Secret Treasures From Psalms

Blessed- let's start there. The entire book of Psalms starts with the word "blessed." Psalms takes the reader through almost every emotion a person can experience—joy, confidence, fear, depression, guilt and so much more, but the overarching theme is a deep faith in God's love for us no matter where we are or what we have done. The book of Psalms reflects the message of the entire Bible, and this message is woven in the Psalms through poetry, songs, meditations, and prayers. As we study the Word of God and learn more about this great love, we find that we are truly blessed.
To be blessed is to be happy, prosperous, and fortunate. To live a blessed life is enviable, meaning that it is to be desired, and it is desirable to others when they look at our blessed life. There are many preachers teaching prosperity. Don't shy away from that, just make sure you follow the scriptures and study them in context. Psalm 1:2 tells us to meditate and study God's Word as a regular habit. You should know the Word well enough to know if the teaching you are listening to is biblical. Financial blessings are absolutely a part of the Christian life, but prosperity can come in many forms. I want to encourage you to seek more than just financial blessings as you walk through this life. I regularly pray for spiritual, physical, and financial blessings. I desire all three and this is biblical. How do we obtain blessings so great that our lives are prosperous and enviable? Keep reading verse 1 to find out.
The Psalmist begins with a list of "don'ts," which tends to be what religion is known for and what deters some people following the Christian faith. I want to advise you not to focus on the "don'ts” of the Bible. They are there to protect you and are important, but God wants us to focus on the "dos." Following the "do" list will automatically steer you away from the "do not" list. Keep reading Psalm 1 to see what I mean.
A person who lives a blessed life does not follow the same path as the ungodly (vs. 1). He or she does not follow the ungodly person's advice, nor do they stand submissively or inactively with sinners. Even being a bystander while sin takes place around us is warned against. The 2 men who passed by the injured man in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Peter while denying Christ, and those in the crowd while Jesus was being sentenced to death, were just as guilty as the attackers. We are called to love the ungodly and share the truth of the cross with them, but we are not to live among them (John 17:13-18).
We are (here's the "do" list) to enjoy, follow, and obey God's Word. We are to live among His Word, studying and pondering it throughout the day and even at night (vs. 2). Prosperity comes through knowing and following the teachings of God, through obedience and service to Him (Job 36:11). What will happen if we decide to dwell in the Word instead of the world? Verse 3 says we will be like a tree firmly planted and taken care of by streams of water. This water is the Word of God (John 4:14). This water gives life continuously and causes our fruit to develop properly and in the right time.
If we are the tree, then what is the fruit we bear? The fruit is the outer display of our inner choices. Our thoughts eventually lead to words and actions, and these words and actions cause things to manifest in our lives. Continuously staying in the Word instead of the world will change the fruit we bear (Matthew 7 and Galatians 15:19-23).
This water, which is the Word of God, blesses us when we believe it, trust it, and rely on it (Jeremiah 17:7-8). It causes hope and confidence in the Lord. Only when our roots spread deep by the river will we be able to stand tall and strong even when heat comes. Pressures will come in this life that can cause an un-rooted or a shallow rooted person to become anxious and fearful and wither away.
According to verse 4, those who live in disobedience to God become dead and their lives are without substance. They do not develop roots and are easily blown away when the storms of life come. This is why so many young people turn to drugs, alcohol, and sex. Their lives have no substance, no meaning because they have no faith, no hope, no living water. They are also without justification when judgment comes (vs. 5). They don't have a covering because they have not formed a relationship with God. We can see in the natural world how the lives of people like this perish even before they die, but even more disturbing is that their ruin will be eternal if they do not change their hearts.
Verse 6 says that God knows the righteous, those who follow Him; He is fully acquainted with them. However, He is not fully acquainted with the ungodly, those who live outside of His will. His will is His Word, so the ungodly live outside the Word of God. They try to live without water, and it never works. We were designed by the Creator to need water. Physically we would die within 1 week without water. Spiritually, we are also designed to need a relationship with God, which we foster as we drink His living Word.
As we fill our spirits with godly teaching our lives will begin to overflow and be blessed. Then, as we are blessed, we become a blessing to those around us. We can share our heavenly water with those thirsty souls in our neighborhood, school or on the job. People should be able to see the fruit in our life and eventually want what we have (remember the enviable part from vs. 1). Then they too can begin to delve into the living water of God's Word day and night and put forth deep, strong roots. They will be blessed, and the cycle will continue as they live blessed, prosperous, fortunate, and enviable lives.