One of my favorite scriptures (all the people who know me say that is most of the Bible :-) is one that I had memorized when I was pastoring a church in Brunswick Georgia some 30 years ago. While in Southeastern Bible College I had been fortunate enough to be under the tutelage of one of the several great men whom I have had the privilege of being mentored by... Pastor Karl Strader who made an impression on me early on in my 4 years there to memorize scripture. I had memorized thousands of verses and multiple chapters but had never memorized a single Psalm until Carlton Fitzpatrick one of the board members at the church sited Psalm 1 in one of our board meetings. The passage resounded in my heart and soul as he quoted it. Through the years it has become one I regularly muse over, but one phrase sticks soundly in my mind as I think about it.
Blessed be the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. The promise of all the riches of God is entrenched and intertwined in this negative connotation.
There is an old adage people use whenever their lives become untenable, they say, I am stuck in a rut, or in the mud. Becoming mired in events of one's life is no coincidence or an accident, there is a cause and consequences but fortunately there is also a fabulous remedy.
The keys to staying vibrant and healthy mentally, physically and even economically and socially are found in the negative clauses of this first stanza. If you follow the evident progression, there you see it is a process of movement to stagnation. Walking, Standing, Sitting. I am confident this is the problem with a vast number of Gods people who find themselves burdened down, depressed and eventually completely despondent with living the life of faith!
Christ teaches "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest, Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30. Certainly, it is a taxing activity, why, because it involves unyoking from those things that causes impotence, feebleness and a lack of inertia in one's spiritual journey. The writer of Hebrews in a word of encouragement says "Lift up the hands which hang down and strengthen the feeble knees! Hebrews 12:12.
Certainly, it is a taxing activity, while the process of moving towards dullness, apathy and lack of motion and progression is more passive.
I want to give additional direction here; time does not permit me to outline a detailed plan of action. ALL I can say is STOP from time to time and do a sanity check, ask yourself, what am I listening to most? Several years ago, I used to listen to multiple sources on various topics. I still occasion that, but I do so only after consulting God's Word on every topic. It keeps me vibrant, alive and moving forward, not backwards!
Our society is not following true and eternal values, because of that it will continue to decent into anarchy and confusion. Biblical principles will produce a lifestyle and direction of prosperity, peace and tranquility devoid of depravity and corruption. As Moses put it in Deuteronomy 32:2,3 GWT Let my teachings come down like raindrops (not torrents or bolts of thunder and lightnings) Let my words drip like dew, like gentle rain on grass, like showers on green plants. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Give our God the greatness HE deserves!
Once I saw a little puppy heading toward a busy road. I attempted to deter it by trying to first coax it from its direction. It initially responded, but then suddenly turned and headed back toward the highway where a constant flow of fast traffic was passing. I then shouted and tried to run into its path, it diverted first away, then bolted into the oncoming vehicles. It seems to me that, that is the way God is. He gently coaxes us by His Spirit to follow His direction, people unfortunately bolt in every direction despite all the warnings given.