The way to true and lasting happiness

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.

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.
The wicked are not so, 
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, 
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1

What is more important to you, what people say or what God says?  What you think or what God thinks?  Which do you rely on more?  Do you believe that you will be happier if you figure life out on your own or with your friends and just leave God out of it?  What is the primary influence in the decisions you make on a daily basis?

Many people like to call themselves Christians.  But to them it is just a name that sounds good.  Maybe they call themselves that because they assume it goes right along with being an American?  Maybe it's because their parents took them to church when they were little?  Maybe it's because they go to church themselves and so they believe that constitutes being a Christian.  When in reality, they have never turned away from their sin and received Christ.  It is possible to go to church every Sunday and never take one step toward following Christ because truly following Christ begins with a heart yielded to his will.  It begins with a heart that is deeply sorrowful about it's sin.  It begins when the eyes are opened to see that Christ's suffering and dying for all the sins he never committed, is the only way to pay for all the sins that we committed.

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...


There are some who read these verses and might think that we should completely avoid being around ungodly people.  To some degree we do need to be careful about how others influence us.  But I think the greatest concern should be centered on ourselves.  As long as we live in this world we will hear and see and observe the world around us.  How are we interpreting those things?  Do we question the messages that we hear?  Have we forgotten that there is truth and there is falsehood and it shouldn't take us long to figure out which one should be rejected?  The way that we live begins with the way we think.

If God is your consuming passion you will not allow the world to chew you up and spit you out with its false and ungodly philosophies and ideologies.  If you have an unwavering commitment to the unchanging truth of the Word of God you can have the spiritual strength of the three men in Daniel chapter three.  These men were taken from their homes, probably from a godly environment, and in the midst of what we might call "peer pressure" in the extreme, they still chose to honor God.  They would not bow down (literally) to falsehood and lies.  Even when it meant the loss of their lives here on this earth!  They would do no less than worship the One true God of heaven and earth!

This begs the question, would our kids be equipped with such a love for God and confidence in him and the truth of his Word that they would refuse to bow down?  Would we?  I know it's difficult to answer those questions and to imagine ourselves in a situation like that.  But I hope that it motivates us to see our need to be equipped and to be focused on the Word of God each and every day.

What we think will lead to what we do.  What we do will lead to who we become.  Here is a good description of a scoffer:

"Scoffers have rejected God and his Word.  They now seek to justify themselves by openly deriding that which they've rejected.  Scoffers think they know more than God.  They're too smart to believe in the Bible.  Many scoffers come from church backgrounds, but they've cast if off as 'repressive'.  

Although they almost always hide under an intellectual smoke screen, invariably scoffers have cast off the Bible because they want to be their own god so that they can follow their own lusts.  They don't want God interfering in their sinful lifestyles."  (Stephen Cole)

And now, let's look at the contrast.

but his delight is in the law of the LORD, 
and on his law he meditates day and night.

If we are going to avoid being swayed by the deceitfulness of our own hearts and the influence of the world around us, it is imperative and essential that we delight in God's rules.  Yes, I said rules.  If we are thinking rightly about his Word, we will recognize that his law is pure, good and right.  We will not see it as oppressive or taking away our "fun".

To delight in God's Word is to find our joy in it, to be satisfied in it, and to derive pleasure from reading it, knowing it and thinking about it.  Does this describe you?  Or could it be that you are delighting in the wrong things?  Do you know the plot of your favorite TV show better than you know your Bible?  If you are getting to know the Bible, great!  But are you delighting in it?  Knowing it is not enough.  Do you consider it something that you simply could not live without?  Do you see it as something that quenches your thirst and satisfies your soul?

If so, you will be like this...

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.
The wicked are not so, 
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

If we are going to be nourished and if we are going to grow and thrive, we need to be delighting in God's Word and thinking about it continually.  This may sound like a silly question but have you ever thought about what you think about?  Seriously, think about it for a moment.  What are all of the things going through your mind on a daily basis?  Is God's Word a major part of those thoughts?

In conclusion, we do need to be careful about "outside influences" in our lives and in our children's lives.  But complete withdrawal and avoidance of them is not always the answer.  What we need is to take the time to "store up God's Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against him." Psalm 119:11

Maybe you sense a need to delight more in God's Word.  Maybe you are going through a time in your life where many thoughts seem to crowd out thoughts about God, his truth, his love and his ways?  Would you like to change that?

I want to encourage you to begin reading the Bible.  Don't get overwhelmed, just start small.  If you're not reading anything at all, wouldn't one verse be better than nothing?  You could write out one verse on an index card and read it from time to time, throughout the day, until you have it memorized.  It's really not as difficult to memorize verses as some people might think.  Don't tell me that you can't do it, three year olds can do it.  It's all about repetition.  Your goal is to think about God's Word.  To "meditate" is to think deeply, consider, reflect, and to mull it over in your mind.  This is what God wants you to do with his Word.

God's Word will help you, strengthen you, equip you, challenge your thinking, grow you, transform you and bless you!

Do you want more of that?  Go ahead and get started, what's stopping you?