The Divine Crash

The other day I was reading Psalm 1 and I was thinking about what it meant for me today.

“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!”

I was reminded of what it means to be with people at an amusement park. When I take youth group trips to an amusement park we always tell them to go in a group of at least three, for safety.  However, we will later see the pictures of what these three did on Facebook or MySpace.  Usually they are pictures of them waiting in line with the obligatory “Hold the camera as far as your arm will allow and squish your faces together.

So how does this apply to Psalm 1:1? Imagine one of those three does not want to go on a Roller Coaster, the other two are talking about it and as they are walking it is easy to say “No” and say “I don’t want to” and even walk away from the group and meet them at the exit of the ride or hang out with some other friends.

When we walk with people doing things we don’t want to do or know we shouldn’t be doing it is easy to walk away.

Yet sometimes we don’t walk away, we end up in line for the roller coaster at the amusement park.  What is the first thing we do when we get in line? We stand there, maybe we lean against the rail.  Suddenly we are lost in a sea of people in front of us and behind us.  As people surround us it gets harder and harder to get out, it is possible but it is embarrassing and difficult.  Soon, that thing we didn’t want to do becomes unavoidable and we are in so deep that all we can do is move along with the crowd because we didn’t walk away.

When we stand with people doing things we don’t want to or know we shouldn’t be doing it is hard to get away but not impossible.

Yet, when we don’t walk away and we are stuck because we stood there to long we get to the front of the roller coaster line and suddenly we are sitting in the seat of the roller coaster.  We hear the safety bar ratchet into place and now we are stuck.  Short of vomiting or throwing a temper tantrum we can’t get out.  Suddenly what we didn’t want to do is now our reality.

When we don’t walk away when it is easy, or leave when it is embarrassing then, we are trapped in our choices.

When we sit with people doing things we didn’t want to do or know we shouldn’t do it becomes nearly impossible.

I say not impossible because Psalm 1 does not end with verse 1, there is a verse 2.

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

We are obviously more blessed when we don’t get in line for the roller coaster but it happens.  So what do we do? What do any of us do right before the roller coaster takes off at 90 miles per hour? We pray.  Right before the poop hits the fan we see it coming and we pray.

When we call on the way of the God we can still get a way out.  The roller coaster might still go, but we might still survive to get away from the people who take us down the wrong paths.

When we pray and call out to God we find grace in his laws and we know that grace forgives us when we Walk with those we shouldn’t, when we stand with those we shouldn’t and when we sit among those who would lead us where we shouldn’t.

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Sermon, Youth Ministry by RevBT