The Answers To Everything
Our world today has so much to offer:
Things that make our lives better, convenience beyond belief, and access to knowledge literally in the palms of our hands.
Do you want to know how to fix almost anything? There is probably a YouTube video that will show you. Want an education? Many of the most renowned universities have their courses online. Type your symptoms into an internet browser, and you know your illness or malady before you go to the doctor. Can’t find what you want at the store? You can find it online.
But what if you want to be a better person? How do you discover your full potential? How do you find true meaning in your life? Why and how do you even exist? Is there a path you can see that will lead to exaltation, salvation, heaven, nirvana, or whatever you want to call a state of never-ending joy where everyone and everything you love surrounds you?
You might well say that none of that is possible. Then you have severe problems, become cynical, nihilistic, resentful, and the last thing you are is happy. Your focus becomes temporary relief from the pain and suffering of the world. Everything becomes temporary: relationships end in different forms of divorce. Your circle of friends becomes smaller and smaller until you are left alone, and you are not fun to be around.
So, you have a choice to make. It reduces down to one option. Will I look up (to God), or will I focus somewhere else?
The Book of Psalms contains concepts, ideas, and practices in poetic form that help us get our minds right. Consider the first three verses of the book:
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
These three verses set the tone and open our minds to possibilities that await us. I want to deconstruct them as I see them.
The first verse starts with “Blessed is the man”. I think that we all as human beings want to be in a state of blessedness, and everything begins with desire. Next, the words walketh, standeth, and sitteth are used. These words describe what we do when we are conscious and active. In the context of the verse, we don’t want to be found walking with, or going along with, the counsel of the ungodly. In other words, we don’t want to follow bad advice, defined as any advice that does not move us towards eternal rewards. We don’t want to be standing with or defending sinful behaviors, which could be described as any thought or action that takes ourselves and others off the path leading to us becoming our best selves. Lastly, we don’t want to be sitting among those who do nothing but feel and express contempt and derision for others.
Now we know what we can’t do if we want to be blessed. But what must we do to be in the best possible place at any given time or in any given circumstance? We must delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it night and day. We tend to think of laws as restrictive, which in the world sense, limit behavior for the good and fair treatment of others at the expense of our selfish desires. The law of the Lord, however, disinhibits us by causing us to think and be better tomorrow than we are today and lovingly caring for the needs and wants of others.
Meditation and prayer open our minds to infinite possibilities and is part of the revelatory process. Revelation is necessary for our progress. If you don’t actively seek for revelation, you don’t progress. Learning is a revelation, but not all learning is valuable. Learning the truth is always beneficial. So whatever method you use to receive truthful revelation, please do it.
Verse three contains the promise. The metaphor of a tree planted by a river of water is self-explanatory, especially for those who live in a desert. Bringing forth fruit in its season means blessings and sustenance come when needed. The leaf that does not wither tells us we can always experience vitality. Another way to think about that concept is that our minds are always right. Even those who suffer from the effects of old age can have their minds and intentions in a good place. The final line needs no embellishment, and whatsoever (they) do shall prosper.
So, how do we go about it all? The first three verses of Psalm 5 give us the answers:
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
The last line of verse three says it all. Look up! Whatever circumstance you find yourself in, look upwards. You may not behold heaven, but at least you won’t see hell.
The answers to everything of inestimable value are encircled in these true principles and practices. Look to God and live, or look somewhere else and perish.