for righteous living as outlined in God’s law.
You may be saying, “I thought Jesus died so that we would not have to follow the Law”, to which I would agree.
However, the fact that Jesus died does not mean we can do whatever we want. As I wrote in yesterday’s post, “The Decisive Issue in Following Christ”, when we come to Jesus to save us, we are not just saying a prayer that will allow us to escape some future punishment (hell). We are making a decision to make Jesus king in our lives, voluntarily submitting ourselves to His rules and His rule.
Jesus died so that the Law no longer condemns us and no longer punishes us. But God still outlines for us throughout the scriptures the way to righteous living. Those who want to prosper will follow the Lord’s guidelines for living. Those guidelines are not found by listening to the media, academia, celebrities or corporate America. God alone provides the way to a rich and abundant spiritual life.
Do you want to thrive? Do you want to be like a tree that is firmly planted, bearing fruit and flourishing?
According to Psalm 1, this happens only by knowing what God wants and actively and intentionally pursuing His ways.
Reflection
What kind of tree are you, spiritually speaking? Are you thriving? Why or why not?
The author says that those who prosper do so because they do everything God wants and they constantly think about God’s laws (God’s guidelines for righteous living). What evidence would you present to demonstrate that you know God’s ways and that you actively pursue them?
What factors might cause a tree that is thriving to begin to die and produce worthless dry leaves?
What are the things in your life and environment that make it harder for you to thrive spiritually and produce regular and consistent spiritual fruit?
The Lowedown 