Psalm From ImpactfulMom– Psalm 1
Overview of the Entire 150 Day Project
To deal with anxiety and to spend time in prayer, I decided to dive into the Psalms. I am going to focus on just one a day, meditate on it, and share my thoughts.
Why Psalms?
The Psalms have always been calming to me. There is something very comforting about them and maybe in reading them, you will find comfort as well.
What is the purpose of the Psalms?
According to the Orthodox Study Bible (the Bible I will be using), the Psalms “a) foretell coming events; b) recall history; c) frame laws for life; d) reveal what must be done to obey God’s word; e) are a treasure of good doctrine; and f) help overcome the passions that exercise dominion over our souls, through the power of poetic expression to capture and gradually transform our thoughts.”
Pretty awesome, right? I think of Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Please God, transform my thoughts to be pleasing to you!
What is the goal?
My goal for the next 150 + days is to share with you the Psalm so that you may have a chance to read and think about it. After sharing the commentary from the Orthodox Study Bible, I will be sharing my thoughts with you. My only rule for myself is to stay positive about myself and the people I love (mainly because it’s so tempting to talk about how much I am frustrated with myself or them). In no way do I pretend to be a Biblical scholar. These are just my thoughts. At the end of the 150 day period, I hope you will share with me your favorite Psalm, one that you found particularly comforting, or one that just stayed in your mind. You don’t have to have read all the other posts to enjoy that day’s post. You can just read the Psalm that day and let it speak to you. May we find comfort, peace, hope, and encouragement in the next 150 days! Here we go!
Here is Day 1:
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the way of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the troublesome;
But his will is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by streams of waters,
That produces its fruit in its season;
And his leaf shall not wither,
And whatever he does shall prosper.
Not so are the ungodly, not so,
But they are like the dust the wind drives from the face of the earth.
Therefore the ungodly shall not rise in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous;
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Commentary from the Orthodox Study Bible
“The Man in Ps 1 is the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the Incarnation sets the tone of Psalms, and in the Psalms, the Incarnate Lord teaches his Church how to pray. This is why Psalms is the prayer book of the Church. Ps 1 presents how Jesus lived His life in this world by showing the contrast between His godly life and the life of the ungodly. The Church, then, is to follow His example: His behavior in relation to the ungodly (v1); His Zeal for the truth (v.2); and His holy and virtuous life (v3).”
Thoughts
The kids are sleeping and I am writing by the window as the cool air blows in. I just heard a bird. I hear crickets. God, can I do this? Can I really write about a Psalm every day? I can barely wake up in time to survive life. 🙂 Much of the time I feel like I am drowning. But Lord, you call the person who meditates on your Word blessed. You say they will be stable. You say they will prosper, there will be something good that will develop out of what they do. I want to be blessed. I want good to come from my life.
I feel like we are bombarded by negativity. Honestly, sometimes just reading about reality or facing the realities of life feel like standing in front of a fire hydrant. It’s just so much all at once. It can feel overwhelming, God. We are spread so thin. Many of us are just struggling to survive. I’ll just speak for myself–there have been so many new students and I am getting another new student on Tuesday. I could literally live at school and still have more stuff to do. But I can’t actually live at school because I have three young kids. I don’t think they want to live in my classroom (but our Calm Corner is so comfy, guys!). I want to try my best and let go.
Teachers and moms are busy. I have to have faith that there is a blessing that comes with reading your Word. Spending that time with you. I know you want us to be stable and blessed. You want us to heed your counsel, ESPECIALLY when we feel like there is so much to do and we want to do it right away. I want to be a tree that is planted by streams of water. That produces fruit in time.
God, thank you that we have these Psalms to read. Thank you for the author’s honesty and vulnerability. Help me lean into your word for the next 150 days. Be kind to me and my children (real and school children). Help us heed your counsel so that we may bear fruit in due time. Thank you for the time you are giving to read your Word so that you may call us Blessed! Amen.
Poem (trying to see God’s perspective)
Is there a day that I call you mine?
That day is today.
And when you’d like to see me shine
Open the Psalms and pray.