Live Free with Josh Howerton - Rooted by the River Banks | Ep. 388 | Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Rest with God and find joy when you delight in his presence day and night. In Psalm 1, the trees' job is to be planted by the river banks, rooted deep and not just fruitful. Today, ignore what culture says about chasing your desires; focus on resting and sitting with God. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive wherever you are and whenever you might be listening. My name is Bro, and we take a few minutes every day just to hear from God through His Word and so grateful to be doing this together. Recently, we've been downloading some song lyrics into our head and our heart.

They're from the book of the Bible called the Book of Psalms. That is P-S-A-L-M-S. You can find it right in the middle of the Bible. And got a bunch of different songwriters with David being the main one. And all of these songs are honest and very. vulnerable and it contains some wisdom for you and me to apply to our lives. In the very first Psalm, Psalm 1, David describes as he frequently does, the path of those who disregard God's ways. In fact, this guy knew something about that from his own personal rebellion and sin. But I love

the way he describes a life that is rooted in God. He writes, O the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in, with mockers. He's saying popular advice might say, come on, man, follow your heart. Chase your desires. Let your appetites guide you. You do you. That's what we all do. Come on. Lighten up, dude, live a little bit. It'll be more fun than you can ever imagine. And there might be some immediate fun, a temporary high in that. But David's writing, there's absolutely no joy whatsoever in that lifestyle. He says, you want joy, you want real sustainable deep satisfaction? Then don't follow that advice. Instead, they delight

in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. You know, when someone delights in something, you don't have to tell them to do it. They love it. They just crave it. They find great pleasure in doing it. They hunger for it. And he says they meditate on it day and night. That doesn't mean that reading God's word is all that you do. But that is in you. That you chew on it all throughout the day. You let it guide your decisions. You allow its truth to counteract all the lies that might get thrown at you during the day.

I mean, you got to have it in your heart. You know, I mean, why should I be afraid? When 2 Timothy 1-7 tells me that God has not given me a spirit of fear, one of power and love and a sound mind. Why should I stress out in the moment when 1. Peter 5, 6, and 7 tells me to cast all my anxiety on God? Because he cares for me. Why would I worry about stuff when Jesus tells me in Matthew 6

to trust my father. He says, can anybody add a single minute to their life by worry and seek him first? Everything will be provided for you? Why should I live in shame when Romans 8-1 tells me there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? Why should I ever doubt God's love for me when Romans 838 tells me that nothing will ever be able to separate me from the love of God? And, gang, when you have those already in your heart, you will have those in times of doubt and fear and anxiety and worry because you have meditated on them. you've chewed on them, you've memorized them, and they give you life in those moments.

He says, people who do that, verse three, are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. I've said this before on the podcast, but the cool thing here for me is that the job of the tree is not to produce fruit. The job of the tree is to be a good. planted by the life-giving river. And as you and I plant ourselves

in God's word, in God's presence, the Holy Spirit will produce all kinds of wonderful fruit in us, and we will flourish and prosper in ways that this world cannot even define. So what do you say we hang by the riverbank today? And we send our roots

down deep, and we enjoy the presence of God, and we know real joy. I'll see you back here tomorrow. Hope you have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point,

visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.