Image from forbes.com
Hear the devotional: https://bit.ly/3UAoAIX
1 How well God must like you - you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College. 2 Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. 3 You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. 4 You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust - 5 Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people. 6 God charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row. (Psalm 1 The Message Bible)
I can almost guarantee that you had to make at least one difficult decision today. And if not today, at least during this week you had to decide what would be best for you and yours. Where you stand today may be the result of all the decisions you had to make. To study or not study. To attend college or not. To marry or not. To believe or not believe. To eat the apple or the donut. No decision is always easy!
Psalm 1 paints a vivid picture of two contrasting paths: the path of righteousness and the path of wickedness. The psalmist celebrates the person who delights in God's Word, describing them as a flourishing tree, deeply rooted and bearing fruit in season. On the other hand, those who reject God's ways are like chaff, easily blown away by the wind.
As we meditate on this psalm, we are reminded of the importance of our choices and the company we keep. Do we choose to immerse ourselves in God's Word, allowing it to shape our thoughts and actions? Or do we drift along with the values and desires of the world?
The psalmist encourages us to delight in God's Word, to chew on it day and night. This isn't just about reading the Bible, but about engaging with it, allowing its truth to penetrate deep into our hearts and minds. When we do this, we become like trees planted by streams of water, drawing nourishment from the living waters of God's presence.
But the psalm also warns us of the consequences of rejecting God's ways. Those who choose the path of wickedness may seem successful for a time, but their end is ultimately destruction. They are like chaff, easily swept away and left with nothing.
PRAYER: Loving God, we thank You for Your Word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Help us to delight in Your Word, to meditate on it day and night, so that we may be like trees planted by streams of water, flourishing in every season of life. Guard our hearts and minds from the influence of the world, and lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your name's sake. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! HERE'S YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Spend more time in God's Word each day. Meditate on what you read. Make time to reflect and pray; then seek opportunities to apply what you learn.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
