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Scripture Reading: Psalm 1

Several years ago I was praying about what I could do with my life for God.  I wanted to serve Him in some great way, and was willing to go wherever He wanted me to go and do whatever He wanted me to do.

One day a friend of mine was praying for me.  As he prayed, he said he saw me as if I were a tree, not necessarily going or doing anything at all, but standing still and growing tall.  He said that as I grew, people would come and rest under the shade of my branches.

It was a great picture, but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind.  I wanted to go and do something spectacular for God, but it sounded like God wanted me to stay where I was and keep growing in Him.  It reminded me in a way of the passage that we’re looking at today, Psalm 1.  It’s a passage that describes just such a man:

“He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.”
(Psalm 1:2) 

As I read that passage, all of a sudden, it didn’t sound so bad to me.  How awesome it would be to be like a tree planted by streams of water.  To dig my roots deep into the ground and soak up all I could of the life-giving water nearby.  To be able to yield fruit when it was time.  To know that my leaves would never wither. And to know that in all I did I would prosper.

I wanted to be like that tree, so I looked at the rest of Psalm 1 where it showed me how:

“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on His law he meditates day and night”
(Psalm 1:1-2)

Rather than entering into the ways of the wicked and sinners and scoffers, God wanted me to dig deep into His Word―to take delight in reading it and meditating on it day and night.  In the process, I would grow stronger and taller in my faith and in my life.  And as I grew, I would be blessed and so would those around me, as a natural byproduct of my own growth.

I felt both relief and exhilaration at the same time.  Instead of having to try to figure everything out right away, I could focus simply on meditating on God’s Word, letting God bring the fruit “in its season.”

There’s something spectacular about reading and meditating on God’s Word.  A monk named Thomas Merton said:

“By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet.” 

If you want to serve God in a powerful way, I encourage you to take the words of Psalm 1 to heart.  Don’t take the path of the wicked and sinners and scoffers.  Take the path instead of meditating on God’s Word day and night.  Send your roots deep into His life-giving words.  And as you and your faith grow, you will be blessed―and so will those around you.  You’ll have a new outlook on life, and others will gather around just to rest in the shade of your tree.

Prayer

Father, thank You for giving us Your Word so that we can read it, meditate on it, and grow in our faith and in our lives.  Help us to grow strong and tall as we read Your Word, so that we can bear fruit “in its season,” blessing others along the way.  In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Memory Verse

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1, ESV).