Careful Where You Walk, Stand and Sit!

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. Psalm 1:1-3

A new year is believed, by most, to be a time for new beginnings. Perhaps we should consider it as a time to break old, bad habits and make new ones. Any behavior that becomes a habit is caused by gradual and consistent practice. Unfortunately, this is true for good or bad habits. So let’s start out by learning how to keep bad behavior from becoming one of our habits.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. (Psalm 1:1a) Okay, what does that mean? You see, most of us are friends with the wrong people. We walk among those who have a lot of bad habits. And since we are just walking among them we witness their bad habits. We even start to take advice from them. The lesson here is to choose your associates and friends carefully. Don’t be in the company of people whose moral compass is broken. You can’t get to the right place with the wrong navigation. The blind cannot lead the blind.

Nor standeth the way of sinners (Psalm 1:1b) Now this phrase tells us that we are no longer just walking by these ‘unsaved’ folks but we are stopping and ‘standing’ with them. We are getting a bit more acquainted with the misguided bunch. Maybe we were invited to the weekly night spot. This is a place
where some folks are drinking too much, maybe using some drugs and making sexual propositions. But we are just standing there taking it all in. We start to notice that some of the people look familiar. “Hey, isn’t that the guy from the men’s church retreat?” “Wait a minute, that lady sings in the choir.” It seems as if the folks participating in the “bad” things can’t be too bad themselves. Everybody cheats here or there, right? Notice how we go from simply walking by to stopping and standing with the sinners. The interaction is growing and the ability to discern right from wrong is diminishing. There is even some justification for the behavior – “everybody’s doing it.” Be careful, this is one of Satan’s oldest tricks.

Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful (Psalm 1:1c) We were walking among, then we stopped and stood with and now we are making ourselves comfortable – we sit down. Now we are not just party-goers, we are now party-throwers. We have developed an attitude that “ain’t nothing wrong with letting it all hang out.” What harm is getting drunk, smoking a little weed (it should be legalized anyway)? “Look,
you have to test drive a car, what’s the difference with marriage?” (This applies to all sin we commit and not just the ones listed here.) So here we are sitting, truth be told, many of us are wallowing in sin.
We didn’t see it coming. We are so far gone. Believing the lies of the devil that what we’re doing is okay. Be
mindful, we are among scorners. They can be a bitter bunch. Let someone suggest that this is the wrong path and out comes the bitterness. We become very defensive of our lifestyle and frown upon those who don’t agree with us. Somebody say, “but!”

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:2) Am I telling you that the Word of God will keep us from the traps of Satan? You can bet the farm on it! God is telling us to read the instruction manual for living, the Bible, so we can get it right. Sure, we will falter along the way but if we stay in the Word I declare we can get up again. Just like the fall was a gradual progression so is the reconciliation. Start walking with the saints then stop and stand with them.
Before you know it, you’re sitting with the saints. We fell into sin but we can get up in His grace.

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. (Psalm 1:3) You may want to highlight this because this is a promise and we know God always keeps His promises. Why do you think that a tree planted by the river is such a good thing? The tree needs water to live. The water is a source of nourishment. Can you see it? The tree is so close to the source that it will never be in want. I tell you that is provision and protection! Due to this close relationship the tree will yield its fruit in its season. If you missed this shout opportunity let me break it down for you. He said the tree is going to be fruitful! In other words, the source (Jesus) is always by our side and we can do all things through
Christ. And finally, whatever we do will prosper. I don’t have to tell you what that means. We are going to be successful. We are going to win! That’s what I love about Jesus. For every setback He is setting us up to be more than conquerors. Be blessed!