Psalm 1:3
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which
yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.
Here we see the result of being a person who delights in,
and meditates on, God’s word. I think there’s at least 2 surprises in this verse …
Firstly, I love this picture of the tree – stable, rooted, well-fed, well-watered, and fruitful. It’s beautiful, and attractive. Who
wouldn’t want to be that kind of person? But it’s also really ‘earthy’ and solid. The absolute opposite of the picture we usually have of ‘bookish’ people. We might imagine that immersing yourself in words would be the sure-fire way to become a grey and dusty academic, living at the top of an ivory tower somewhere. Undoubtedly an expert on something, however irrelevant, but a bit flimsy when faced with any kind of real-world problem. Yet immersing ourselves in God’s words does exactly
the opposite. It makes us more solid, more stable, more fruitful. We are sustained and equipped for our own lives, and more practically useful to the people around us.
Secondly, we might be surprised that a person who delights
in God’s word ‘prospers’. After all, so often we see that Christians are marginalised or persecuted by the world. And we do need to remember that this is poetic language rather than a binding legal document. This verse doesn’t guarantee that a Christian will ALWAYS succeed in everything, and back in v.1 we saw that the blessings we enjoy do not primarily come in the form of health,
wealth or happiness. Nevertheless, in general, it is true that those who shape their lives according to God’s word prosper. We do better when we live according to the maker’s instructions than
when we ignore his purposes and try to figure out for ourselves what is good for us. Life works better if people are faithful rather than adulterous, generous rather than thieving, loving rather than murderous. So today, let’s pray that we would so delight in God’s word that it would result in ever-increasing fruitfulness in our lives, benefitting not just us but also those around us.
