Walking in His Counsel
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly arenot so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalm 1).”
In the book “Hearts of Fire” can be found the story of a Christian woman persecuted for her faith to the point of imprisonment in Communist Romania. She suffered terribly for her faith, continually beaten, threatened and forced into hard labor, the worst in winter with wet and thin clothes, all in attempts to punish her and turn her from her faith. Rather than be turned away, she was emboldened, witnessing and converting not only other prisoners but guards as well. Even upon release the state continued to hound her but she never relented in her faith.
This courageous woman was BLESSED! And because she continued to walk in the counsel of God she bore fruit like few others! “How can one call her blessed?” you may ask. The Hebrew word used for “blessed” in Psalm 1 simply means “happy.” She was happy in her faith. Blessed by God does not mean material matters, but spiritual. So many of us today consider our possessions blessings. This was not the intended meaning by the Holy Spirit.
Her steadfastness made her a “tree planted by rivers of water.” In walking in His counsel, she was continually nurished by the life-giving waters of His Spirit which made her all the more fruitful in her endavors. The gospel flowed from her at every opportunity and did not return in vain. And as for happiness, much like Peter and the other apostles in Acts 5:41, she felt joy in being considered worthy and able to suffer for Christ’s message.
Friends, we are not yet imprisoned for the Gospel here in the United States. One may consider us lucky. But we should also recognize that we have beened lulled into a sense of security that may not exist forever. Even now our beliefs and morals are under attack by an increadingly hostile society fueled by a few with the power of a biased media, the internet and social media. We now live in a time when evil is called good and good is called evil. We live in a time when sexual immorality is pasted and posted everywhere: television, children’s shows, libraries, billboards, internet, social media, radio, books, and any other form one can consider. We live in a time when child murder (sacrifice on the altar of entitled convenience) is more prevalent than in the days of Noah. We live in a time when our elected leaders choose their desires over those of the majority, for worldly gain. And while all of this is being paraded and forced on us, we are accused of “shoving our religion down THEIR throats.”
What does Jesus say to do? Avoid offending? Of course we are to live as peacably as possible as commanded by Christ. But we are NEVER to shy away from the Gospel, even if it offends. If one is offended, we move on but we KEEP PREACHING TRUTH. Truth and Love (Agapeo) go together hand in hand. Does Jesus say to Hide and cower from the hatred of non-believers and sinners? No He says to know that the world first hated HIM. He told us to expect it and to remain committed and steadfast; to overcome. Does Jesus say to “go along to get along” and withhold our testimony? Absolutely not! We are to preach the Gospel in all the world. Does Jesus say “live your best life possible” to gain status and favor in this world? Of course not. He told us to expect persecution.
It seems counterintuitive but if we do all these things He expects of us, we will gain blessing: happiness! We will be fruitful and grow strong as a well-watered, well-rooted tree with leaves that will not wither away.
In this life we may live 60, 70, or even 100 years. But from kings to paupers we all end up as dust. But eternity makes our life here a mere dot on the timeline! We want…we NEED, our blessings and treasures THERE! But for many of us, this life is too real and tactile to focus on the end-game. That is a pity because God tells us that to be in line with the wicked is to become chaff driven away by the wind.
“He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says…” Christ is speaking to EVERYONE! To Him every knee will bow and every tongue confess His rule, His might, His eternal glory. But though the wicked will make the same confession at judgment, their fate will not be good. Hear the Spirit now. Listen to Him, not your instincts, not your heart, not your “common sense.” Listen first to God. Measure everything else against Him and His Word. Walk in His counsel and recieve your blessings!