What would you say are your biggest influences on a day-to-day basis? Is it the thoughts of your spouse? Your parents? Or perhaps the narrative pushed by your preferred news network? Thanks to social media, the world we live in is saturated with influencers. You can find one for nearly every belief, desire, opinion, or craving imaginable. If you are not intentional about guarding your heart, the world will gladly disciple your soul.
Psalm 1 paints a clear picture: humanity ultimately falls into one of two categories, the righteous or the wicked. “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked… but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night” (Psalm 1:1–2). The question becomes: what is shaping and influencing us each day?
The short answer is this: it should be the Word of God.
Most purely, we receive His Word through Scripture itself. We are called not merely to read it occasionally, but to delight in it daily. Yet how often do we instead delight in doom scrolling social media or zoning out to whatever show happens to be on? “It helps me relax,” we say. But shouldn’t our true rest, renewal, and peace come from the living and active Word of God? Jesus Himself said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
As we grow in faith, the roots of our beliefs stretch deeper and wider, creating a firmer foundation beneath us. Psalm 1:3 says the righteous person “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Believers and unbelievers alike will face droughts, suffering, temptation, and storms. The difference is the foundation beneath them. A life rooted in Christ remains anchored even when the winds rage.
The unbelieving world is often tossed back and forth by shifting culture, emotions, and circumstances, “like chaff that the wind blows away” (Psalm 1:4). But the Word of God calls believers not to blend into the sinful patterns around us, but to lovingly and responsibly put the goodness of God on display. Romans 12:2 reminds us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
When we recognize our need for a Savior and surrender our lives to Christ, our roots begin to grow deep into nourishing soil. As we abide in Him, He continually refreshes and strengthens us. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches… apart from Me you can do nothing.” The fruit produced in our lives becomes evidence of what is nourishing our hearts.
If your life were observed without sound, what would it point to? Would it be evident that the God of grace, mercy, patience, and truth influences your actions and interactions? Or would it become clear that your phone, entertainment, and culture have captured your attention and affection? Whatever occupies your mind will eventually become your delight.
Faith is not accidental, it is daily surrender. Your relationship with God is a continual choice to seek Him again each morning and in every moment throughout the day. Proverbs 4:23 warns us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Be intentional about protecting your heart, mind, and soul from influences that slowly pull you toward destruction rather than toward Christ.
And be encouraged, friends: this Psalm is not calling you to strive harder for unattainable perfection. Instead, it points us to the only perfectly righteous Man who ever lived, Jesus Christ, and reveals our desperate need for continual dependence upon Him. The blessed life is not found in self-effort, but in abiding with the Savior who sustains us.