Reading in Psalm 1 today and here’s my question…how have you sought counsel from the wicked and were the results favorable?
I tend to think that wicked can be those who do not have your best interest in mind or those who plot against your success.
:1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a]path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”
a. or way
Sometimes the Message paraphrase provides a fun way to look at God’s Word:
:1 How well God must like you—
you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon,
you don’t slink along Dead-End Road,
you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College.
Think about times you sought counsel from the ungodly, secular, random opinions of others and allowed them to ‘twist’ your thinking just enough to get you off of your God pathway. Where you decided not to put God first in your morning…then daily thinking and planning.
When we ponder those times we can then see where we may have gotten off track or slid into troubled thinking resulting into unwise judgement about something.
But the Word reminds us that blessed is the one who refuses to entertain thoughts, suggestions, ideas, recommendations, etc. from those who do not know God or are even hostile toward Him.
How about today we try to think upon His ways and those things that delight our Father? Test the outcome and see if it isn't a more excellent way! Share on XInstead from the Message:
:2,3 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.
And the NASB:
:2,3 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Lord, today my desire is to keep my mind on You. Let me dwell on your goodness and forsake my tendency to ask from those who refuse to proclaim Your name. Let me be wise in those things I watch on television and even let my children watch while they are in their formative years of growing and learning to make sound decisions. I want Jesus, You alone and the Holy Spirit to guide me along the way. Let my reactions to His prompting direct my decision making and help me learn to respond immediately when He speaks to my heart, instead of wishing I had later in my day. I ask because I know you hear my hearts desire to please you in Jesus name.
