Gospel Revolution - Joseph Prince Ministries

“How do I do that, Pastor Prince?”
That’s a good question, my friend. We often hear people
telling us to “trust and hope in the Lord”. But what does that
mean? How do we trust and hope in the Lord practically? Do
we just go around saying, “Lord, I trust You”?
I’m glad that the Bible shows us how we can trust and hope in
the Lord. Look at Psalm 1:1–3:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the
seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the
Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings
forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither;
and whatever he does shall prosper.
Don’t the words sound familiar? Like the prophet Jeremiah,
the psalmist paints an identical picture of the blessed man—
an evergreen, ever-fruitful tree planted by the waters. And
why is this man so blessed? Because “his delight is in the law
of the Lord [Word of God], and in His law he meditates day
and night”. That, my friend, is how you practically put your
trust and hope in the Lord. You delight in and MEDITATE
on His Word day and night!
THE BLESSED MAN VERSUS
THE CURSED MAN
Notice that the psalmist also tells us that the blessed man
“walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the
path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful”. What
does this mean? It simply means that the blessed man does
not depend on the advice of people or so-called “experts” who
are independent of God. Neither does he follow others in
scheming, cheating and plotting to prosper. And he certainly
doesn’t join in all the negative, cynical coffee shop talk!
The man who does all these is actually not putting his trust
and hope in the Lord, but in fallible man and self. He is not
delighting in and meditating on what God’s Word says, but
what the people of the world say. Interestingly, the prophet
Jeremiah describes such a man as the cursed man. He says
that the cursed man “is the man who trusts in man and
makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see
when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the
wilderness” (Jeremiah 17:5–6).
So unlike the blessed man who trusts in the Lord
by delighting in and meditating on His Word, the
cursed man trusts in man and himself. He relies on the
ungodly counsel of the world, depends completely on
his own self-efforts and has no heart for the Lord or
His Word. The result? Even when good comes (God
in His grace is still good to him!), he cannot see it. He
sees only the negative.
Have you met people like that? They could be blessed
with a loving spouse and beautiful children, but all
they see are shortcomings or issues in them: “My
husband is not romantic enough!” “My baby is always
fussing. I’m sick and tired of trying to figure out what
he wants.” They are constantly grumpy and unhappy.
They look at the things that went wrong, rather than
the good that God is doing in their lives. So even when
the blessings of God come right under their noses, they
don’t see or experience His goodness.
GOD’S WORD IS UNSHAKABLE
My friend, God certainly doesn’t want you to live life
as the cursed man. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the
cross for you and redeem you from every curse so that
you can live an abundant life. Today, because of Jesus’
sacrifice, you have a blood-bought right to live life as
the blessed man of Jeremiah 17 and Psalm 1. Choose
therefore to be the blessed man or woman. Begin to
enjoy good success in every area of your life by putting
your trust and hope in Jesus alone. And the way you do
that practically is to delight in and meditate day and
night on God’s everlasting and unshakable Word.
You see, God’s Word is a guaranteed constant. It
never fails, never changes and never fades away. It will
always stand the test of time. Ungodly counsel, on the
other hand, is as fickle as the changing wind. Worldly
opinions on the health of the world’s economy, for
example, keep changing (usually for the worse).
In contrast, God’s Word on the health of heaven’s
economy never changes. God’s prognosis is always
the same for every one of His children: His abundant
supply is always flowing. And He has promised to
supply all our needs, not according to how the world’s
economy is performing, but according to His infinite
riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)!