Like A Tree Planted By the Rivers

¹“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:1-3). We often get it into our heads that obeying the Lord leads to a life of drudgery, of giving up all of the fun we could be having now for some future reward in the life hereafter. But the problem with the ungodly and the sinners and the scornful is that all they really know for sure is that trying to obey the laws of God isn’t for them but none of them have found a good alternative. We get so busy thinking that happiness and prosperity are something that we have to go out and chase, but if we only planted ourselves like trees next to the fountain of all righteousness, then everything we ever needed or wanted would simply flow to us. Everything good in our lives comes from God. Why would we wander away from Him when He’s the one with all of the blessings? Yes, even if we are perfectly obedient and do everything right, we will still suffer loss and disappointment because we were sent to this life to be tested, but it will be the absolute minimum amount of suffering necessary for our growth and development, and no extra helpings of agony that we bring upon ourselves through our stupid actions. Even a tree planted next to a river is going to have to deal with winter frost and bark beetles, but better a tree planted next to a river than a tumbleweed that keeps rolling and rolling forever looking for a good place to settle and never finding one. The Law of the Lord should be a delight to us. If we would just stick around long enough to put down roots and take advantage of water that keeps flowing to us forever and ever, we might finally get the picture.