Daily Spiritual Food

From Lauren Edwards:

Hey there! I just wanted to share something that the Lord has put on my heart in the last week. It is so amazing to see how God works, because I have seen this same message being shared recently among the young people and in the services I have been in. I have been reading and studying in the book of Psalms lately and the first chapter really stood out to me. As I read the word the Lord showed me the importance of this passage through a series of visuals. The passage of scriptures illustrates a blessed or righteous person and one that is not. The very first verse says “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”. A blessed person is one that does not allow themselves to be accustomed to sin and succumb to the way of sinners. With the words walketh, standeth, and sitteth it is demonstrated of the progression of how sin can become comfortable. At first, one just walks by and looks at sin but doesn’t fully step into it. Then, one actually stands in areas where sin is clearly evident. Then, soon, if you are not careful one could be sitting completely immersed in the way of sin and being comfortable with it. The way of sin is a dark and miserable trap that we can fall into if we are not careful.

In the next verse it says “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night”. The blessed one finds their delight in the word of God and he meditates on it both day and night. It says meditating day and night. This was the challenging part for me. This is a major part of our life that the devil will try to destroy by distracting us and making us put off reading and mediating the word of God like we should. When it says meditating day and night it doesn’t mean picking up your Bible and reading one scripture just because you feel like it is a duty that you have to cross off of your daily to-do list. But, it means to really dig deep into the word and to be continually thinking about it. To read it, think about it, connect it to other situations in the Bible and apply it to your life and your walk with God. We should be meditating all hours of the day on the things of the Lord because we want to. As a result, we are able to draw closer to God.

In verse 3, it says “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”. By meditating on the law of the Lord continually we are like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water. When I think about a tree that is planted by water, I always envision one that is large, vibrant, covered in leaves, and has a strong structure. That is how we can be in our spiritual life when we continue to draw closer to the Lord through daily prayer and study in the word. When we create a solid foundation on the ways of Christ and aiming to become more like Him, we become rooted in Him and nothing can move us. Also, when we are planted by the rivers of water, our spiritual cup is always being filled and there is no room for spiritual dryness. This verse also mentions that it “bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither”. Whether we are in a good or dark season in life, through Him we can still grow and produce spiritual fruit. The blessed one prospers in all that he does! Even though sometimes we may not think that we’ve prospered in our actions, but both our successes and failures are prosperous to the Lord, for “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

In verse 4, it shows the opposite of a righteous person. The verse says “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away”.  Chaff is the outer casing or covering of grains that falls to the ground when the real grain begins to grow. When I was thinking about this verse, the Lord brought a thought to mind. When we are walking through life, there is a point where we will have to make a choice. This choice is whether we will serve and live for God or live a life in sin. This makes me think of the grain and how we choose whether to be the grain or the chaff. The chaff, like stated in the verse, falls to the ground and the wind driveth it away. If we fall in our spiritual faithfulness, we are placed in a position of weakness because God is our only source of strength. When we have fallen, we are vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of by the enemy. To prevent this from happening, we have to be firmly rooted in the Lord and stay consistent in our walk with God at all times.

This passage of scriptures really challenged me to dig deeper into the word of God and to earnestly pray to the one who created me in every part of life. I hope that this is an encouragement to you.

- Lauren Edwards