Starting off the book of Psalms, the writer says, ‘Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful…’ (Psalms 1:1) – making it evident to us that a man is not only blessed by the things that he does, but also by the things that he does not do. The psalmist goes on to list these things that we should not be doing – the first being receiving counsel from men who do not know, respect, or hear from the Lord. Counsel is vital to one’s progress, the scriptures tell us that ‘where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety’ (Proverbs 11:14) but church, it matters greatly who we allow to guide, motivate, and build us. Not every single person you know should be in a place to give you direction and we should not be readily available to participate in all the ungodly conversations and activities around us. This is what Apostle Paul meant when he said, ‘Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?’ (2 Corinthians 6:14). However, we like to believe that we can change such people, but even the Bible has made clear that ‘bad company corrupts good character’ (1 Corinthians 15:33). And often, believers like to make exceptions where they overstate an unbeliever’s ‘good’ characteristics and appealing attributes as reason enough to defy the instruction of scripture and go ahead entangling themselves with those people – but the problem here is, you can never fully bank on such a person. Without reverence for God and a godly accountability structure, there is no telling what this person may do tomorrow and you have no way of knowing if they will ever come back to order. Additionally, considering the story of Joseph of Arimathea, we see that while he was part of the council, he stood up for his convictions and let it be clearly known that he did not consent to the killing of Jesus (Luke 23:51). But believers today shy from any offence, we prefer to be palatable and accepted by people we should be standing out from.
The psalmist continues to say, ‘But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night’ (Psalms 1:2) – emphasising that is it the love for the Word of God, that reveals one’s true heart towards God. The psalmist also presented that believers should delight themselves in the Lord and that the Lord would then grant us the desires of our hearts (Psalms 37:4) – this is the modus operandi for a blessed man, he is one who delights himself fully in the Word of God, because it is that Word that makes real the blessing of God. This was the Lord’s instruction to Joshua, saying, ‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success’ (Joshua 1:8). The same is true for us church, it is the Word of God that will reveal God’s blessing to us! Going back to the initial psalm, we read, ‘He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water’ (v.3) – planted, not floating about. But believers today do not want to be planted in a system of consistency, we want to hop around for quick results and not submit ourselves with patience to a godly pattern. Our leaves are not meant to wither, and everything we touch ought to express the blessing of the Lord, which is alive in us!
Church, we ought to keep top of mind that the real blessing is knowing the Lord and having a personal relationship with Him. Nothing in this world can begin to compare to this joy, and without this view of eternity, we will always be warped in by the fleeting pleasures of life and will become sorrowful whenever these seem to be lacking. Jesus told the disciples that the only thing worth celebrating is that their names are written in the heavens (Luke 10:20). The prophet Jeremiah also said, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord’ (Jeremiah 17:5). While we know that we are already blessed and owe no debt to any curse, we also have to cooperate with the rhythms of that blessing and do our part in enforcing this victory. We need to remain mindful of the true source of all our blessings, God, and none of the instruments He uses to channel these blessings to us. However, believers today then magnify their blessings over the Blesser – removing their focus from Him and put their trust on what or who they can see. This shift in perspective pollutes your heart, departing its affections from God to other idols. That is why pride, bragging of resources and connections are a dangerous space to operate in. The prophet continues to further say, ‘… for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not see when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit’ (v.8). This highlights the importance of the blessed man’s perception: always seeing things through the eyes of the Word of God, protecting the light we carry and disallowing our eyes to wander far from the realities of God. We are the blessed of God church, and we ought to channel our minds into the correct patterns of thought to align fully to this reality!
Prayer
We thank You Father, because You have assured us of Your blessing in our lives. Assured us that we do not walk without advantage, that we are not the same as our counterparts, and that we have been rigged for success, that we have been attuned to Your goodness, mercy, grace, and kindness. We can never lack! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
