Laboring In Vain
Psalm 127:1–2
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
From the opening pages of Scripture, our Creator has ordained us, his creatures, to be co-creators with him. Sadly, it didn’t take long for humans to discover how horrible things tend to go when we decide to set out on our own, ignoring the boundaries our Creator has put in place for our flourishing.
We all have an innate desire and drive to create, to add to the world around us. This is a good and God given desire. But much like our first parents, we ignore the boundaries God has put in place for our good.
As we co-create with God, he desires us to be good stewards of the resources he has given us. It is hard for us to see that the resources we have available at our fingertips, such as time and energy, are often the first boundaries we ignore.
Think about a project, dream, or relationship you are investing in that is draining your time and energy. Have you consulted with the LORD about whether what you are working on is how he wants you to use the resources he has given you? When we don’t live within the boundaries of our time and energy, things tend to go poorly. In the words of the Psalmist, we end up eating the bread of anxious toil.
I acknowledge that the LORD may very well call you to join him in something that seems outside of your natural wiring, or where you count the cost and the math doesn’t add up. Where your time, energy, and other resources seem to be overextended. This is often part of the life of faith, and the LORD will provide in his time. But how many things do we take on that are beyond our ability, that the LORD has not invited us to partner with him?
On the flip side, how many times have we expected other people to take on things we feel they ought to when the LORD hasn’t called them to that thing? These imposed expectations can lead to bitterness and damage those relationships.
This is not what the LORD wants for us. The Psalmist writes, for he gives to his beloved sleep. As we partner with the Lord, we work hard. We give all that we have to the projects and relationships he has called us to give our time and energy to. And then we rest, trusting that he is the one doing the heavy lifting. We must learn to be ok with the fact that some things we want to do, he has planned for someone else to do.
So, it is time to PAUSE. Read the psalm again and then grab a journal, your notes app, or a scrap piece of paper and reflect on the following questions.
Psalm 127:1–2
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
How is your soul?
What are you currently doing that perhaps the LORD did not invite you to partner with him?
What fears arise within you as you imagine walking away from that thing?
How would your soul and others’ benefit from walking away from that thing?
I pray that this PAUSE played a small part in helping you discern what the LORD has called you to participate with him in today.
Grace and Peace,
Anthony and Jake
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