HAPPY INSTRUCTIONS
Psalm 1:1-2 (NKJV) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
To live blessed, means to live happy, because that is what “blessing” means – to make happy. How do we live happy and blessed? By following God’s life instructions carefully:
HAPPY IS THE ONE… who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly…The blessed and happy person refuses to follow the counsel, advice and opinions of people and cultures that do not know God and His Word. Doing so will steal God’s divine purpose from your heart and drive heavenly happiness from your life.
HAPPY IS THE ONE WHO DOES NOT… stand in the path of sinners…If you let ungodly people, instead of God’s Word, advise you on how to live your life, you’ll soon find yourself on the same “path” as they are. At first you will just be an observer -“standing still”. But that posture means you are no longer moving forward in the blessing God had intended for your life. Yet very soon you’ll get caught in the swift current of the sinful way and headed toward destruction.
Matthew 7:13 (NKJV) …. wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
HAPPY IS THE ONE WHO DOES NOT…. sit in the seat of the scornful…To be scornful is to show contempt, disrespect and to mock. It to be openly cynical and critical. In our culture, everyone has an opinion and feels compelled to share it on social media. But God warns us that being a critic not only wounds others, but also robs you of daily joy. Scornful people are judgmental, negative, depressed, angry and bitter. This is because their focus is constantly seeking out the negative, and never seeing the blessing.
HAPPY IS THE ONE WHOSE ….delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
The Hebrew word for “meditate” gives us a picture of what a cow does after grazing in the pasture. It regurgitates the grass and chews it over and over again until every nutrient has been extracted. We are happy and blessed and prosper as we daily chew on God’s Word, extracting every bit of instruction and counsel from it Let His Word be your daily focus and delight!
Joshua 1:8 (NIV) Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
