each season

Psalm 1:1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

  or stand around with sinners,

  or join in with mockers.


2 But they delight in the law of the LORD,

  meditating on it day and night.


3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

  bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither,

  and they prosper in all they do.



4 But not the wicked!

  They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.


5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.

  Sinners will have no place among the godly.


6 For the LORD watches over the path of the godly,

  but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.



"They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do."

"...bearing fruit each season"

We have such a success orientation about our lives as servants of God.

I remember reading those words during a season in my life when I thought I was doing nothing for God except simply existing.

I remember how He brought those words up off the page as I read them that morning, reminding me that in EVERY season of our life - good, bad, busy, boring, active, circumspect, or whatever - that our lives have a ripple effect, whether we see it or not.

We all have times in our lives when we don't feel like we amount to much - iow, we're just taking up space.

Maybe in those 2 sentences God is whispering to us that no matter what may seem to be going on in our lives, or not going on in our lives, He is up to something through our lives.



Today,I start reading through Psalms again.

Back in January of 2003 God started waking me up at EARLY to get up & read the Bible & listen out for Him.

I know that sounds crazy, but it's true - He wakes me up every morning. It started at 5am, but it's been 4am for quite a few years.

Now, don't think I'm some sort of Super Christian - God knows if I don't read the Bible every dayI'll run right off the cliff into lots of sinning during the day.

Besides, He has something to say to me most mornings.

I read a Psalm every day, sequentially. Around the time I started reading every morning, I heard that Billy Graham reads a Psalm every day. I don't know if that's true or it's just an urban legend. But I figured if it was good enough for Billy, maybe it's good enough for me.

Psalms is 150 chapters. I then read through the 31 chapters of Proverbs. So you can do the math. I read through Psalms & Proverbs twice a year.

So I figure I'm starting to read through Psalms for the 22nd time.

I said all that to say this...

It is incredible how many mornings what I read in a psalm speaks to what what's happening in my life. Now, some mornings it doesn't - especially in psalms like the ones where David asks the Lord to bust out the teeth of his enemies!

But there is a richness in Psalms that never goes away. Some of its richness just reminds me of how God used that in the past to encourage, caution, & empower me in a particular situation. And sometimes,Psalms will speak to something VERY current in my life.