Psalm 1:2
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
We saw yesterday that the blessed person is the one who
belongs to God. So it makes sense that they will want to listen more to God’s voice than the world’s voice. In fact, they don’t just listen to God’s word. They delight in it. They love it. They meditate on it day and night. God’s word doesn’t just pass in through one ear and out of the other. They pause to think about it. They reflect on what they hear, chewing it over, letting it sink in. They keep coming back to it. Sunday’s sermon isn’t gone and forgotten by Monday morning. Instead, they keep it in mind during the week, looking out for situations where the word that they heard might change the way they would otherwise have thought, or spoken or acted.
These people are more interested in what God has to say to
them than what they have to say to themselves. So, they would rather reflect on what God has said than relive their own past conversations. They would rather ponder the truth of God’s words than rehearse imaginary arguments in which they are shown to be right. When their own thoughts about themselves and the world
around them are out of line with what God’s word says, they’re ready to change their minds.
I wish this was a description of me, but it’s not! At least,
not yet. None of us delights in God’s word perfectly, all the time. But all of us could take one small step towards delighting in the word more. How could you make a little bit more space for God’s word in your mind and your schedule this year? Deciding what to read when we get to the end of this Psalm together, perhaps? Committing to read the Bible before you read the news? Deciding to spend at least as long in the Bible as you do on social media?
Let’s thank God for the gift of his word, and ask for his help to become people who delight in it more and more.
