Psalm 1

I think one of my favorite psalms is psalm 1. One of the main reasons it has so much importance to me is because it was one of the first passages of Scripture that I ever memorized. There are so many important lessons that can be gained from this passage.

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

This specific verse was the inspiration for a Casting Crowns song that I absolutely love called Slow Fade. In this verse at first the man is walking, then standing, and then sitting. I think the words of this song are so true and great to consider!

Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

I love how the song talks about the things you see, hear, say, and the places you chose to go. All of those things are things that we choose. It amazes me at how the enemy will get you to rationalize the smallest of things and that it will build and build until you find yourself doing things you never even imagined you'd do. It really is a slow fade into a life that you do not want to live.

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

If we want to avoid falling in to sin and out of a life lacking passion and love for God, than we must be grounded in His Word! The law of the Lord is in His written Word. We can't just read it; we must delight in it. We need to read it with a desire to grow and learn.

One time when I was sitting on a porch in the mountains of GA, God gave me this hypothetical situation that I could never forget. It was as if He said to me, "Lynsey, what if I bring the guy that you are going to marry into your life? What if I put him right before you and what if I am physically there with the two of you so that I can tell you that you will marry each other? Then you will know that it is my will." I was thinking wow! That would be amazing!!! Then He said, "But after you two meet, I am going to take him away form you for two full years and you will not be able to talk to each other at all for those two years." Man! That would be two hard years for sure! Then He said, "But I will give you a stack of letters from him, and in these letters you will have all the information you would ever want to know about him. You can read about what he likes and what he does and who he is." Oh wow! If that were to happen I would love those letters! I would read them all the time! I would memorize them and share them with others and carry them around with me all the time! And after those two years, I would run into his arms; so excited that i finally get to be with him! And then I heard God say, "Isn't that how you should feel about My letters to you?" Can I just say talk about a slap in the face?! Why is it that we tend to have more passion for the one we will end up with than a passion for the One that we are with and live for? If that isn't convicting than I don't know what it! I hope and pray that I will have that passion for God's Word where I delight in it and desire to meditate on it day and night!

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Have you ever thought of your spiritual life as a tree before? I read this story once that had to do with crops. It mentioned how most people think that when we have a season of heavy rains that it would be good for crops. That actually isn't true. See what happens is when it rains a lot, the roots of the crops don't need to grow deep into the ground in order to get nourishment. Then when a period of drought follows, all of the crops end up dying from a lack of deep roots. Crops must have deep roots in order to survive dry spouts. If our spiritual life is like a tree, the question to ask is how deep are our roots? The second question to ask is how can we deepen our roots? I believe that when it comes to growing deeper roots, it all depends on how much you are feeding yourself compared to how much you are being fed. Feeding yourself is the way to grow the roots deeper and being fed is more like the rain. We need a healthy amount of rain but if it is all we depend on we will not have deep roots.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Chaff is the stuff that is blown off of wheat when it is thrown in the air. It's the unimportant stuff.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Isn't it great to know that the Lord will watch over those who chose to live a righteous life? To live a righteous life takes work. It takes realizing that even the little decisions we make can affect us in big ways. It's the little decisions that can slowly take us away from living right and it can keep us from growing our deep roots in Christ.