Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Every year our family vacations in the area of the United States called “the Low Country.” Although we spend our time in Savannah, Georgia, the low country also includes some of South Carolina. I love our time there every year because the landscape is so different from anywhere else that I have lived. The low country is along the Atlantic coast, so the smells of salt water and fish fill the air and ocean breezes help to moderate the intense heat in the summer. I love the history of our nation that is so evident in the old towns of Savannah and Charleston.
What I love most of all to see in the low country that we do not have here in Tennessee are the gorgeous live oak trees full of Spanish moss. They provide a canopy from the sun over the roads as we drive under their shade. Their immense majesty is truly something to behold. I can’t help my mouth gaping open at the size and age of some of these woody giants. The temperature seems to be a full ten degrees cooler in the shade of one of these massive oaks.
Scripture likens those who make the law of the Lord their delight to one of these trees. No matter what is going on around the tree, we can continue to bring forth fruit in season. Even when there is drought all around us, our leaf never withers. If we have planted ourselves next to the stream of Living Water, Jesus Christ, all we do will prosper.
Jesus, may Your Word be my delight today. May I drink deeply from the Living Water today to quench this thirsty soul of mine. Make me a planting of the Lord for the display of Your splendor.
