Series: Blessed Be
Psalm 1:1-3 ESV
Psalm 1:1-3 MSG
We all have rough days when we do not feel loved.
The real truth about life is that sometimes we feel like it’s closing in on us.
Today I had something totally strange happen and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Just to give you a high level idea of what I was dealing with, someone I knew years ago tried to contact me with a strange request.
It came out of no where.
Then before I could figure out how to do what they asked me to do, it seemed to escalate.
As a result I was upset and a little confused.
But…because I have people who are prayers I can contact, I put the word out that I needed prayer support.
At the time all of this happened I had not read the scripture lesson I would be writing today. I intentionally write “ahead” but I don’t have an exact plan set in place. I just read the scripture, pray about it, pray about it, and pray about it until the Spirit moves me to start writing. IN other words I just get a nudge that it’s time to write.
Psalm 1:1-3 says:
“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 waterthat yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.”
I get the high level idea of the scripture…a man is blessed who doesn’t walk with people who do not turn to God. In other words the people who really choose not to turn to God for help have their own plan in life.
They do not rely on scripture.
They do not go to the stream of life (the Spirit) that refreshes the soul.
Psalm 1:1-3 from The Message puts it this way:
“How well God must like you— you don’t walk in the ruts of those blind-as-bats, you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings, you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls.
Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month,Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.”
Reading that takes me back to my teenage years.
There were so many times when I was in my teens that I was confused about what to do. Now mind you, those decisions were about what elective classes to take, what clubs to join, and who my boyfriend would be (probably that week).
My dad was in the process of teaching me how to turn to God, and he reminded me regularly to pray and listen.
The problem was that when I listened (probably for three seconds) and I didn’t get an answer I gave up. I had to learn how to listen. I needed to give God time to clear my head so I could hear the answer.
What I really wanted at the time was for my dad to listen for me and tell me what to do.
I really really wanted it to be easy and I knew my dad could do the listening for me.
The problem was that he refused. Every time I went to him and told him I didn’t hear anything he sent me back to my room (my sacred space) and told he not to give up. He would repeatedly tell me to give God my time.
Being 13 years old meant I wanted life to be like Fizzies.
We actually had fizzies when I was growing up and we thought it was a miracle. It was a colored tablet about the size of an alka seltzer. We would get a glass of cold water and drop the fizzle tablet in the water. Instantly it turned the water into red or orange (or whatever color and flavor the fizzie contained). In an instant we had bubbly soda pop from a tablet. We thought it was a miracle.
I wanted learning to hear God to be instant, but it wasn’t instant.
Day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year I sat with God. In time I also started reading scripture and I got to know God.
Once I started getting to know God, I could hear God whisper ever so slightly. Then, I got to know when the Spirit of God was nearby. It really was peace that passed understanding.
It took time for me to figure out that my dad gave me a great gift when he told me to listen myself. If he would have done it for me, I would have missed knowing God.
I’m really really glad my dad refused to give me a fizzie answer for hearing God. It made all the difference in the world.
Spiritual Practice: Practice Listening
Open your Bible. Choose a scripture. Listen for what God is telling you.
In God, Deborah
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