Listen

The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the road of sinners, and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful. Instead of doing those things, these persons love the Lord’s Instruction, and they recite God’s Instruction day and night!

Psalm 1:1-2

Think

At first glance, the advice in Psalm 1 seems hard to follow. Unless we live in convents or monasteries, most of us don’t have the time to “recite God’s Instruction day and night;” we have too many other things to do. And I’m not so sure that reciting Bible verses at the expense of friends, family, school, work, and sleep is a good recipe for being truly happy.

But this isn’t quite the point that the psalm is trying to make. We don’t have to read Scripture 24 hours a day to let it guide our lives. Truly happy people find it easier to ignore bad advice and stay away from sin not because they are so busy reciting the Bible from memory but because they have a solid foundation of faith and a desire to follow God’s instructions for their lives. If we want to learn more about God’s will for us as part of our effort to become truly happy, spending a few minutes with Scripture each day — maybe on a site like this one? — is a great place to start.

Catherine Healy

Pray

God, thank you for giving us the gift of your holy word. Help me not to be intimidated by reading the Bible; help me to explore it with excitement and curiosity, and use the time I spend with Scripture to lead me toward a deeper knowledge and love of you. Amen.

Go

Jesus promises to pray for all of us. How is he praying for you right now?