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Trees Planted By Streams Of Water

By Sarah Sonke

“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 water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 1 ESV)

This passage is amazing for several different reasons. For one, it is a short, sweet road map for a believer to live his/her life. If we, as believers, delight in the law of the Lord, in his word, we will bear fruit and prosper. What an amazing promise from the Lord!!!!!!

I spent some significant time journaling about this subject and one of the other things that stood out to me was the part that talks about the wicked. It says that they are like “chaff that the wind drives away.” That line left me with my jaw dropped all the way to the floor. So often, even when I call myself a believer, I find myself being like “chaff that the wind drives away.” My emotions travel from happy to sad, from mad to content, from sad to overjoyed, or visa-versa in a flash. Even as I was reading that chapter a couple mornings ago, I was angry and mad and frustrated and quite frankly over it. The Lord convicted my heart and calmed me down. As believers we are called to be different than the rest of the world. We are to be ‘not of this world.’ Our emotions need to be this way too. Living with our emotions and lives like chaff that the wind can simply blow away is most definitely of this world. We have been given the peace of God and joy in Him. That is not a small gift; that is remarkable. That is incomparable.

How do you be of Christ and not of this world? How do we take our thoughts and emotions captive? How do we not let ourselves be like “chaff that the wind drives away?”

It is plain and simple.

The answer is verses one to three:
“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 water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

The answer is in this promise (John 16:33 ESV):
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

So, basically:

trouble/tribulation
+
meditating on the law of the Lord
=
Peace from God

We are going to have difficult lives. Guaranteed. We are going to go through valleys and lows that seem to never see the light of day. We are going to struggle. We are going to lose friendships and relationships. We are going to lose money. We are going to lose homes. We are going to (emotionally) feel completely unstable.

Those things are guaranteed!

BUT

Christ has told us…he has PROMISED us… that if we find our delight in Him and meditate on his law day and night, we will be like trees planted by streams of water that will not wither but will prosper.

Those troubles and tribulation will become simple and easy because the knowledge of Christ is enough. He alone makes us dwell in safety…not plenty of money, a large home or any home at all, family, friends, husband/wife, bed to sleep in, food to eat, good health, or anything else. It is in Christ alone. (Psalm 4:8) Having Christ can cause us to “lie down in peace and sleep” because we know that he came not to fulfill half of the problems in this world, but every single one of them.

One of my FAVORITE quotes is “Being in the Lords will is the safest place to be.”

Amazing.

Today, I pray that you rest in the Lord’s power and his will. It truly is the safest place to be.

Anyone else going through a valley and needing to rest in His perfect will? How has the Lord revealed Himself to you recently through scripture, a person, or just circumstances in life?

Blog: To Be Continued