Oct 17 - Psalm 1:1-2

Happy are those who ... delight ...

in the law of the Lord

Psalm 1:1-2

 

What seems to be the highest goal in our world today? People want to be happy, right?

           

The highest goal seems to be self.

           

People chase after pleasure.

 

But this is not a new phenomenon. Three thousand years ago the richest man in the world, King Solomon, said, “I will make a test of pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:1).

 

So he ate the richest foods, drank the sweetest wines, built the most magnificent buildings, and married the prettiest women (700 of them!). He said, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

 

The result? Solomon says, “I became great and surpassed all who were before me ... [but] then I considered all that my hands had done ... and all was meaningless … a chasing after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:9,11).

 

Coming to the end of his life, Solomon was suddenly shocked and humbled. He could take none of his accomplishments or accumulations with him. His wanton, gluttonous pursuit of happiness had been as elusive as trying to hold onto the wind.

           

Solomon’s depression could be the fate for all of us … or we can opt for the freedom of the very first Pslam.

 

“Happy are those who ...

delight ... in the law of the Lord”

Psalm 1:1-2

 

Wait! The law offers happiness?

 

I know! Nobody likes to be told what to do. But have you ever been in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, and gotten the wrong result?

 

The law is wisdom. Therefore, it is freedom. It is life … because it points us to God. It is help … because it puts us in the right place, at the right time, with the right Person – God himself. Indeed, the law is the true secret to consistently getting the right result.

 

God, therefore, is showing us the path to true purpose, happiness, life, and joy.

           

Even Solomon finally figured this out. When he finally quit “chasing after wind,” the old king discovered that “pleasure is [only and ultimately] from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:11,24).

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who watched his wife

raise three sons of faith

and character,

using this motto:

“God’s way is the best way!”