Have you ever felt like your spiritual life is stuck in neutral? Like you’re spinning your wheels, showing up at church, reading the occasional verse, but still not experiencing the “fruitful” life the Bible talks about?
You’re not alone—and you’re not broken. But maybe… you’re just planted in the wrong soil.
Psalm 1 opens with a powerful visual:
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers…”
“…That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3, NIV)
Let’s talk about that “walk, stand, sit” progression. Why that order?
Because sin has a sneaky way of slowing your roll—first, you walk alongside it, then you stand still with it, and before you know it, you’re sitting down and getting comfy in it. That’s not just poetic language—that’s life experience. Maybe you didn’t plan to binge-watch that gossip-filled drama or vent to someone who only fuels your bitterness, but little by little, you’re soaking up the wrong stuff.
Now flip that—what if we soaked up God’s Word the same way?
Psalm 1 isn’t just a poetic metaphor. It’s a lifestyle roadmap. And the key to transformation is this: meditating on God’s Word day and night. That’s how we become trees with deep roots, thriving no matter what season we’re in.
But what does meditating on Scripture really look like in our everyday lives? Let’s break it down into six doable steps:
1. Read
Make reading Scripture a habit, like brushing your teeth or drinking your morning coffee. You wouldn’t skip breakfast every day and expect to feel great, right? The same goes for your spirit. Start with a Bible reading plan. Without a plan, you will have no process or follow-through.
📖 Real-life tip: One busy mom in Texas reads a Psalm aloud while packing school lunches. It feeds her soul—and sometimes her kids overhear and ask questions. That’s fruit.
Reading anchors us to the truth, which can help reduce anxiety. The word of God stands forever.
The Bible is the only book that reads you while you read it, and it’s the only book that you read where the author is present with you, guiding you along the way. Fueling your faith as you fuel your heart and mind
2. Re-read
Read it again. Then maybe again.
Have you ever watched a movie a second time and caught all the things you missed? Scripture works the same way.
God will speak to you not just on the pages but on your heart. This step is transformative.
📺 Real-life moment: A businesswoman told me that after re-reading Proverbs 3 for a week straight, she finally realized God was nudging her to forgive a coworker she’d been silently resenting.
John Maxwell said it best: “The first time I read a book, I marked it. The second time, it marks me.”
3. Reflect
Think deeply about what you’ve read. Ask questions: What is God saying here? What does this mean for me today?
Use the “4 W’s and an H”: What? Where? When? Who? How?
📅 Example: In Matthew 9, Jesus sits with sinners and is judged for it. But He responds, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” That’s the heart of Jesus—full of grace, but not afraid to speak the truth in love. Reflecting on that might shift how you treat someone “hard to love” in your life right now.
This highlights Jesus’ inclusion of those considered unrighteous.
What was really going on here?
Jesus, sitting and dining with sinners, is criticized for it. He points out that the healthy don’t need a doctor, but the unhealthy, the poor in spirit, do. Jesus was not just calling out the judgment of the Pharisees that criticized him, but also calling out the sin of the sinners that they are the sick ones needing a doctor.
4. Write
Jot it down. What did you learn? How did it speak to you?
✍️ Science shows that writing helps retain what you’ve learned, bringing it alive within you. Spiritually, it moves you from passive reading to active engagement. Think of journaling as creating a stream of living water in your own life—flowing, not stagnant.
God modeled this by giving us His word in writing the Bible.
5. Respond
Let the Word change how you live. Apply it. Be the person who forgives when it’s hard or who chooses joy instead of sarcasm.
💡 Real talk: One man decided to stop retaliating during family arguments because Proverbs kept pressing on him to be “slow to anger.” He said it changed not only him, but his entire home atmosphere.
When you respond by living the scripture, you lock it into your life, and others see Christ through you.
6. Replay
Share what you’ve learned. Teach someone else. The Bible says in Matthew 28:19-20 to “go and make disciples.” You don’t need a pulpit, just a kitchen table, a phone call, or even a kind comment on someone’s post.
Don’t just teach the scriptures by telling them; teach them through being an example. Teach them how to meditate on the Word and incorporate it into their lives.
🌱 The fruit you bear is meant to feed others. A tree that hoards its fruit just rots.
I write these blog posts not because I have the answers, but because I need the answers.
So, where are you planted?
Are you planted in social media scrolls or in Scripture? Is your counsel coming from late-night news or late-night prayer?
Your growth depends on your soil. Plant yourself by God’s living water, and you won’t just survive—you’ll thrive. You’ll yield fruit in due season, and your leaves won’t wither, no matter how dry life feels.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about position. Be planted. Be nourished. Be fruitful.
Psalm 1 invites us to choose our spiritual ecosystem wisely. Avoid the company that corrupts and instead meditate on the truth that transforms. The deeper you go into the Word, the stronger your roots grow—and the more unshakable your life becomes.
When you know God’s truth, you can’t be easily swayed by the world’s lies. And when you live it, you become the kind of tree others can lean on—especially in stormy seasons.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the wisdom and truth of Your Word. Plant us beside Your living water. Help us to read, re-read, reflect, write, respond, and replay Your Word in our daily lives. Let us be trees that bear fruit in season, rooted deeply in You, unshaken by the winds of this world. Keep our hearts soft, our minds clear, and our spirits thirsty for more of You.
We trust You to grow us where You’ve planted us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
