How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:1-3 CSB
The word prosper, according to Webster's Dictionary, means "to succeed in an enterprise or activity." That's the world's definition, but God's definition of prosperity, and how to achieve it, is vastly different. From the very first Psalm, we find that God does indeed want His people to prosper. Due to misrepresentation from some pulpits, the idea of prosperity can freak us out a bit. Again, God's Word on the subject is very different. Before learning how we are to prosper, let's look at what we are NOT to do in order to gain prosperity.
First, the Psalmist says we are not to walk in the advice of the wicked. Who are the wicked? Those who are contrary to the nature of the Lord. The people walking in the darkness of this world have their own opinions about how you should live your life and how to attain prosperity. Most of the time, the world's view is that in order to get ahead, you've got to step over others, or even on them, to achieve your goals. But that's not the biblical view.
Second, we are not to stand in the pathway of sinners. The idea here is that of standing with the world. Everyone stands for something, and everyone has their own beliefs. The Christian is to stand with Christ and His Word.
Third, the Psalm says we should not look to prosper by sitting in the company of mockers. The context of what is being mocked is the Lord's instruction. The Bible says that bad company corrupts good morals. Sitting with people gives us the idea of hanging out with them and staying awhile. The company we keep is what is being called into question.
So then, how does a Christian become prosperous? The Psalm gives us the answer with the word instead. You won't find prosperity in the world, its worldview, or its methods. Instead, the Psalm declares that we are to first delight in the Lord's instruction. The word delight means to find pleasure in. The man or woman who takes pleasure in the Word of God is on the pathway to prosperity.
Second, we find prosperity in meditating on that instruction day and night. The word meditate may not mean what you picture. It doesn't mean sitting cross-legged, humming to yourself. The word means to murmuring, mutter, and speaking quietly to ones self. Think of a cow in a field chewing its cud. It swallows the grass, then brings it back up and continues to chew on it, seeking to get every last ounce of nutrients from it. The man or woman of God is to constantly be in the Word, taking it in, meditating on it in the morning and in the evening. Memorizing the Word so you can recall it when needed.
That person, the Psalmist declares, will be like a very healthy tree, firmly rooted beside streams of flowing water, producing fruit for others to glean from. It is God's desire that we would bear spiritual fruit so that others could also glean from our lives. That person who does these things, God will prosper. Their prosperity may not mean material riches (although the Lord may choose to bring some material riches). It may not produce a bigger house or a faster car (again, it may if that’s the Lord’s will for them). Instead, when the dry times come, when the trials come and the rains are withheld, you're so grounded in the Word of God and sustained by His Holy Spirit, the living water, that you don't wither and die. You have life within you that sustains you, and others who come and partake of the fruit of your life will also be blessed. That's a prosperity we should all seek to find, and it is found in the instruction of the Lord, the Word of God.
Agape,
Frank
