Walking in a Dust Devil

You may have never walked in a dust devil, but you know what they are, right? Dust devils are a weather phenomenon formed by a rotating column of wind producing an updraft -- small tornadoes, as it were. So they pick up the loose dust around them and produce a swirling dust cloud. Imagine, then, walking into one. You find yourself surrounded by dust. It's everywhere you look. It gets in your eyes, your nose, your mouth. If you don't cover your face, you could be in trouble.

That's how I feel in our world today. We are all walking in a dust devil. All this dirt is kicked up all around us. It surrounds us. We can't escape. It is the very air we breathe. It permeates us, threatening to choke us out. It is the world and its way of thinking. Then I read,

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. (Psa 1:1-2)

The psalmist describes two possibilities; the wicked one and the ... not wicked one. One "will perish" (Psa 1:6) and the other is prosperous (Psa 1:3). What makes the difference?

Look, first, at the reference to the "blessed" person. Biblically, "blessed" is more than just "happy." You can see this in the classic Aaronic blessing. "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace." (Num 6:24-26) In that text we see one concept repeated multiple ways. The concept is simple; "blessing" is the Lord looking at you. "Blessing" is being kept, God being gracious, God giving peace.

So, "blessed" -- God is watching, keeping, giving grace and peace to -- is the man who does not do and does do some things. This blessing is not found in the advice and plans, the direction and path, or the place offered by those deemed "wicked," "sinners," "scoffers." It is not good for someone seeking blessings from God to walk there, stand there, or sit there. You're simply walking through a dust devil. If you stay, it will cover you, permeate you, and choke you out. What is the alternative? Delighting in "the law of the Lord." What is that? Well, it is, of course, God's rules. The word, in fact, is "torah." But the routine usage in Scripture is that "the law of the Lord" refers to all God's counsel. It is all of God's direction, instruction, and teachings. It is God's written Word. This text says that if you, instead of getting your directions and courses and comfort zone from the world which is opposed to God, get all that from God's Word, you will be blessed. If God's Word is your delight -- the thing you think about day and night -- you will prosper (Psa 1:3). You will advance, have success, accomplish useful things.

Some dust devils are small matters. They might be a couple of feet wide and a couple of feet tall. Almost harmless. Some dust devils have been known to be powerful enough to constitute a threat to people and property. That's the dust devil we're in now. That's the filth we're walking through and breathing in daily. The solution is not to "be careful." The solution is to shut it out. The solution is not to walk there, stand there, or sit there. Like we do in front of our TVs or our computers (or both). The solution is to get our directions and marching orders from God's Word. The solution is to be immersed in God's Word -- "day and night." I'm afraid too many of us -- genuine Christians -- are wasting our time in trying to filter out the dust devil while we just walk in it rather than running the other way for the clean air of the Word.