God's guidance

I'd like to invite you to reflect today on the message found in The book of Psalms Chapter 1. This psalm of David presents us with a parallel comparison between two ways of living: hand in hand with God or separated from Him.

 Let's first look at the text of Psalm 1 (NIV):

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.

This time I want to focus on some details in verse 2. I’d like to draw your attention to some words in this verse. The word Torah used in the original Hebrew is the one which is translated as -Law-. The Torah -in context of how the books in the Bible is classified-, refers to the books revealed to Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Nonetheless, during history, the Jewish people also used the word Torah to refer in general to the word of God. So before the coming of Christ,  it was used to identify what now we call the Old Testament.

David undoubtedly exalts the quality of studying and living what the word of God says. However, also by studying the etymological meaning of the word Torah, we can have a more extensive understanding. Torah in the basic sense means direction. The root from which this word is derived in Hebrew relates to throwing objects, like arrows. So when we talk about the Torah of the Lord, we can understand that in the extended sense it refers to every direction and guidance that comes from God.

Another portion of this verse tells us two important actions. Delight and meditate on the Torah of the Lord. The word meditate originally refers to whispering, or mentally repeating. And it also tells us that this action should be a delight, an act of joy and not of obligation. Like everything in our relationship with God invites us to do, out of love and not out of obligation.

Thus we come to a quick but important conclusion from this short reflection. God gives an important promise to all of us, as well as an invitation. By having a relationship with Hi,, we will be following His direction. God's guidance is found by reading, listening, and studying His Word, which you find in the Bible. You also find the Lord's direction during prayer; The Holy Spirit gives us the necessary understanding. And finally, we cannot ignore the importance of reflecting, of continually circulating in our minds what God tells us in prayer and in His Word.

 

Most encouraging is what verse 1 tells us. Those who meditate and delight in God's leading find bliss. According to the original Hebrew, this happiness is not necessarily that related to laughter, but to the satisfaction of finding the right things in our life. God brings satisfaction, having a continuous relationship with Him is necessary to find the balance that we seek in our lives.