2004-11-14 - The Word Distinctive?

Psalm 1, Part 1

Psalm 1

¹ How blest the man who has not entered the council of the wicked,
Nor in the assembly of sinners stood, nor in the session of the scoffers sat.
² But from the law of Yahweh is his delight, and from his law he recites day and night.
³ So shall he be like a tree transplanted near streams of water;
Which yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaves never wither.

⁴ Not so the wicked: rather are they like the winnowed chaff that the wind drives along.
⁵ And so the wicked shall not stand in the place of judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the just.
⁶ But Yahweh shall safekeep the assembly of the just,
While the assembly of the wicked shall perish. ¹

Consider this: It seems like much of what we do is calculated to please somebody. Husbands want to please wives, and vice-versa. children what to please parents, and parents want to please their kids. We want to please our bosses. We want to please our peers. We're concerned with the approval of family, friends, neighbors, quite a lot of people if you think about it. And to an extent, this is as it should be.

But often we get in trouble, because we say fulfillment comes from pleasing these people. And the fact is, we may not be able to please them. In fact, because of what it takes, sometimes we shouldn't. In my counseling prac tice, I often deal with adults who are trying to win the approval of their parents, something they never could and never will be able to do. Sometimes this is because the parent is dead, but more often because the parent is incapable of giving approval.

The lesson we must all learn as believers, is that in the final analysis the only one we must please, whose approval is necessary, is the Lord. It would be nice if we could get approval from the people that matter to us, but our true fulfillment can’t depend on ourselves or others. It must come from God. Life can only come from God.

¹ Dahood, Mitchell, The Anchor Bible, "Psalms I", Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1978, pg. 1.

Comments or Questions?
Geoff

GKragen@aol.com

http://www.cfdevotionals.org