Slowing Down to Discover What “Blessed” Really Means

This past week has been so spiritually fulfilling. The Well Read Bible Project officially started, and the practice of slowing down in Scripture has brought forth so many nuggets that I had not seen before.

I have read Psalm 1 countless times over the years. It’s familiar. Comforting. Easy to move past quickly. But this time, I stopped. I slowed down. And I listened.

Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”

As I lingered there, the Lord gently began teaching me about the word blessed. Blessed means having divine favor, deep inner joy, and spiritual well-being from God. It also means being truly happy, fortunate, and well in a spiritual sense. Not the kind of happiness the world defines, but the kind that is rooted, steady, and anchored in God Himself.

What struck me was that this kind of blessing doesn’t happen by accident. In order to have divine favor, deep inner joy, and spiritual well-being from God, we need to be obedient to Him in our lives. We are called to avoid worldly advice, to stay away from places and influences that slowly pull us into ungodly living, and to remain focused on the One true God, Jesus Christ.

Jesus can be found all throughout Scripture, and He gives us exactly what we need at the time we need it. Not always all at once. Often one small nugget at a time.

Psalm 1 then moves into verse 2:“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

That word meditates stood out to me. Meditation here isn’t rushing, skimming, or checking off a reading plan. It’s staying. It’s pondering. It’s allowing the Word to settle into the heart and shape the mind. It requires slowing down.

God has been using this slower pace to remind me that I don’t have to rush through life. I can stop. I can slow down. I can relax and listen. He is always faithful, and He continually extends mercy and grace to His children.

Just by slowing down in Scripture, I gained a big nugget this week. And I’m learning that there are many more waiting, if I’m willing to move at God’s pace instead of my own.