Psalm 1- Choose Your Path

1 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,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and who meditates on his law day and night.

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.

4 Not so the wicked!

    They are like chaff

    that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

I'll be the first to admit that sitting down and opening my Bible does not come naturally. I own several, I even bought special highlighters with the intention of really sitting down and really studying the verses and stories.  Let me hit the pause button a second before I go any further. What I am about to say might be obvious considering how I already started to preface this, but I'll take this moment to stress that I am not a scholar who has spent years studying the Bible--I don't feel qualified to even write about my thoughts or opinions that pop in my head about this topic. I'm just a wife and mom, reading the Bible in the middle of a pandemic trying to make sense out of what is happening in today's world, stay focused on what's important in life, and get some encouragement to keep moving forward. Phew, now that that disclaimer is out there I can keep going. 

So, on March 30th, I sat down and opened my Bible. I didn't know what I was looking for, I just opened it. I found myself in Psalms. There are 150 Psalms in the Bible--most are short but they hold so much wisdom, guidance and encouragement. The introduction to Psalms in my Bible reads like this, "The book of Psalms reveals how God works in the inner life of His chosen people".  Okay, yes...please show me how You work in my life because you have my attention and I'm listening. Right now I NEED that, I need some clarity to sort out all these emotions I'm feeling, are the choices I'm making the right ones? Maybe you have questions too? I do know that Psalms is not a continuous story, each Psalm is its own entity. Some build off each other or have similar themes but it is not continuous. Perfect, short(ish) bits of information that I can read and contemplate...I'm on board. 

The first Psalm begins really laying it all out there--"For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction" Psalm 1:6 (NIV). God made it clear in Genesis with Adam &; Eve that He was allowing his people to have a choice and free will. He is also pretty clear about what He intended for human life and His plan and intention was for us to have the ability to experience the world with it's best features and beautiful nature. To get this full experience, the path we choose to go on is important. Life is full of choices and we may not always choose the right one--and wander off the trail sometimes. The important thing is that when we are done exploring--we find our way back onto the path. Will we come back to that path the same as we left? Probably not, because when we leave that path it is not always pleasant. We may end up with some bumps and bruises and even some lasting scars that end up part of our story--perhaps we would have anyway. But the question is, did the choices we make honor God and honor ourselves? And it's important to be ready to right the wrongs we may have made along the way. Neither road is an easy road...but one will lead to joy and the other will get us lost and lead us further away from our purpose. 

The Road Less Traveled by Robert Frost is a poem that popped into my head. When presented with options taking the time to ask: Is this path going to lead me in the direction God intends or will it become a distraction from what's important? Will it be the way that the world expects? Or is it what my heart is telling me? Sometimes, the road that is the less chosen path is less popular--and that is okay. You get to choose--it's like a choose your own adventure story, however, this is real life, only God knows what will happen next and you may not get a chance to go back and change your decision before it's too late. So, be confident in your choices, own them if they do not turn out the way you expected, and be prepared for the journey ahead. The path you choose may lead you to the destination intended or you may end up taking a detour around. Try not to get discouraged if the path you choose ends up having roadblocks. If you find that path leads you toward destruction, you know that it's not from God.  Philippians 4:8 tells us that "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things". If our thoughts and actions do not align with this idea--then it's not from God and it is probably time to do some soul searching about where that path is leading you and do an attitude check. If you turn to God for guidance he will help you find a path back in the right direction. And finally, remember that He didn't promise it would be perfect--just worth it!

Real Life Lessons: 

1. Believe in God--trust God, pray without ceasing. Remember who God says you are. 

2. Chase Joy, choose love, respond with love and choose the next right thing. 

3. Choosing God will always lead to good--no matter what is asked of us. 

What does your gratitude list look like because you chose God? What might your life look like if you didn't make that choice?

What are your thoughts about Psalm 1? What is God telling you? 

XoXoXo,  

Sarah Mae