Dust in the Wind

Dust in the Wind

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: Dust in the Wind------------------------------------- Date: 04/15/2000
Keywords: "chaff" "dust" "wicked" "wind"

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Passage: Psalm 1:1-4*

1. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

3. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

4. The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Questions

1. Are there times when your life seems worthless?

2. How often does it seem the things you work on are blown out of the water by "circumstances" beyond your control?

Practical help

We have been moving through this Psalm one verse at a time, so if this study is new to you, you may wish to review the last three days. Yesterday we looked at trees and wondered whether becoming a tree was a worthwhile ambition.

Of course the tree is a symbol of a firmly planted spiritual life being nourished by God who provides streams of water. But there is more, as we see in verse 4. There is an alternative to being a tree, and that is being chaff. Chaff is that part of wheat that is cleaned off in the threshing process. It’s the unwanted or worthless part. As the threshing proceeds, the chaff is separated from the wheat and blown away by the wind. It’s like dust in the wind.

The wind blows against the tree and does nothing because the tree is firmly planted. But the same wind blowing through someone else’s life can lead to great destruction. The path of wickedness is usually not overt. Instead it starts with the simple choice not to trust God and His provision. He wants to plant people like you and me beside His water source and feed us. But we choose to dig ourselves out of the potting soil and look for a better deal.

If you have planted yourself before a computer screen filled with pornographic images, maybe you are choosing a different source of nourishment than the one God offers you. In the end, your spiritual life will shrivel into dust. If you are God’s child, but are struggling with temptation, be patient and trust that your Heavenly Father can supply your needs. Remember, trees flourish without moving out of their soil.

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLEŽ, Š Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."