6/13/06 - [Guaranteed Prosperity (by "Mrs. Mynista")]

Written by Stephanie (Mrs. Mynista)

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Psalm 1:1-3 is a powerful portion of scripture! I want to take a few minutes to go through these three verses and share what I've learned. First, let's read them:

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.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 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.

The Hebrew word for "blessed" in verse one means a state of prosperity resulting from a superior bestowing his favor (blessing) on one. This word is not to be taken lightly! The person that GOD is referring to in this scripture is a "champion" (the Hebrew meaning of "man" in verse one which tells us that GOD is not just talking to the male sex). So in the first four words of this passage, we know what we can become if we follow the instructions in the following verses: a champion who is in a constant state of prosperity because of GOD bestowing His blessing on them! And don’t be deceived into thinking that prosperity only relates to finances; prosperity means GOD's wholeness in every area of your life: relationally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally, financially, etc.

Let's move on to the second part of verse one. There are three requirements in this section that you need to adhere to if you want to be blessed. One, don't walk in the counsel of the unGODly. The word "walketh" here denotes behavior, and the word "counsel" means advice or plans. In other words, your behavior should not be dictated by the advice or recommendations of the unGODly! Two, don't stand in the way of sinners. The word "standeth" here means to remain stationary, and the word "way" means the activities that control a person, one's lifestyle; destiny. You never want to become stationary in a place with people whose lifestyle (and ultimately destiny) don't line up with the Word of GOD. And three, don't sit in the seat of the scornful. The word "sitteth" here means to dwell, remain, settle, marry, inhabit, and the word "seat" means the dwelling place or habitation. The word "scornful" means mocker. While you don't want to do either of the first two, you definitely don’t want to get caught living in the dwelling place of mockers!

We see the natural progression here from walking to standing to sitting, and this is just another reminder from GOD of how it is you can get caught up in sin. No one backslides overnight. A well-meaning husband or wife doesn't just fall into an affair. These things happen after a progression of events. If you're walking with the unGODly (anyone who is not going in the same direction as you are trying to go with GOD), then eventually you'll get tired and want to stop for a minute, and then you'll probably want to sit down and take a rest. Before you know it, you're somewhere that you never intended to be, and it was all because you started walking (behaving) in the same direction as the unGODly!

Verse one tells us what this blessed champion does not do, but in verses two and three, we find out what he does do. "His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night." The word "delight" here means desire, and the word "law" means direction, teaching, and instruction. The word "day" simply means daily while the word "night" means the period of time in which it is dark; deep calamity without the comforting presence and guidance of GOD. Wow! We see that this person loves GOD's Word and His direction, teaching, and instruction, and they are pondering and studying His Word daily, even in the toughest of times. Even when they can't feel GOD or hear GOD, they are mature enough to trust that He is real, that He is faithful, and that He is constantly working on their behalf!

Verse three continues to describe who this person is. "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." A tree does not pop up overnight. It takes years and years for a tree to go from a simple seed to something that kids can climb on. During this growth process, the tree must form roots that go deep down into the ground. It's from these deep roots that the tree can then gain nourishment and stability. If the tree's roots are never allowed to go down then it will never be able to live. The champion described in these verses is someone who is staying in one spot long enough to put down their roots in GOD; they're not flaky and shallow. They recognize that every time they pray, every time they read GOD's Word, every time they go to church, they are allowing their roots (their livelihood and stability) to go down deeper and deeper into GOD. It is this person who will then have the ability to produce the right fruit in the right season, according to GOD's plan for their life. Whatever this person does is going to prosper! The word "prosper" here means success with GOD as the source. You will never truly be prosperous until GOD is the source of all that you do. If you do things your way, you'll get man's limited results, but when you do things GOD's way, you'll get His supernaturally successful results!

I love this passage because it encourages me that when I do what I know I should be doing in my walk with GOD then I can lean completely on Him for my success. I don't have to worry and try to make things happen for myself; when I am walking with GOD, my prosperity is guaranteed!

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