The Good Life

I'm beginning to feel like I'm blogging alone. Is anybody out there?

We've started reading from the Psalms. The very first psalm vividly contrasts two lifestyles. One leaves a person dry, brittle and without anything to show for his life. I think Kansas must have gotten their metaphor of "All we are is dust in the wind" from this passage. But the other lifestyle is one rich in spiritual nourishment that comes from an openness and eagerness to be led by God. "Blessed is the man . . . whose delight is in the law (Word) of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." In that kind of life is stability, fruitfulness and a future. Far from "dust in the wind," this kind of person is "like a tree planted by streams of water."

This psalm reminds me that wanting to be led by God takes intentionality. To want it isn't enough. I have to put myself in the position to hear from him. Meditating on God's word needs to be a part of my daily routine if I want the good life. This kind of meditating is a lot different than eastern meditation practices. They do it to clear their minds. I do it to fill my mind. Meditating is letting something simmer. It's like putting the tea bag in the water and letting it start to change the whole flavor of things.

If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. It just means to mull something over in your mind. The object is just to switch the content from anxious thoughts to God's truth. This discipline of journaling from Scripture is a great way to meditate on the word of the Lord. I am being richly blessed by doing it. And I know that it is guarding me from being misdirected by the values and ideals of "sinners" that masquerade as icons of success.