The Key to a Blessed Life

Psalm 128 This spring I planned our Utah motorcycle trip. I planned how far we would ride each day and where we would stay. But often along the way, we encountered opportunities to turn off and have unplanned adventures. We missed many because our reservations were fixed. Some of those would have been amazing and I learned a valuable lesson for future trips. Don’t get so fixed on where you think you need to be at the end of the day. We can live that way too. We form a picture of what life ought to look like—a certain income, a successful career, a family that turns out as we hoped—and drive ourselves toward it. We hesitate to slow down for fear of not getting there. Meanwhile, there is food on our table, someone who needs our attention, an opportunity to love a neighbor. God’s gifts are right in front of us, but we struggle to enjoy them because our minds are determined to finish what we started and reach the life we have in mind. Instead of seeing what we have as gifts to enjoy, we see them as obstacles to endure. Psalm 128 invites us to stop, take a deep breath, and reset. Imagine this psalm being sung among people rebuilding life after exile. Like us, they still had much work to do and many threats and obstacles to finishing that work. But they had a fresh perspective. God had brought them home. They saw the food on their table, a household taking root, children with a future as precious signs of God’s grace. Psalm 128 meets us with an invitation: “Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways.” It teaches us to trust God’s direction and recognize the good life that he gives along the road. Walking in his ways shapes our work, our families, and our life together, even while much remains unfinished. As these returned exiles had learned, God is building and securing their home. This was something they marveled at. it wasn’t finished, that was evident, but it was clear God was at work. He was the great architect and builder. Getting it all put together was His job. Theirs was simple: to walk in His ways and trust Him to complete the work. As we do this, it frees us to give faithful attention to today—to enjoy his provision, nurture the people before us, and receive these things as blessings rather than distractions from the life we are trying to achieve. The good life is God’s blessing received as we walk in his ways—a blessing enjoyed in ordinary life and shared with his people. Psalm 128 helps us see that life as we learn to walk in God’s ways, enjoy God’s gifts, and seek God’s people’s peace.