I memorized these beautiful words years ago:
“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Psalm 127:1-2.
If God is not in it, you will fail, so don’t waste your time. Why get up early, stay up late, and work hard all day long, if God is not in it? And if you ARE in the will of God—go to bed! He will bless you even while you are sleeping. Rest and trust Him.
The Chronological Bible places this psalm just after the story of David planning to build a temple. David says to Nathan the Prophet, “Why should I live in a palace with cedar walls while the ark of God sits in a tent?” But God says that He never asked for a temple. God reminds David of all that He has done for him:
“I took you from the pasture and from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel…. [And David recognizes that he was a nobody until God blessed him]: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?… But now You regard me as a man of distinction…. Lord, there is no one like You, and there is no God besides You.” 1 Chronicles 17:7,16-17,20.
Two truths:
God can choose anyone, no matter how humble the beginnings. Are you a failure, a loser, a flunkie, unloved, and unskilled? David was at the bottom: a shepherd. Talk about unskilled labor. But God made him KING! And David knows that—it was all God, not David.
Second, David gives up his idea of building a temple. He knows God is not in it. So he lets it go. If your plan is not God’s will, why waste your time? He will NOT bless it.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 