Discipline and Devotion
June 7, 2008 (Saturday)
Psalm 1 tells us how to be happy. The first two verses describe two ingredients of happiness: Discipline and Devotion.
Discipline involves living each day by common sense principles. We have freedom in the Lord (Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”), but that freedom is not license to sin. It’s like the freedom as Americans to travel in our vehicles wherever we want, as long as we stay on the road. The wonderful system of roads is not here to restrict and limit us; it’s here to give us freedom. In the same way, the discipline we impose upon ourselves as Christians sets us free to be our best and to enjoy life to the fullest. The Believer marches to a different drummer, and he’s happy about that. Psalm 1:1 says so.
Devotion to God and to His Word is the other ingredient of happiness, described in Psalm 1:2. Like a strong tree by the water, the Believer finds strength in the Word of God. Love for the Lord makes him/her strong. Each day we spend time with the Lord in prayer and in the reading of His Holy Word. It is an expression of our devotion to the Lord, and a source of spiritual strength that brings us happiness.
“Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked,
who don’t go where sinners go,
who don’t do what evil people do.
They love the LORD’s teachings,
and they think about those teachings day and night”
(Psalm 1:1-2 New Century Version).