Hi, you made it! Since you survived the super-long part 1 devotional on Psalm 1, you might as well tough it out and read part 2, below. Didn’t catch part 1? Read it here.
In part 1, we learned about avoiding trouble by 1. Being careful who we allow to influence us, and ensuring that we get advice from people who display the fruits of the Spirit in their lives (This was the part about not walking in the counsel of the ungodly) and 2. Closing the door on subtle negative influences that can lead us to sin, such as bad tv, trashy books, and inappropriate music (This was the part about not standing in the path of the ungodly).
Now we’ll pick up on the third component of don’t walk, don’t stand, don’t sit: Don’t sit in the seat of the scornful. Or, guard our mouths.
Don’t sit in the seat of the scornful. Everyone knows where to find the gossiper, the loudmouth, the heckler, the rude woman because her mouth is always open. We have enough problems without sitting in her seat. Women of God, let us guard our mouths. I wish I could say that I’m coming from a place of victory, but I’m in the trenches. If you’re struggling with saying things better left unsaid, then I’m right there with you. Like music, our words are powerful. Our words can make our child’s heart take flight. And our words can mute his joyful spirit. This morning God got an earful about my words. Lord, change me.
How can we change our words? Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34b NKJV. The first step of changing our words is to change our thoughts. What do we think about? What’s going on in our lives? Are we dwelling too much on negativity instead of victory? We don’t need to project a fake image of a happy, happy Christian, pretending we drift on a cloud of delight, high above life’s troubles. That’s just lying. But we also need to be careful about hovering over our problems and refusing to move on.
Paul teaches us where to focus our thoughts: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8 NKJV
With our thoughts fixed on the right stuff, now it’s time to get our shovels. Let’s do some digging. The second step of changing our words is discovering what’s motivating our words. What’s going on in the background when we spit out words we regret? Where did that mess come from? Do we have old hurts, suspicions, pain, or frustration that we need to dig up and deal with?
When I looked at the times I’ve been snipey or even explosive, I noticed a pattern: With a certain person, there’s a deep root of mistrust. I’m always expecting to be lied to or manipulated or used (FYI, not my husband). That sneaky root grows and pops through the surface and informs my words with sarcasm and bitterness.
My interactions with my children are different. When I yell at my kids, there’s a well of frustration rising to the surface: I feel disrespected and out of control. I believe I lack the skills to teach calm and willing obedience to my children. My parenting will always be chaotic, I worry. I feel like a victim. So to conquer the root of my mischievous mouth, I need to address my trust issues with a certain person. And I need to take control of my parenting rather than be led around by my kids, who are relying on me to train them in truth and godliness. It means reinforcing consequences (read: get off the couch 29 times, if that’s what it takes).
When we explore the hidden hurts behind our harsh words, we can form a plan of attack. Let me encourage you to bring your deep-rooted frustrations to the Lord and let Him lead you to victory. The battle is the Lord’s.
We’ve looked at “moving” King David’s way; now let’s dig into the next part: plant
We have the power to close doors on sin. We protect our hearts from ungodly influence, guard our eyes from unholiness, and conquer our words so that we can be women of grace in our families. But the best way to protect our hearts against ungodly influence is to know God’s Word.
Let’s look at the next part of Psalm 1.
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 sword of the Spirit is the word of God. All of the armor of God is defensive, except one: The word of God. The sword of the Spirit is the believer’s only offensive weapon. It is the sword in our hands that slays strongholds. Through the word of God we defeat ungodly influences by knowledge of the truth.
If you don’t know what’s true, anyone can lie to you, right?
By His word we strike down the evil that sneaks so quietly into our homes. With His word in our hands and in our hearts, we can bring His words to our lips, too. And conquer the small flame that kindles a whole forest – our tongues. James 3:5
A few Bible commentators noted that the blessed man is “planted” by the waters. This implies a purposeful planting, rather than a seed that sprang up on its own. If we want to be blessed, we must plant ourselves in His word.
David used the symbolism of deep water feeding the roots of this blessed tree. Centuries later, Jesus called Himself the Living Water.
That living water reaches to our deepest roots and nourishes us. We grow. We can resist drought in our lives because He fills us with cool water. We survive floods because our roots are deep. Water breaking over us doesn’t move us.
His word causes us to prosper because we are in His will. His word draws prosperity through our doors so we can produce fruit in its season. Fruit that we can offer to our children, husbands, family, and friends. Move then plant. Because blessed is the man…
Move and plant have served me well, and I know it can help you, too. Remember my story at the beginning where I walked into major sin step by step? I eventually walk away from that and into God’s forgiveness and grace, but I walked away with scars. Now I take David’s advice. When a doorway to sin opens, I shut it. It doesn’t work perfectly because I’m still a flawed, sinful person and I still do wrong. But identifying sin triggers – such as bad tv, inappropriate music, trashy books – and being careful who I allow to influence me and learning to watch my mouth make it so much easier to avoid trouble. And a daily Bible reading plan (I’m doing the one-year chronological Bible reading plan) keeps my feet and my heart firmly planted in God’s truth so I don’t stumble as often. As women of God, we can walk the narrow path that was laid out for us by our heavenly Father and first walked by Jesus. Move and plant.