Day 38: The Way to Success

Psalm 1:1-3 says:

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers." (NASB)

Do you want to be such a person, someone who is like a tree planted by the rivers of water? Whatever he does prospers, and he brings forth good fruit, which glorifies God! Let’s continue looking at the five conditions that are stated: three things we should NOT do and two things we SHOULD do.

Firstly, such a person does not "walk in the counsel of the wicked".

Secondly, such a person must not "stand in the path of sinners". He doesn’t 'hang around' in the wrong place. He doesn't get his inspiration in the bar or in some other low place where the wrong kind of people gather. He has a lifestyle that's different and his friends are different. His whole associations are different.

Thirdly, he does not sit in "the seat of scoffers". The "seat of scoffers" to me indicates an attitude of determined cynicism. A dark, sceptical view of life which prevails all too often in the world of business today and which, I believe, is a sure path to frustration and failure.

Notice, in these three negative conditions, there's a slowing up process. Such a person begins by walking, then he stands, he ends up sitting. In other words, his position and his situation get worse and worse as it goes on.

Now let's look at the positive conditions. First of all, such a person delights in the law of the Lord. He takes his pleasure in the Word of God, in the revelation of God's truth. We sometimes think of "law" (the Hebrew Torah) as just a set of rules, but it's not that. The root meaning of the word is 'that which shows the way'. The Torah is that revelation of God which shows us the way we ought to live if we desire God's favour and blessings. So, such a person meditates in that, delights himself in that and his thoughts centre around it all the time. And in that meditation, he's like the tree that's drawing its water from the streams that flow nearby. He is drawing new life, new strength and new inspiration.

I cannot emphasise too much the importance of right meditation. You cannot think wrong and live right. And you cannot live right and think wrong. In other words, your thinking is going to determine the course of your life.