Delighting in God
Scripture Reading — Psalm 1
Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked …
Psalm 1:1
One reason I enjoy reading from the book of Psalms is that it offers guidance in our walk with God. Psalm 1 reminds us that ultimately life offers only two roads to travel. “Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who delight in the law of the LORD, and meditate on his law day and night.”
This psalm describes a progression in the way we can get dragged into a lifestyle that dishonors God. It begins with “walking,” moves to “standing,” and ends in “sitting.” The psalmist describes a life that begins with a flirtatious walk with sin and ends up deeply mired in mockery of the Lord and his way.
A life of wickedness has no real weight to it. It cannot last; it is “like chaff that the wind blows away.”
By contrast, a righteous life has balance and stability. That’s what faith and obedience give to God’s children. In this regard we can say that a person who walks with God is like “a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”
Does your life have stability through your walk with God? Does it have the strength, in Christ, to stand strong in the stormy times of life? (See Philippians 4:13.) Walking the path with your Lord means life today and forever.
Lord, help me to walk the path that leads to full life with you. Keep me from temptation. May your Word be the delight and strength of my heart. Amen.
About the author — Adrian A. Helleman
Dr. Adrian Helleman served as a pastor in British Columbia before being called to serve as a missionary-teacher in the Philippines. He and his wife, Wendy, later taught philosophy at Moscow State University in Russia, and then philosophy and theology at the University of Jos in Nigeria. They have also lectured in Canada, the United States, South Africa, and Tanzania. They have three children and three grandchildren.
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