Psalm 1–How Happy Are Those

Oh, the joys of those… (NLT)

Blessed is the one (NIV)

How blessed is the man (NASB)

How happy is the one (CSB)

Psalm 1 explodes off the page with an emphatic declaration of the soul-satisfying happiness only found in a relationship with God. Happiness that will change our lives for all eternity!

With it’s first breath this psalm launches itself, and the entire psalter, into the fabric of our lives.

• Offering us hope and refreshment for our weary souls.
• Giving voice to our emotions and direction to our wayward hearts.
• Teaching us the difference between the road that invites us to walk with God and the road that leads us far from Him.

How happy…How Blessed…The joy of those…who delight in Him and His Word.

“How happy” is the Hebrew word ‘esher’ which means happiness, blessedness.

In the original text, ‘esher’ is repeated multiple times to deepen, enhance, and magnify it’s meaning and to indicate a plural—multiple blessings, abounding happiness.

In Psalm 1—There’s No Room for Gray, we talked about how our faithful obedience to God is a black-and-white issue, with no room for gray.

Today, I want to echo this psalmist’s proclamation: When we diligently strive to walk in obedience to God’s principles and precepts, we’re blessed with boundless happiness because God lavishes His blessings on those who live a God-centered life!

Blessings that flow out of our vertical relationship with Him.

Blessings that no one can steal, limit, or remove from us.

Blessings that will withstand the test of fire and be carried with us into eternity.

What are some of these blessings?

• Love to not only care for our enemies and those who hate us but to genuinely love and pray for them.
• Joy despite the suffering we endure during our trials, tribulations, and persecution.
• Peace that passes all understanding to abide and flourish in the midst of life’s storms.
• Patience to wait a sufficient amount of time before expressing anger to avoid the permanent damage caused by desires of retribution.
• Kindness to act on our compassion for those around us; to meet their needs with no expectation of repayment.
• Goodness to apply what we’ve learned from studying God’s Word in order to edify others and bear the fruits of a God-centered life.
• Gentleness to offer mercy and grace from a powerful (yet gentle) inner-strength that prevails and thrives during adversity and strife.
• Faithfulness to cultivate a solid integrity—to be one others know they can trust and count on without wondering if there’s a hidden agenda.
• Self-Control to refrain from sin because we utilize the power of the Spirit abiding in and through us.

And unfathomable happiness.

Happiness that comes from a soul completely and fully satisfied by God.

Happiness that erupts from a fullness found only in Him.

Happiness that’s rooted in a solid vertical relationship with Him.

Happiness that comes from the certainty of our complete trust in Him.

Beloved, God is the only One who can completely satisfy our souls!

He is the only One who can quiet the longings from deep within.

He is the only One who can sate our desires and make us complete—not lacking anything.

And when you think about it, happiness is what we’re all after, isn’t it?

The problem is, we tend to look to horizontal things to satisfy our soul and find true abiding happiness—relationships, possessions, success, careers, fitness, praise of others, popularity, intelligence, _________(you fill in the blank)—only to discover the “happiness” found in those things is short-lived. Fragmented. And incomplete. Which in turn makes us feel flat. Frustrated. Disappointed. Disgruntled. And thirsting for more.

But when we pursue God’s purpose for our lives, His calling, we encounter a joy that can’t be quenched by anything or anyone unless we choose to alter our focus from vertical to horizontal.

Unless we choose to neglect spending quality time in God’s Word.

Unless we ignore our relationship with Him.

How happy are those whose souls are completely satisfied in their Savior.

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Here are some verses to encourage you invite Jesus to satisfy your soul.

Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied. (Psalm 17:15, NLT)

For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:9, ESV)

The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm. (Proverbs 19:23, ESV)

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish. (Jeremiah 31:25, ESV)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6, ESV)

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14, ESV)

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10, ESV)

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5, ESV)

As we close, Lets join David in Prayer In Psalm 63:1-8:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

Blessings, xoxo

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