I just opened Facebook on my phone. Another building on fire. Another minister talking about the need for a new denomination. Another murderous slaughter of Christians in Nigeria. Another plague sweeping Africa. Another march in another city hijacked by looters. Another Supreme Court ruling. And another storm coming tomorrow. Another rant from friends concerning masks on both sides of the issue. 2020 has been a rough year for social media. By checking phone phone this morning, I made the terrible mistake of breathing deeply of the culture before I considered the God of my salvation. My soul felt the exhaustion even though I slept great last night. 

It's likely that many of us have the habit of returning to apps like Facebook over and over again to see what is going on in the world. Often we've been on social media or news sites 10 times in a day when we've maybe been in the Word of God once. We can feel the imbalance. Yet, it is still so easy for us to dwell on the things that are not right in this world and groan about them. We can feel the roots of our soul begin to shrivel at the news of the day. When we feel the sap draining from our faith, it is often because something crucial is askew in our daily routine. We drink deeply from the world before we drink deeply from the fountain of life. 

Psalm 1 has many encouragements and instructions for the believer. It deserves more time than a couple of paragraphs, but we will focus on one consideration today: Christian meditation. In a world with overwhelmingly bad news, the Christian has plenty to delight in every day. Verse 2 tells us that the Christian is to delight in the Lord. There will never be enough time to exhaust this reality. The psalmist says, “blessed is the man whose…delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” The Psalmist goes on to encourage the believer to establish himself daily, “day and night,” in the Word of God. He is determined not to take counsel from the wicked, nor take his stance with the sinner, nor sit with the scoffer who derides and jeers. Instead, he will derive his strength for the day and sustenance for the night by planting his mind, heart, and soul in the Word of God. Verse 3 says that the one who does this is “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” 

Are you feeling the weight of this world? Are you withering under the news of the day? Be planted by the stream, dear saint! Drink deeply of the Word. Make it a habit that before you approach the news of the day, you approach the good news of the Word. Make your day begin and end with the study of the Word of God, delighting in it. Ask yourself as you read, "What does this teach me about God?" and "What does it ask of me as a believer?" If reading the word is your habit and the mediation of your heart, then nothing will sap you of the delight of the psalmist. Even in a world filled with sin, the effects of the fall, and the scoffing of the enemies of God, may our conviction be the same as that of Jesus, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Nathan