A Blessed Life

Blessings - they're all around us and they come in varied forms. Mister Bill's words remind me that sometimes we really do cause our own blessings. That is, things we wish-for [maybe even pray-for] as well as the choices we make are far from what we would call "blessings." God says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!" (Psalm 1:1, NASB). Happy (blessed and favored by God) will be the person who chooses a righteous path forward. God states the alternative: "But his delight is in the law of The LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night" (V.2). Yes, simply put: much of life begins with good choices. I suggest one of Satan's most effective strategies is the temptation to live in-the-moment, putting before us self-gratification ... "I see it, I want it and I want it right now." That feel-good-right-now mentality will notoriously lead us in a direction away from what is good, holy, righteous and lasting. The person who sees through the allure and enticement of right-now, God says, "He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" (V.3). That's what I want: a spiritual life firmly planted, well-watered, fruitful, ever green and prosperous ... a blessed life!