127:1-2 Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
We, on our own, may have a degree of success, but without the Lord’s guidance, we build a house of cards, a chaotic home, an unsuccessful career, a failed friendship, a tumultuous marriage, and a troubled family life, etc.
Unless we pray and ask the Lord to guide our efforts in whatever we are trying to build we labor in vain.
It is useless for us to rise up early and sit up late striving, worrying, and losing sleep over how to make things work out they way we want…WE can’t have real success without God’s supernatural intervention.
Our first hope for a happy home and family, friendships, careers, etc. is God’s blessing!
COMMITTING all these things to God is the only recipe for success. Don’t lift a finger until you’ve prayed and committed whatever it is you endeavor to do to God…then, do what you can, but place your hope for success in God FIRST!
Also, it’s useless to worry about your own safety or the safety of your home and loved ones; we must trust God to keep a watch over whatever we commit to Him! That’s not to say that we shouldn’t take precautions or install a burglar alarm. But if we DEPEND on what WE can do and leave God out of the equation, then it’s all in vain.
The burglar alarm in your home or the one with whom you trust the care of your children should NOT be where you place your hope for protection. Your FIRST HOPE should be in God’s watch care.
My husband spent the night in the hospital after surgery and I faced the dreaded task of trying to sleep in our home alone for the first time in many years. I must confess that I took a sleeping aid hoping to literally knock myself out enough to ease my fears. Yet, I still (even as tired as I was from rising at 4 am that morning and sitting in hospital waiting rooms all day) found myself lying awake and jumping at every pop and crack (real or imagined) of the house.
I turned the television on loud trying to drown out all those things that go bump in the night. I turned the lights on too and crawled back into bed.
Around midnight, I guess the sleeping aid finally exerted its power over my already tired eyes, previously wide-open and fixed on the ceiling. And I finally drifted off to sleep.
Exasperated after waking up several times during the night due to the sound of the television and the bright lights beaming through my bedroom door, I decided I’d had enough. I got up, turned everything off and got back into bed when Psalm 127, verse 1 came to mind:
Unless the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain!
It was vain for me to lie awake jumping at every sound. It was then that I finally decided to TRUST GOD to watch over me and my home.
What’s keeping you up at night? (Family or relationship issues, money problems, your job, or FEAR?)
When we put God in charge of whatever it is that’s keeping us awake, then and ONLY then, sleep comes easy…for so He giveth His beloved sleep! Rest in His care.
This is soo good! You sound just as good as Ruth Graham.
Thank you Regina. Love you!